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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 8, 1987)
Some Ducks still swim See Page 15 Oregon Daily Emerald Thursday. January 8, 1987 Eugene. Oregon Volume 88, Number 75 County AIDS testing policy frustrates activists Health officials say confidentiality is stringent By folavne Houtz Of I Hr hmrrald Editor's Note: This is the second in stallment in a three-part series on AIDS. Today's article will look at the con troversy surrounding AIDS testing in Lane County. Friday's article will discuss what it is like to have AIDS and where people with AIDS in l.ane County can turn. A controversy over the best method of testing people for AIDS has sparked a battle between county health officials and AIDS activists frustrated with a testing policy they say is inadequate. Health authorities say their confiden tial testing program, in which the person being tested must give a name and ad dress to health officials, is effective in drawing in people for testing, but local AIDS activists say the county has barely scratched the surface of its AIDS problem. I.ane County has been testing about 25 people a month since the program started several years ago. about five of whom test positive for the AIDS an tibody each month. But according to national figures, about 2.400 people in Lane County will be potential carriers of the AIDS virus in eight months, double the current number of carriers. Under the county's confidential testing program, only about 120 of those potential carriers will he identified, said Scott Seibert. chairman of the Mid Valley Action Committee, a Eugene based AIDS awareness group. "Lane County is going to wait until it's just too damn late to catch (the disease’s spread), and then cry help." Seibert said. A statewide, three-month, experimen tal testing program, which began in December, promises to provide some answers to the question of how to draw in the largest number of people in high risk groups for Acquired Immune Defi ciency Syndrome testing. All counties in the state are ex perimenting with anonymous testing for AIDS, with the exception of I.ane. Linn and Benton counties, which chose not to participate. Dr. Dave Fleming, deputy state epidemiologist, said although health of ficials had hoped all counties would join the experimental testing program, they now will be able to compare the demand for anonymous testing with the demand for confidential testing. Oregon will l>e one of the first places to make a comparison between the two types of testing. Fleming said. "The results of this test will la; relevant around the country." he said. If the state's experiment proves sue: cessful, one Lane County health official has said the county would reconsider its decision. AIDS is a virus that destroys the CtrjphH b> IcMrjinr Rjlh body's immunt) system. leaving the irer son susceptible to other diseases. The virus primarily has affected gay and bisexual men. prostitutes and in travenous drug users. Some children born to women with AIDS also have con tracted the disease. The World Health Organization estimates there will Ire 500.000 to 3 million AIDS cases by toot. While current state law requires only that the names of individuals who have contracted AIDS (>e reporter! to the state Health Division, the state AIDS Policy Committee is split over its recommenda tion against requiring the names of in dividuals who have AIDS-related com plex (AKC) or who test positive for the aids virus to t»e reported to health authorities The l‘!H7 state legislature will con sider the committee's recommendations and could accept or reject any part of it. Only a handful of states have laws re quiring the disclosure of names of in dividuals who have AKC (a set of il lnesses (hat can precede the disease), or who test positive for the AIDS virus. The majority of committee members recommended anonymous testing in the committee's draft report, but a minority report called for reporting the name of anyone testing positive to the AIDS virus. The majority report savs anonymous testing will encourage high-risk in dividuals to lake the test and obtain Turn to AIDS, Page M Emerald Hall soon to be razed, replaced by new science building By Stan Nelson (M the hmernlil After 40 years of varied ser vice, Emerald Hall is finally lad ing laid to rest. The former military barracks and University administrative building is being torn down to make way for the University's new $45.3 million science complex. Hut before the demolition c an begin, some asbestos-, containing, exterior siding and pipe insulation must l>e remov ed in accordance with strict health and safety procedures designed to prevent exposure to asbestos and contamination in the environment, said Tom Hicks. University environmen tal health officer. "Things are going very well." he said, noting that the project is more than 75 percent completed. In addition, air sam ple results near the area indicate that asbestos levels are below the required contractual specifications, he said J.P. Environmental of Portland, one of two firms re tained by the Oregon State System of Higher Education to handle asbestos removal in state system structures, is responsi ble for the project. The company has already removed all external siding arid should be completed with the Photo bv Shu-Nhin# < hrii A warning sign hangs in front of Emerald Hall, where workers are removing asbestos-containing exterior siding and pipe insulation. internal asbestos removal by Friday or the first part of next week, Hicks said. Plastic sheeting has been in stalled on all the outside en trances of Emerald Hall to minimize the quantity of air tx>rne asbestos released from the building. And with the use of fans, negative air pressure is created inside the building to reduce the escapage, Hicks said. Internally, asbestos will be removed from pipes, tanks and valves in two mechanical rooms and the rooms will t>e enclosed in plastic shunting. Workers will enclose sections of pipe in "glove bags" that allow them to insert their hands to cut, wrap and remove asbestos insulation while it re mains inside the sealed plastic enclosures. Asbestos from Emerald Hall is being sent to the Short Moun tain Landfill in Lane County for proper disposal, Hicks said Once the asbestos has been removed safely. Emerald Hall will be torn down, most likely Turn to Emerald, Page H Musician seeks to aid Costa Rican rain forests By Carolyn l.amberson Of (hr hurriilil A former University student and local musician is con cerned about the diminishing rain forests of Costa Kica Hot) Sea wick spent three -and-one-half weeks in tin ( amtral American country last November learning about a problem he bad been hearing about increasingly during recent years “Two or three years ago, I didn't know there was a pro blem with the rain forests." be said "Then I heard that burger king was buying up land in Costa Kit a. (lilting down the forests and raising cattle." "What I learned when I got down there was that there is a major problem. ' he said. "Si ientists estimate that within the next five years there will be no more rain forests in Costa Kica, a country the size of West Virginia.” On a world-wide scale. Seawir k said, all the rain forests will vanish by the year 2050 if measures are not taken to stop their destruction, lie added that si ientists give the Amazon rain forest, the largest in the world. 50 years until it will resemble the landscape of Mars Some people may see the problem of diminishing rain forests as minor, said Seawick. hut he sees it as a major pro blem that must Iwr dealt with immediately "It's one of those 'we have to do something now before it's too late' situations." he said. "I'm concerned with the survival of the planet. There is a delicate balance of nature, and by disturbing the rain forests, we are tipping that balance in a dangerous way.” Seawick said. "This is one of the richest ecosystems in the world." he said. "For example, there are more species of butterflies in Costa Kica than in all of Africa. Costa Kica has H4H species of birds, which is Htl more than in all of North America.” Seawick believes the consequences of the elimination of these rain forests are too great to ignore. "Kiltire new species of plant and animal life are being found everyday Many of these plants that only grow in the tropical climates are used in medicine Hy destroying the plants, we may be losing valuable cures to diseases for future Turn to Forests, Page 13
