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