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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 13, 1979)
tuesday , november 1 3, 1 979 lincoln, nebraska vol 103 no. 54 u NU radioactive wastes buried in Mead drainage ditch By Mike Sweeney Radioactive wastes from the University of Nebraska twice were buried in a drain age ditch at the NU Field Laboratory at Mead, the second burial occurring after the State Health Department determined the site was unacceptable,, the Daily Nebraskan has learned. The low level radioactive waste, generated on the NU campuses, was buried in a waterway about 200 yards below a future recreation dam. The waterway leads to an overflow stream which leads off the university property at Mead, according to a health department inspection report. Neither Julius Haes, university radiation safety officer, nor the University Central Radiation Safety Committee approved the burial site, the report said. Instead, the site was chosen by a groundskeeper at the field laboratory. - The report indicated inadequately, trained university personnel ship the waste to Mead in open pickup trucks, in violation of Department of Transportation guide lines. Guidelines require radioactive wastes to be transported in closed vans and require truck drivers to carry radiation sensing equipment. Haes said he has been placed on pro bation, but refused to say why. However, the Lincoln Journal reported Monday the probation resulted from the health depart ment's inspection report. THOMAS SPILKER, the university administration's representative on the radiation safety committee, was quoted in the Journal as saving Haes probation "should not be tied to the Mead incident alone. "He's not performing as you would ex pect him to perform,' Spilker said. Henry Smith, director of the State Department of Health, called the university's transportation and burial of radioactive waste a "clear-cut" violation of department guidelines licensing the university to handle radioactive materials. Smith said the waste buried at Mead is not hazardous, but added the university needs to improve the way it handles and disposes of radiation, "I think there are several items in the re port we sent to the university that need to be looked at. Procedures need to be tight ened up,' Smith said. Haes said the university has evaluated the burial of wastes in the drainage ditch and feels "it will not do it again, THE DRAINAGE DITCH has been closed to future burials, he said. He said the radiation safety committee believes the wastes should be left in the ground instead of being unearthed. "We feel the best way to handle it now is to take samples of the site and make sure the material does not transport from this area," Haes said, Lincoln State Sen. Steve Fowler said he may call a legislative hearing on the university's violations, but is waiting for the university's response to health depart ment charges before deciding. University officials first were informed about waste disposal problems in a June letter from Smith to William C, Erskine, Continued on Page 6 w f :' IMS Photo by Mark Billingsley The last breath of fall air crept from the UNL campus as the wintry gusts of Novem ber cold moved in. Blustery winds and chilling temperatures brought mittens, woolen sweaters and heavy coats from the closets to protect UNL students as the last remain ing leaf prepares to retreat from its chilly limb. Political science professors give advice on By Wayde Wrich The United States should bomb an Iranian city if Iran does not release 60 American hostages within two hours of public warning, said Ivan Volgyes, one of four UNL political science professors inter viewed Wednesday, "After the first bombing, we should give . them another two hours and then bomb another city,, Volgyes said, "He "added that at the same time as the , second bombing, the United States should arrest all Iranian diplomats and send them home, "We should also send any protesting " Iranian students back and immediately de clare war on Iran," Volgyes said most countries would back the United States in such action because the country would be acting in accord with precedent, ' "In 1956 the USSR-during the Hungar ian revolution-went into that country under the premise that their diplomats were in danger," Volgyes said, David Rapkin, Sue Huelett and John Comer, also UNL political science instruc tors, agreed with Volgyes that the United States shouldn't give in to Iranian demands that deposed Shah Mohammed Reza Pah lavi be returned to Iran from a New York hospital where he is recovering from cancer surgery, , Rapkin said that giving into the de mands would legitimize the embassy take over, "If we do meet the demands we're . opening ourselves to any nut who has a Iran No Iranian visa violations found at UNL By Alice Hrnicek No UNL Iranian students are in viola tion of their entry visas, according to two university administrators. "As far as we know, there are no illegal aliens here," said Richard Armstrong, vice chancellor for student affairs. Credentials of Iranian students are rou tinely reviewed once a semester by univer sity officials and reports are sent to the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Ser vice in Omaha, said Richard Fleming, assis tant to the chancellor and director of uni versity information. Fleming said none of the 193 Iranians enrolled this semester had been reported in violation. Armstrong said there may be Iranians in violation of their visas in Lincoln who ori ginally were UNL students but the university-is no longer accountable for them. Once the immigration office has deter mined that students do not comply, the matter is no longer in the university's hands and the Iranians are no longer stu dents. "We don't know where they are " Arm- strong said, - No governmental guidelines had been received by university officials Monday re ' garding President Carter's order to deport Iranian students in violation. But, Armstrong said, "We are able to validate the legitimacy of each of them," Armstrong added that there are 79 Iranians enrolled at UNO, and about 20 more are taking a course to help them learn the English language, A UNO official said the persons in the language program will be eligible for admis sion at American universities once they have completed the course, "This may put them in some jeopardy (of deportation)," said Jim Raglin, NU director of public affairs. Raglin announced that he and NU Pre sident Ronald Roskens would release a statement today complimenting NU stu dents for not participating in demonstra tions .similar to ones on college campuses across the country, . Demonstrations to protest the Iranian student takeover of the U.S, Embassy in Iran last Sunday have been rampant. American diplomats still are being held hostage by the students, Carter Monday took further action by halting oil imports from Iran, which account for at least 4 percent of daily American consumption. The effort was made to "eliminate any suggestion that economic pressures can weaken our stand on basic issues of principle," the president said. UNL Iranian students have received threatening anonymous phone calls, according to Peter Levitov, director of International Educational Services, "The Iranian students here have not done anything to justify personal hostuV ties," he said, "The community has been understanding, but there are certain people who have hostilities against them." Levitov noted that the university has not been "harboring criminals.". Instead, the university has tried to create an atmos phere of academic support for legitimate students with legitimate visas, he said. Armstrong said, "This is a period of time when we ought to study the issue and not let our emotions cloud' our minds." situation grievance," Rapkin said. But the teachers disagreed on how to deal with the Iranians, Rapkin said the main goal 'of the United States is the release of the 60 hostages, "If an attack on Iran were a solution that would save the hostages, I would be all for it, but I doubt if that would be affective he said Huelett said the United States should break diplomatic relations, send all Iranian diplomats and students home and stop all economic trade, "I dont think we should do all this until the 60 U,S, hostages are released though," Huelett said, Comer said we should let the Shah go if he wants to, "We shouldn't send him back to Iran," he said, "but he is hurting the United States," ' Rapkin said we should not deport the Iranian students in the United States, "We have our own democratic principles and we should not break Our own rules to punish the students," he said, "and deporting the Iranian students wouldn't have any affect on the Ayatollah," Huelett said the recent backlash against Iranians shows that Americans are getting sick of being pushed around, "Things like this have happened before, but the Ameri can people haven't been awakened like this," she said, "I think the American people want the government to be more forceful to an extent," - Volgyes said the Iranian students have no right to secure a permit to protest, "The students have no right to protest in favor of the takeover," he said, "I know of no other country that would let them do that," All four agreed that other countries are backing the United States because of the sovereign immunity of a country's embassy in another country, "All Embassys have diplomatic immun-ity-extra-territoriality-whieh means as if they were not a part of the host country, and sanctity of ground, which means the grounds of the Embassy are the property of the foreign country," Volgyes said, "This means the host country has no right to tell the embassy what to do, or take them over," Comer said the takeover has hurt Iran and played as an advantage to the United States, "I think the takeover and lack of response by Khomeini to diplomatic moves by the United States is a sign of weakness in Iran and Khomeini," Comer said. Peter Maslowski, a UNL history profes sor, said the only precedent to the U.S. Embassy takeover was during the Boxer Rebellion in China. "In 1900 the Boxers attempted to take over all the foreign embassys in China-473 civilians and 45 1 military personnel held seige until 19J0OO international troops with 2,500 Americans threw back the rebellion he said.
