The Nome nugget. [volume], August 23, 1963, Image 1

About The Nome nugget. [volume] (Nome, Alaska) 1938-????

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m NOME NUGGET
FARTHEST WEST NEWSPA E'ER IN THE 50 STATES”
64th Year No. 101
NOME, ALASKA, FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 1963
Per Copy 15C
Reindeer and ('aribou Meat Shows
High Concentration of Radioactivity
By Frank Carey
WASHINGTON IvF — Evidence
was reported yesterday that Alas
kan Eskimos have absorbed radia
tion doses exceedin'* at least aver
age permissible limits — from
eating reindeer and caribou meat
containing unusually high con
centrations of bomb-test fallout.
Another report from Atomic
Energy Commission officials said
Alaska has experienced “some
what higher” fallout than any
other state — primarily because it
is the first region hit by the early
fallout from Russian nuclear tests
in Polar latitudes.
H. M. Parker, manager of the
AEC’s Hanford Laboratories at
Richland, Wn„ who told of the Es
kimo radiation findings, stressed
that he did not believe they are in
any danger.
But he added, in testifying at
fallout hearings being held by the
Senate-House Atomic Energy Com
mittee:
“This is not to say that in the
long term it «*vould) not be danger
ous . . . and if I were a resident
there, I’d begin to look around to
see how reasonable it would be to
substitute some other kind of food
<for reindeer and caribou*.
But Parker said he would not
recommend that the Eskimos be
removed from the seven villages
where the evidence was obtained.
It was learned that some Eskimos
actually have petitioned the gov
ernment to move them.
The Public Health Service and
AEC plan a much more extensive
study of the situation.
The joint study will include an
intensive analysis of radioactivity
in the air and water in the Alas
kan areas where the Eskimos and
Indians live — and the caribou
roam. It will also embrace intensive
studies of the radioactive content
of the reindeer and caribou meat
— which is use extensively in the
native diet.
There will also be studies of the
relationship between this diet and
the natives’ “body burden” of
radioactivity.
Parker said the Eskimo studies
were made with the help of a
unique, transportable radiation
counter — developed by Hanford
engineers.
Prior to using this device — to
examine 700 natives from seven
villages — the researchers — using
other measuring techniques —
found fallout levels in many na
tive plants and animals “higher
than those in other states of the
union.”
“U nusual concentrations of
cesium-137 were observed in flesn
A Hefty Load . . .
CLEVELAND, Ohio </P> — A hand
truck and two freight elevators
were used by Deputy U S. Marshals
Thursday to get a man to the
third floor of the Federal Bldg,
where he pleaded guilty to a charge
of selling pep pills to truck drivers.
The novel means of access to
the courtroom was necessary be
cause the defendant weighs 585
pounds.
The plea was made before C.S.
Dist. Judge James Connell by
Charles Kinsey owenr of Tinv’s
Truck Stop at Oceola, Ohio. Sen
tence was deferred pending a pro
bation report and Kinsey was re
leased under $500 personal bond.
Kinsey told deputy marshals he
weighed 880 pounds at one time,
but had "managed to reduce a
little.”
of caribou and reindeer,” Parker
said.
In the Eskimo studies, the high
est average adult “body burden”
of cesium-137 in 1962 was 450 nano
curies of radiation, and the maxi
mum was 790.
This compares, Parker said,
with proposed permissible limits of
300 of the average for a group,
and 1,000 maximum for an indi
vidual, with respect to people in
the general population. The maxi
mum permissible limit for workers
in atomic plants is much higher—
30,000 nanocuries.
(A “nanocurie” is a new term
for expressing radiation units. It
represents 1,000 micro-micro
curies.)
But Parker added that preli
minary evidence for 1963 showed
increases ranging up to 50 per cent
above the 1962 levels, and ‘‘it’s
very likely” that body burden of
cesium may range up to 1,200
nanocuries.
Even for 1962, he said, the cesium
burden was approximately 20
times higher than that observed
in individuals in contiguous states.
Parker said much less informa
tion is presently available on
strontium-90, another potentially
dangerous fallout ingredient. But
he said strontium-90 concentra
tions in caribou and reindeer were
three to five times higher than
in similar animals in other areas
of the United States.
Asked to explain the unusually
high concentrations of all out ma
terials in these animals, Parker
said the lichen plants of the Alas
kan tundra which the animals eat,
“acts like blottingf paper” and ab
sorbs more fallout than other kinds
of plants.
Dr. Gordon Dunning, an AEC
scientist, said in answer to a re
porter's questions another factor is
that the vegetation is so sparse
in a given area that the animals
ram around from place to place,
and thus accumulate relatively high
doses from repeated eating.
Besides, he said, Alaska has been
getting a higher deposition of fall
out than other states, largely be
cause of its proximity to the Rus
sian test area, and because of its
peculiar meteorological conditions.
“It gets the first fallout,” he
said.
Emergency Landing
Made at Juneau Airport
JUNEAU bP* — An airliner load
ed with 86 passengers made an
emergency landing here late yes
terday after a warning light flash
ed, indicating an engine was one
fire.
The captain of the four-engine
United Airlines plane switched off
the left inboard engine, feathered
the propeller and headed for Ju
neau Airport where he landed 23
minutes later without incident. No
sign of fire was found.
The passengers, Kiwanis Club
members who had been attending
their Pacific Northwest District
Convention in Anchorage, were
given a tour of Juneau while Pan
American Airways personnel
checked their chartered craft for
resumption of its flight to Seattle.
WARNING
The discharging of firearms in
the vicinity of the Nome Airport
and the Airport Housing Area is
prohibited by law. Violators shall
be prosecuted.
FAA Station Manager. Nome
House Slashes
$585 Million from
Foreign Aid Bill
WASHINGTON — The House
gave President Kennedy a stunning
setback today by slashing $585
million from the foreign aid bill.
A coalition of Republicans and
southern Democrats put over the
deep cut in a last-minute maneu
ver.
At first, the cut was interpreted
as being $1,025,000,000. But a
large part of the amount, while
authorized by the House last year,
had not been requested in this
year’s bill. Thus, part of the re
duction did not count as far as
this year’s measure is concerned.
The authorization stood at $3.5
billion.
The President had asked $4.5 bil
lion. The House Foreign Affairs
Committee cut that to $4.1 billion,
and the surprise move today cut
it another $585 million.
The reduction itself was put into
the bill on a roll call vote of 222
188.
In the final vote, 172 Democrats
and 52 Republicans voted for the
bill and 66 Democrats and 120 Re
publican against it.
It was the worst defeat, in point
of opposition votes, that the Pres
ident has been dealt by the House.
Many southern Democrats joined
forces with the Republican budget
cutters. Only a few Republicans
voted against the cut in the bill,
which traditionally has command
ed bipartisan support.
The administration, taken by
surprise, must look to the Senate
to restore some of the cut.
KENNEDY CALLS IT
'DANGEROUSLY PARTISAN'
WASHINGTON UP — President
Kennedy charged a $585-million
foreign aid cut by the House was
“short-sighted, irresponsible and
dangerously partisan.”
His remarks were made at a
special news conference at the
White House shortly after the
House voted to slash $585 million
from his foreign aid bill, making
a total reduction in the authoriza
tion of almost $1 billion.
He called on both parties in the
Senate — which considers the bill
next — to raise the amount so
that when the measure comes back
to the House for compromise the
House will have an opportunity to
reconsider its “irresponsible, un
warranted and unwise” action.
Underground Blast
WASHINGTON UPl — The
Atomic Energy Commission an
nounced another underground nu
clear test was set off today at its
Nevada test site.
The test is the third since this
country agreed with Russia and
Great Britain on a treaty which
would ban all except underground
testing.
Today’s test was of low yield,
meaning a blast equivalent of less
than 20,000 tons of TNT.
$69.5 Million Order
SEATTLE lb — The Boeing Co.
today received a $69.5 million
order from Trans World Airlines
for 12 planes. It was Boeing’s
largest single commercial sale in
two years.
The new TWA order includes six
727 jets, five 707-120B’s and one
707-320B.
TWA president Charles Tinning
hast Jr., who announced the trans
action at Boeing headquarters
here, said it was the first phase
of the program to meet his air
lines’ needs until 1970.
Two Soviet Trawlers
Drift Off California Coast
SAN DIEGO, Calif. <JPi — Two
Soviet trawlers that have been
drifting off the southern California
coast for almost two weeks were
moving toward Point Arguello !
missile launching sites today, the
Navy said.
The vessels had drifted 120 miles
southwest of here Thursday and
the Navy said their position at last
sighting was 150 miles due west of
this Navy center.
A Navy spokesman said there is
no pattern to the trawlers’ move
ments but added, “you can certain
ly draw some fairly good conclu
sions from where they’ve been off
the southern California coast.”
“Much of the time during the
past two weeks they’ve drifted in
areas where the Navy conducts
weapons tests. They’ve been kept
under random air surveillance,”
the Navy said.
The Navy said the trawlers are
similar to those that have appear
ed off Cape Canaveral, Fla., in the
Atlantic missile range. The Atlantic
ships were heavily equipped with
electronic gear, according to the
Navy.
Or Whal-Have-You . . .
GLASGOW, Scotland UP) — Magi
strates on Thursday banned Glas
gow bars from giving trading
stamps. They said they did not
want to encourage a practice which
meant more whiskey a person
drank, the closer he was to a free
tea kettle, blanket or what-have
you.
Contributed $1,000 Each
WASHINGTON UP — President
Kennedy and his brother, Atty.
Gen. Robert Kennedy, have each
contributed $1,000 to a group that
seeks to encourage Washington
teen-agers to stay in school.
The group, the Stay-In-School
benefit fund committee, hopes to
place needy students in part time
jobs or give them direct subsidies
to keep them in school longer than i
their parents can afford.
_
WEATHER OUTLOOK
Continued cloudy with occasion- ;
al showers. Low tonight 45, high '
tomorrow 53.
In the last 24 hours: High of
49, low of 44. Max. wind 37 mph
from WSW Sunrise at 7:51 a.m.,
sunset at 4:18 p.m.
Temps, a year ago today: High
of 55, low of 36. Extremes on this
date since 1907: High of 68 in
1911, low of 30 in 1929.
Vandals Disrupt
Various Aids to
Air Navigation
Availability of power on a con
tinuing basis is the prime deter
mining factor to successful opera
tion of the various aids to air
navigation at the Nome Airport.
Without the power, these im
portant aids cannot operate and
without these aids the use of
Nome’s Airport is severely re
stricted, especially during times of
poor weather conditions.
With recent instances of damage
to power distributions systems in
the vicinity, it seems appropriate
to enlighten the public as to the
possible consequences which could
result from such vandalism. The
w'orst that could occur is the loss
of lives; an aircraft executing an
approach to land at the Nome Air
port during marginal weather con
ditions, crashes as a result of a
power failure rendering the low
frequency range (located east of
Nome, and served power on the
lines running east from town) out
of service at the critical part of
the approach. Admittedly, the
chances of a crash of this nature
are remote, but the possibility is
still there. Another serious conse
quence would be the interruption
of air service to Nome and vicinity.
Local Federal Aviation Agency
officials are quite concerned about
this senseless damaging of power
distribution systems in the area,
and have pointed out that such
vandalism could constitute a vio
lation of federal law. The primary
concern lies with providing con
tinuous service of the aids to air
navigation w’hich are operated and
maintained in the Nome vicinity.
Air Force Will Modify
All 700 of its B52 Bombers
WASHINGTON — The De
fense Department said Monday it
will start a two-year, multi-million
dollar modification program on
virtually all of the United States’
700 B52 bombers next month.
The program, designed to cor
rect weaknesses in a rear fuselage
bulkhead, discovered during a 3
year series of tests during which
three of the bombers crashed. A
Defense Department spokesman
said the weaknesses ocurred be
cause the bombers were used in
ways other than had been antici
pated. including low level high
speed flights and flights in severe
clear air turbulence.
*50.00
R E W A R D
FOR INFORMATION
Leading to Arrest and Conviction
of Parties Shooting or Otherwise
Destroying Property
of the
Nome Light & Power Utilities
Box 70 Nome, Alaska