The Charlotte News from Charlotte, North Carolina • 3

Tti Chorion Nrwv Mnnrlrty Inly 14 1 9R0 3 A Synthetic rocks may solve nuclear waste dilemma RALEIGH (UPI) Researchers at North Carolina Slate University say it may be possible to make ladioactive wastes environmentally safe for thousands of years by binding them with synthetic ceramic rocks Led by llayne Palmour III the scientists are working to improve the technique for making SYN-ROC which has the ability to trap many radioactive elements in its crystal structure The synthetic rock could provide a solution to the build-up of radio-active wastes at power plants and defense installations Palmour recently said that SYNROC-B the form being studied at the university is believed to be able to handle all 31 radioactive elements produced in the waste of a typical nuclear reactor Me said it may be possible to store SYNROC underground long enough to allow nuclear wastes to lose their radioactivity which is estimated to take an average of 100000 years Artificial ceramic crystals are extremely inert and resistant to being underground The artificial crystals also form when pottery is fired in a kiln "It is the very reason that old civilizations are being studied through their pottery" Palmour said Glass is used to encase highly radioactive wastes in Lurope but Palmour said there Is evidence that radiation and heat from the wastes can affect the structure of glass over long periods of time SYNROC first developed by an Australian geo-chemist A 17 Ringwood is more stable than glass "You can boil it in brine and you don't get a part per million (of radioactive elements) out" said Thomas Hare an UNCSU research associate working on the project "Glass almost disintegrates under these conditions" Palmour said SYNROC can't be used unless the federal gove rnment allows the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuels because the reprocessing separates the wastes into forms suitable for the synthetic entrapment The Carter administration has placed a moratorium on reprocessing nuclear materials because the technique produces bomb-grade materials The formation of SYNROC begins by grinding the rock's components into a fine powder After materials are added the mixture is pressed in a mold and carefully heated in an atmosphere of hydrogen and argon Palmour said the process forms the right chemical bonds at the right time Comm i Klan bl hold rails 5f 'j I at i i Vf 'V 1 'I i 1 ift iJv: ft ft Wi' Ai4ft4 1 4 rwv From News Wire Reports White workers must be organized and military factions formed by the people for the Communist Workers Party to succeed says Jerry Tung general secretary of the CWP Tung's two-hour speech to about 80 people in Greensboro Sunday came just one day before the fifth week of jury selection was to begin in the trial of six Ku Klux Klansmcn and Nazis charged in the shooting deaths of five communists Nov 3 during a "Death to the Klan" rally in a Greensboro housing project Fourteen prospective jurors already approved by prosecutors were scheuled to undergo questioning today by defense attorneys Eight jurors have been seated but four more jurors and four alternates must be picked before testimony can begin During a meeting at the Fairview Community Center Sunday Tung told the group he believes "the desperation of white workers today is even greater than that of Afro-American black workers" Tung who was born in China and moved to the United States in the 1950s said the CWP had to reach out for the people who voted for the leader of the National Socialist Party of America Harold Covington and the Grand Dragon of the California Klan Tom Metzger Covington a Nazi received approximately 56000 votes in his bid to win the Republican Party's nomination for attorney general in North Carolina He lost to Keith Snyder of Asheville Metzer however was elected as the Democratic candidate for the United States Congress from the 43rd District of California the most populous district in the country "If you want to speak to the American people you have to back up your words with force" Tung said Tung's speech was interrupted when five CWP members shoved I ft 01 A a J-' Sffl 4ero photography Burlington is hit by 2 blazes By CAROLYN SANFORD Nw SUM Wrlltr Two fires have struck the Burlington Industries plant in Lin-colnton within the last 24 hours The first fire struck at 11:32 pm Sunday night Ten firemen and two trucks were on the scene putting out the fire until 1:05 am this morning said Steve Valentine a lieutenant in the Lincolnton Fire Department The cotton mill located at 201 Motz Ave is about six blocks from downtown Lincolnton There are approximately 183 employees at the plant No one was hurt in the blaze which was blamed on an over-cheated motor in the plant's blow-'ing system said Valentine "The electric motor got hot and caught fire" he said There was "cotton set on top of it (the motor) and it caught fire" too he said The second fire erupted at the mill at 5:52 am Thirty-five firemen and six trucks were dispatched to the scene and the blaze was extinguished within a few minutes The fire occurred in the room where cotton is filtered and cleaned said Valentine Lincoln-ton fire marshals are investigating the cause of the fire and the extent of damage is unknown he said There were employees working at the time of the second fire but everyone was evacuated from the building and no one was hurt Valentine said "They (fire investigators) got to go back down there today and get a dollar value" on the fires he said A plant supervisor who asked not to be identified said the fires will have little effect on the cotton mill's operations He said damages "are very minimal" kill 11 in Carolines Allocated Press Seven people were killed in traffic accidents during the weekend in North Carolina raising the number of dead in highway mishaps to 704 so far this year In South Carolina at least 4 persons died on state roadways North Carolina had recorded 761 traffic fatalities at the same time last year The North Carolina Highway Patrol reported that William Donald Martin Jr 19 of China Grove was killed Sunday night when his car ran off a rural road and overturned near China Grove Joseph Spencer Daniel McDur-fic III 1 of Taylorsville was killed Saturday when he walked Into the path of a car on a road in Alexander County the patrol said Saturday morning Robert Daniel Powell 17 of Mooresvillc was killed in a head-on collision on I-77 near Charlotte Three Statcs-ville woman in the second car were injured A one-car accident near Greensboro took the life of Robert Christopher Brown 17 of High Point Another teen-ager Kristi Laine Childress 17 of Charlotte was killed when her car went out of control and struck a utility pole in Mecklenburg County A Wake Forest man Herman Gilbert Blacklcy 21 was killed when he was struck by a car on NC 96 in Wake County Fire kills man in Lincolnton A 53-year-old man was killed in a fire Sunday morning in southeast Lincolnton Terry Burgin a detective with the Lincolnton Police Department said the man died of smoke inhalation when a home on East Catawba Street was destroyed by fire The blaze started at 1:20 am Sunday The victim's name was not immediately released "We were unable to determine the cause of the fire" said Burgin "but apparently there was no foul play involved We are still interviewing some witnesses" He said the house was vacant but the man was sleeping in it without notifying the owner Accidents unists acks es a Greensboro Daily News photographer and then dragged him from the center said one reporter covering the "forum" Don Davis who was nominated for a Pulitzer prize for his coverage of the Nov 3 shootout was not allowed to return for his equipment CWP members said Davis was taken from the center because he violated the group's guidelines for taking pictures during the meeting Most reporters left after the incident Meanwhile in South Carolina week-end rallies 30 miles apart by the Ku Klux Klan and a group of black activists were conducted peacefully according to law enforcement authorities There were no incidents said Dillon Police Chief Jack Carter when about 75 blacks paraded and 250 gathered Saturday at the Dillon County Courthouse to hear speakers And the sheriff's office in Darlington said there were no incidents at the Klan rally just off the US 52 bypass at Darlington at the same time PCB traces to linger through '81 RALEIGH (UPI) Two years after PCB-laced oil was illegally dumped along 210 miles of state highways in several North Carolina counties residue of the toxic chemical remains North Carolina officials estimate the chemical will remain in the ground until sometime in 1981 and residents of the areas near the spills have complained the state is not moving fast enough to clean up the PCB-con-taminated soil Mitchell Langdon a Johnston County farmer filed suit last week seeking damages for the delays in cleaning the spill Crime Control and Public Safety Secretary Burley Mitchell Jr said last week the state is moving as fast as federal law allows "I would love to assume the pose of Washington crossing the Delaware hop up on the front of a Department of Transportation truck and be hauling PCB off in glory to the state of Washington for disposal" he said "Unfortunately it's not possible" Federal administrators who declined to be identified said North Carolina could move faster on the clean-up but added the operation is a complex one Pageland t'y (News photoBob Glendy) bles for the new library but money will have to he found for chairs books and other furnishings The library will be staffed by Chesterfield County Library personnel "I am rrally glad to see the li brary finally become a reality after seven years It's tust like a dream come I rue" Mrs Tucker said A workman poses for snapshot by a fellow (SC) Printing and Finishing Co They were worker atop a chimney of die Rock Hill repairing the 200-foot-tall structure (AI) And Supercops are the Highway Patrol Dove and the sheriff's department's Sgt Randy Cox came up with the idea for the special competition and six teams were invited to participate However the District Attorney's office State Bureau of Investigation and the NC Wildlife Commission weren't able to field teams "We are planning the second annual Super-cop event for April of next year and we hope to have a number of other teams competing" Dove said Temperatures in the mid 90s made the competition even tougher but only one officer was treated for heat ailments and the only injuries reported were minor scratches and bruises and plenty of sore and aching muscles of "wait until next year" could be heard from the unhappy losers The final score was 84 for the Highway Patrol 80 for the Monroe police and 76 for the sheriff's deputies The Highway Patrol won the bicycle race golf l'2-mile relay and the obstacle course events The Monroe police captured the swimming competition archery and 100-meter dash The Sheriff's Department finished first in the volleyball one-mile run and the tug of war Monroe Police Chief Malcolm Nivcn and deputy Roy Chaney both survived spectacular crashes in the bicycle race and got back up to finish the event By BOB GLENDY Niws Star) Writer WINGATE Dick Tracy Batman and Robin Superman and Spiderman were noticeably absent as the NC Highway Patrol claimed the first annual Supercop title here over the weekend The patrol edged out the Monroe City Police and the Union County Sheriff's Department for the honor winning four of the 10 events The Monroe police and Sheriff's Department each claimed three "It was really close but we showed them who is the best" said Patrolman Jerry Dove one of the contest organizers And as the patrol savored its victory cries Chesterfield library is branching out to T-a1 h'rV mi By BOB GLENDY News StaH Writer PAGELAND SC Construction of the Pageland branch of the Chesterfield County Library is a dream come true for Linda Tucker Construction on the $130000 facility got under way earlier this month and is scheduled to be completed around the first of the year The Pageland Branch Library project has spanned seven years the terms of three mayors: Joe Terry Sodc Catoe and Brian Hough "Back in 1973 Chesterfield County made a grant available to Pageland to buy a lot" said Mrs Tucker mother of three boys all under six and a member of the Chesterfield County Library Board "On Aug 24 1974 the town purchased a 125-by-150 foot lot at the corner of Maple and Blankeney streets "In 1975 the county made a $15000 matching grant available to the town to build the building and in June of 1976 the town had matched the county money for a total of $30000" The money was raised by high school students 14 area churches nine civic organizations and 45 businesses in Pageland she said Mrs Tucker recalled it was about that time that the federal government passed a Public Works Act and the town hired an architect before applying for je" ft' SI Chesterfield County Library Mrs Tucker admitted "We didn't have any formal group or organization but one of the great things about Pageland is that you can do your own thing and people do listen" she said The new building will include 3600 square feet compared to the existing library with 700 square feet There will be a meeting room parking space and room for expansion Mrs Tucker said The high school students are building all the shriving and ta ft if fty' This is the construction $100000 in grant funds he project was turned down twice and then we were stuck with a big architect's bill" Mrs Tucker said The library backers applied for other grants and stipends without success and were forced to look for another alternative On Dec 19 1979 then Mayor I Catoe signed an application for a $130000 lon through the Farmer's Home Administration at 5 percent interest In he repaid site of the Pageland branch of the over a 40-year period The town received approval of the loan March 5 and construction is under way "Having taught school I saw a need with 50 percent of the population falling within poverty guidelines and a 'literacy rate of only 16 5 percent" she said There was no formal organization just Mrs Tucker and a few other interested persons pursuing a dream that wouldn't be denied At first the going was rough.