The Knoxville News-Sentinel from Knoxville, Tennessee • 23

su 0 Editorials6 People4 TV4 Thursday July 1 1982 Knoxvillo News-Sentinel Public's Help Sought in Search for Tritium By CHRISTOPHER COKINOS sad FRANK MUNGER Ridge National Laboratory has no resale value Davis said It was to be processed for research purposes said Jim Alexander Department of Energy spokesman "Tritium is routinely purchased by New England Nuclear for the manufacture of tracer materials used in biomedical research" he said The Boston company hired Federal Express to ship tritium a hydrogen isotope The gas induces radioactivity in non-radioactive materials Davis said real hopeful well find it because it's of no real use to anyone else" Mobley it which would have to be pried open Davis said radiation level is lower than that of an operating color television set "Tritium is regulated by the Transportation Department to the lowest possible radio toxicity he said Officials sharply denied that the material could be used in the manufacture of nuclear weapons "This material would be of absolutely no use to a terrorist or anyone else making a bomb or who wanted to make a bomb" DOE spokesman Wayne Range said But Mobley said tritium has been used in nuclear weapons He said the material has a number of forms though he didn't know which one is used in nuclear weapons Tritium also is used for luminous dials on wristwatches Alexander said a person would have to pump the tritium from the cylinder and "deliberately inhale in a closed area to be harmed by it The cylinder has a safety valve on CRBR Generator Pact Goes to Westinghouse Now You See Them Now You Don't This map shows the situation faced by users where other libraries are to be closed by the board because of budget problems this month although County Commission yesterday asked the library board to reconsider its action of the Knoxville-Knox County Public Library The' main library and four branches named on 'the map are scheduled by the library board to remain open An marks the spot After 14 hours of fruitless searching for a cylinder of radioactive gas that dropped off a cargo truck yesterday morning in West Knoxville authorities today appealed for help from the public in recovering the lost object The cylinder of tritium a low-level radioactive gas was en route to McGhee Tyson Airport when dropped off a Federal Express truck early yesterday morning after the rear door apparently "jiggled officials said Officials believe the cylinder containing 1000 curies of tritium and packaged in a fiberglass foot-locker was probably picked up by a passerby who found the three-foot-long package at roadside probably along Middlebrook Pike: An extensive search for the radioactive material which authorities say is not particularly dangerous unless opened in a tight space took place along Middlebrook Pike and other roads near the Federal Express terminal on Midpark Lane Federal Express spokesmen said the cylinder likely was lost between the terminal and 1-640 convinced it's not there (along the Federal Express spokesman Brandon Davis said Mike Mobley director of radiological health for the state Department of Public Health said "We feel someone in the public has picked it up and probably isn't aware of what they Mobley said his office has had some calls about the cylinder but nothing of help in locating the material valued at about $1035: Last night Knoxville Police checked a report that the cylinder had been seen in the Weisgarber Road area but again it was not found Mobley urged anyone with information about the missing cylinder to call the Federal Express office at 1-615-693-7172 or the toll-free Tennessee Emergency 1 Management Agency line at 1-800-342-1328 The Federal Express safety department is investigating the cause of the mishap Davis said When asked what caused the mishap Davis replied we don't know A visual check of the truck before it left (the Federal Express office on Midpark Lane) indicates the door was He added that Federal Express has "the highest in hazardous materials shipments The name of the woman who was driving the Federal Express truck has not been released and officials declined to say if she would be reprimanded Mobiey and others stressed that the gas agent would be of little use to anyone The tritium which was being sent to a Boston firm by Oak Old City Hall's Peeling Face Gets Lift By ROGER HARRIS gram which requires modifications at a California test facility is pursued The report cited "a history of serious technical with steam generators at other nuclear plants and breeder reactors and called present testing program insufficient posing a potential hazard if the generators were installed without additional testing DOE was furious at the time of the report's release saying the charges were unfounded and that its testing program had been proven safe and effective Department officials cited what they called "technical "They are the safest generators in the Orasky said The $35 billion CRBR project has come under increasing fire in recent months and earlier this month a coalition of church consumer environmental taxpayer union and scientific organizations announced their plans to unite to work against the future fending More than $1 billion has been spent on CRBR even though ground has yet to be broken at the Oak Ridge site By RICHARD POWELSON and FRANK MUNGER iim Iran The Department of Energy (DOE) today awarded a $34 million contract to Westinghouse Nuclear Components Division for construction of 10 steam generators for the controversial Clinch River Breeder Reactor (CRBR) project in Oak Ridge Sen 'Jim office announced The move ignores a General Accounting Office (GAO) report issued last month that recommended the contract be scuttled until a new testing program is adopted for the generators GAO is the so-called congressional watchdog agency that prepares reports at the request of Congress James Orasky deputy assistant for procurements for the CRBR project said that the steam generators are "one of the most important for the proposed plant He said the generators will begin arriving at the site in 1985 with the last unit to be delivered the next year The GAO report asked DOE to scrap its plans to sign the contract until a more extensive testing pro square feet of office space in the 134-year-old City Hall and the planned addition The city was awarded a S450000 Federal Urban Development Action Grant for the project Earlier reports indicated the city will loan the money to the developers who will repay it at an annual rate of approximately $20000 Previous repents also indicated that the city will lease the land to the developers with a 50-year title to the building for a token payment of $1 per year The 50000-square-foot complex is one of the few Greek Revival structures in Knoxville It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places As the building stands now white paint covering the brick exterior is cracked and peeling Windows have been broken and covered with plywood would be Developer Henry Ogle told The News-Sentinel in April he hoped to have all financial documents signed and work ready to begin by the first week of May Ogle could not be reached for comment yesterday Details at the loan and lease agreements between the city and the developers and the lease agreement between the developers and TVA will be available in die statement Farlow said The Old City Hall Partnership headed by Ogle is leasing the property from the city and will renovate it for TVA offices Ogle is working with Boston developers Anderson Notter and Feingold on the project which is expected to take 10 months to complete TVA earlier sighed a letter of intent to lease approximately 75000 The long-awaited facelift for the Old City Han complex is scheduled to begin Monday Gary Farlow of the city's Community and Economic Development office said yesterday the dty closed out the final documents He said the principals involved in the project will release a statement today or tomorrow as soon as a scraping" ceremony can be arranged to mark the beginning of the woric Renovation of the complex had been held up for several months by delays in approval of the financial arrangements by the USL Department of Housing and Urban Development There also were questions about how the exterior was to be finished who will maintain it and what size a proposed addition Knox Gets Million From HUD for East-West Mall Opposition to Pellissippi Parkway Extension Dominates MPC Meeting week was given a three-month extension on its option to begin con-struct ioin He said Pegasus officials said at the time they could start construction if the grant were approved The original application for the grant was $18 million The money is to be loaned to the developers and repaid at low interest Developer Dan Culp plans a $60 million complex of twin office towers on the block east of the proposed Pegasus project The Culp project is bounded by Market Street Church Avenue Gay Street and Clinch Avenue The Pegasus project is bounded by Market Street Clinch Avenue Street and Church Avenue Walnut The city of Knoxville has received a $1 million Federal grant to aid in developing the East-West Mall Sen Jim Sasser announced yesterday The Urban Development Action Grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development will help Community Development Corp in work on a 128000-square-foot 10-story office building at the corner of Walnut Street and Church Avenue a 2 mil-lion-square-foot mall a 2875-square-foot bank and a two-story parking garage Greg Kern executive director of KCDC said today the Pegasus Corp developer of the block last By ROBERT RHOADES They found no pros only cons They discussed no jdan made few recommendations and voiced much opposition Last night's Metropolitan Planning Commission (MPC) sector transportation meeting for West Knox County was dominated by opposition to the proposed Pellissippi Parkway extension The parkway reaches from 1-40 West to Solway Bridge an inside Knox County Plans are under consideration to extend it southward across Fort Loudoun Lake with a $100 million span The meeting was intended by MPC planners to discuss the future transportation needs of the North-west and Southwest sectors The meeting held at Bluegrass School was the first of several aimed at forming recommendations for the sector plan planners said "There were no pros except what I presented and they booed me said planner Ken Pruitt when he later reported his group's discussion to the entire meeting The meeting applauded his statement Although planners tried to lead discussion to other topics regarding transportation in West Knox County residents persisted with tiudr arguments against the parkway Planner Buz-Johnson told the crowd "We appreciate your comments believe it or -A citizen's group opposed to the extension has formed in the area and 2000 copies of a letter of opposition have been distributed said Sam Patterson a resident and an organizer of Citizens Against Pellissippi Parkway Extension (CAPPE) Patterson said he is concerned with the information presented on the extension by the state Department of Transporation "I feel people have been given all the information They been told all of the he said The CAPPE letter said the area would incur air and noise pollution crime increase and dangers from toxic and radioactive materials transported over the extension "This is an area rural and people value that They're very very much opposed to the he said In four smaller group meetings residents were to voice both pro and con ideas about transportation in West Knox County under two possible conditions planners said However all groups discussed negative effects of a Pellissippi Parkway extension and possibile intense commercial development around it Residents commented that the use would not justify its cost that it would disrupt land-use patterns and that an extension needs to be built further outside the urban area The July 12 meeting will discuss land use for the sector planners say (hie planner suggested separate meetings for the northwest sector if the joint meetings fail to discuss transportation policy other than the parkway extension Food Distribution Begins for SHARE Horse Sense By ERIC LYNN 1 Wlwn did Canada's separate provinces unde In its present-day confederation? 1792 HU IMS 1U7 2 What do Canadians catl their notional holiday? Confederation Day Dominion Day Maple Leal Day Lei Day 3 Who Is Flash Gordon's archenemy? Ramar the Ruthless Ptutarfc the Pitiless Ming the Merciless Tlbor the Ticklish 4 Where are you likely to encounter a mamba? Wilds of Africa Brazilian dance hall Hawaiian hjau Baghdad bazaar 5 Which state capital's downtown Is bounded by two lakes? Indianapolis Modison Atlanta Santa Fe 6 Match the famous American Mar shalls with their accomplishments George Marshall UA Senate chaplain John Marshall First black Supreme Court lustier Peter Marshall Supreme Court chief lushes Thomas Marshall Nobel Peace Prize ated 12000 pounds of frozen foods meats sweets and vegetables to SHARE Colonial Refrigerated Transportation Operations on McBride Lane Concord has been providing the transportation and storage services Miss Fowler said the food bank system is a new national concept providing distributors with tax incentives to donate their excess or cosmetically damaged food rather than throwing it away The first major distribution of food from SHARE: Southern Appalachian Food Bank will be made from its warehouse at 701 Langford Ave today according to spokesman Cheryl Fowler SHARE which began in March is a nonprofit clearinghouse which receives stores and redistributes salvageable and surplus food to local nonprofit agencies HIR Foods Maryville has don Ttiurgood Marshall Vice President Answers on Editorial Page New Group Promotes Downtown Grocery Sources for Consumers By LIZ GRIFFIN N9V94MllkMl Staff WHMf Lucius Churchill 66 says she knows how to shop: She grips the handles attached to a large paper bag and walks or rides the bus to the store She shops for her grocery staples once a month by taking a bus to the downtown White Store on Gay Street or more often by walking to the Cas Walker Store at 1511 Western Ave just a block away from her home: Mrs Churchill 1631 University Ave was one of seven persons appointed today by Mayor Randy Tyree to new Food 1 Policy Council The council was formed to take steps to prevent a bus like the one Mrs Churchill rides from being routed away from the White Store in the future Councilman Hoyle McNeil was appointed chairman for a three-year term The local council was formed by the Knoxville-Knox County CAC Supply Project Metropolitan Planning Commission (MPC) and the City'S Department of Community and Economic Development to oversee the quality and quantity of (he inner-city food supply Food available in the inner dty is about 12 percent higher in price said CACs Dixie Petrey head of the Nutrition and Food Project which directs the growth of community gardens and food-buying clubs The initial aim will be not only to work with transit system operated by K-Trans but to also help incorporate a food policy outlook in MPCs long- range studies The council will support the development of shopping centers in the inner dty encourage new inner dty gardens and evaluate the impact of Federal cutbacks on food programs Others appointed by Tyree are Mary Nelle Traylor associate professor of community nutrition at UT appointed vice-chairman for a two-year-term Ruth Bletner MPC commissioner appointed to a two-year-term Douglas Coulter president at the Pay Cash Grocery Inc appointed to a three-year-term Ed McMillan member of Tennessee Retail Grocers Association board of directors and member of task force who helped draft the food policy plan appointed to a one-year-term Fred Pickett retired TVA personnel officer appointed to a two-year-term Lucius Churchill member of the CAC board of directors and president of the College Homes Tenants Organization appointed to a one-year-term aaate tea UlaAaal gHI By Councilman Hoyle McNeil left Talks With Scott Kirby at Wholesale Produce Co 2100 Forest Ave About Food Distribution v' 4 'i i 1.