Concord Monitor from Concord, New Hampshire • 8

CONCORD MONITOR Ttwsdav February MWW Study Says Oils Can Damage Condoms ff 44200 26M ('? 10JM 5150 23415 10326 25300 6000 'iVv J- fr fa fauwp Atk( frory fnc Of Ate fdtC fivf I n-l jTJfipWes 7 Icdutum Ct4 22000 ht 6J fU7f 41 A 3000 ff 0 5J50IC0 0 270 tf 3 5543 5J 7 25300 100 0 6000 10' fi 1164 -3500 $4 1 3700 40 2 Mure in the presence of oil-based lubricants is the latest development in research that 1 as recently shown that such products can be responsible to the breakdown of latex rubber in condoms during intercourse Condom failure caused by lubricant damage experts have warned within the last year can expose people to high risks of infection with sexually transmitted diseases VoeUer said that latex condoms exposed to oil-based lubricants suffer "very very rapid Some studies show that the majority of sexual encounters last an average of about two minutes the breakdown of condoms is so quick that failure can occur even in such a brief moment of intimacy The research was based on studies of condom users who had experienced frequent breakage of prophylactics as well as on laboratory teats in which condoms were coated with a variety of lubricants and inflated with nitrogen to test pressures at which they would burst VoeUer said that the study confirmed that aU products that contain mineral oU including baby oil and regular Vaseline petroleum jelly are equally harmftiL But the study VoeUer said also found that vegetable-based cooking oils including Mazzola and Wesson oils as well as ofive oil safflower oil Crisco butter and even extra virgin olive oil are just as dangerous Intensive Care lotion was used by 61 percent of the respondents Baby oil was chosen by more than hen of the men in a similar British stuchr Of 29 men questioned extensively lor the new VoeUer siud 23 said that they relied on Vaseline Nivea or Johnson A baby oU not knowing that aU three productaquickfy cause doma to break down Safe lubricants VoeUer uid indude water-based preparations such as KY Jelly well generic contraceptive gels that contain the spermicide nonoxynoi-9 The mistaken impressions about lubricants VoeUer saidL an facilitated by the ease with which many oil-based products can be washed from the skin with soap and water A report of the new re-' search is in the current issue Of the journal Contraception of such oils poses clear danger to those employing condoms for contraception or the prevention of sexually-transmitted diseases including the researchers said This observation is of importance because of the increasing emphasis placed upon (the use of contraceptive gels as lubricants capable of lighting AIDS in AIDS prevention recommendations such those of (Surgeon General Everett Koop)" The observation about the quickness of condom By ALLAN PARACHIM Los Angeles Times LOS ANGELES A wide range of lubricants commonly used in conjunction with condoms including Wesson oil Nivea hand cream Vaseline Intensive Care lotion and baby oil can cause the contraceptives to break within 60 seconds after they are applied a new study has found And one of the principal investigators in the Los Angeles-based research contends that packaging directions to dosens of products ignwe the potential damage that can be done to condoms or dismiss it in vaguely worded precautions The missing or misleading package warnings asserted Bruce VoeUer president of the Mariposa Foundation sex research organization may lead people to rely on lubricants that can cause nearly Immediate condom failure even though users mistakenly believe that the lubricants in question are wateroased and therefore safe The result said VoeUer and University of California Los Angeles researcher Ann Coulson is that as shown in various studies SO percent to more than 90 percent of condom users may be relying On lubricants that will cause condom Mure leu than one minute after application A survey of nearly U00 men to instance found that Vaseline 1200 3300 KOtdrJfofisj Ce-Guv rfvp II 6575 Met futfate 4 1 340 Other Cetepnrr 35250 Rnedicait 630 Library ibefo 43100 Smewt 3(30 $60723 $262377 43 0 '3300 tOC WJP Or? 5 I5CC0 11300 3000 UNO 8620 200 1 Soule goes over the budget cuts proposed by the school board FRANKLIN- Continued From Page A-l Continued From Page A-l The school Installed a carbon filter to reduce radon to safe levels according to Bill Zeller the principal "For several weeks we tested the water and it had cut the radon to practically Zeller aaid Air tests also showed safe levels he said Zeller said the school is now considering Installing a machine similar to the kind Johnson installed in his home That's because some experts worry that carbon filter systems can become radioactive over time That can ipose a disposal problem The other way to remove radon from water is through an aeration rm like the one Johnson bought machine forces air through the water which strips the radon from it The harmful gas la then vented out of the house usually above the roof Johnson said the Merrimack company that manufactures the machine has guaranteed it will reduce his radon revels by more than 99 percent Johnson said he had his water tested since the machine was installed Zeller said he hopes the school has such a system in place this summer would much rather go with the later he said be enough money in the new appropriation son can be included" Neither the Environmental Protection Agency nor the state has set minimum standards for radon in water However according to the bro- chure You Wanted to VIEWS- Continued From Page A-l night of reaction now time to put away the toys and sit down stop the name calling and solve this thing like the adults supposed to be' Back on the front burner is the issue of the 65 million middle school that was approved by dtY council last year and to open the fall Some councilors want to keep the school dosed to try to save money and avoid some budget cuts School supporters like POuliot remain committed to opening the new school "Obviousty I thought the people here tonight were more in favor of opening the middle school as he said say it was about 65 percent in favor (of the middle Cross who was elected to the board last year as a supporter of the local tax revolt organization attended the same meeting but heard a different message think people were telling us to look at options They were saving we looked at anything but the cuts we made end they were she said Cross said the board ought to look at what programs could be restored fay keeping the middle eehool closed until the city can afford to staff it and maintain it think the board has i choice any she said "The peo-jjkujbviousfy want that angle looked LaPlante aaid he dearly heard the people of Franklin speaking and what they are saying is: Don't tax us out of the city The kids have been brainwashed to believe (the budget cuts) are the dirty work of the city council I don't believe he said isy we shut it (the school) down until we need Although Sharon said he could support keeping the middle school dosed if it helped bring back kindergarten and snorts this morning he struck a conciliatory pose with an emphasis on compromise The whole thing comes back to affordability and quality he said "Sacrificing kindergarten and sports to aave 6150000 in anyone's best interest Those items have got to go back into the school system I'm not hearing from anybody that the school board should get everything asking Another hearing on the school budget will be held next month Three days ago Ted Johnson installed a $2900 machine to remove the radon from his water 1 a rule of thumb is that about 10000 picoCuries per liter in water convert to about 1 ucoCurie per liter tn air The levels are based on average-exposure over 79 yean Because the health threat from ra- pecuge ncsiui uireai nvrm re- Johnson also figures that hiving the machine will alleviate potential fears among homebuyers if ho ever decides to sell the house Some of Johnson's neighbors are struggling with the problem of Brenda EUas chairwoman of the Franklin TUmarars Association could cheer only for the city council She blamed the school board to toeing difficult decisions of you are going to have to move because your parent aren't going to be able to absorb (the increasing cost of she told students in the crowd are the ones that want to cut your she aaid pointing to the school board "You should be putting the heat on them This is a simple case of Alex Lachiatto attended the meeting planning to speak Afterward he said he had about five versions of his speech reedy but sure which one he would choose until he leaned into the microphone Swept up in the moment he chose the emotional one dbr of FrankUn is oft Lachiatto shouted at the council and school board members arms in motion it's up to you to give us what we damn well the rest of his sentence was smothered by the Idudest in a night hill of loud ovations His frustration mirrored that of moat people who want to lose the school programs but are also tired of rising tax rates The school board while trying to defend the cuts it has proposed also got criticized to not considering Keeping the middle school dosed Councilor Gerald Audet get an answer when he asked how much it will cost to open the middle school School Superintendent Foul FUlion said the amount had not been figured out because the school board is committed to opening the middle school you really feel that was a question that wasn't going to be asked this evening?" Audet said it possible to see a budget based as if the middle school was School board Chairwoman Jane Soule responded don't think the community built a school to make like It she said Councilor Kenneth Larrivee aaid he has estimated that keeping the school doted would save about 6650000 He aaid the school board budget contains about 6400000 to new equipment and furniture for the middle school and 6250000 in new teaching positions That would be more than enough to below the budget cep without jeopardizing any of the programs or positions the school board cut "We (city council) are not the bad he said They (school board) are the ones whoVe cut your sports end But after the meeting school board member Randy Perkins refuted numbers He said the estimate of the cost of furniture and equipment the middle school was too high And he said the money for new staff was whittled to just three jobs less than estimate The city council approved 666 million bond last year to build the middle school and add on to the two elementary schools The first payments on the bond 6542000 are due this year While high school students con- Know Abdul Radon But Were Afraid aisosi don cpmea when It enters the air radon IIUOHSlIvU IHr II1V Mllvlre bIsIa ILbS also Ask" published by the Department officials recommend that smell it or taste it" she said It was something you could taste we would have reacted more Like the Johnsons Foster said she and her husband are concerned about the effects of radon bn their two children "We have been told fay the people who test air that younger people are more susceptible" she aaid And then there is the question of what effect radon might have on the value of their house we were going to sell the house in the next few months we would probabty put in the system she said In the meantime she said she and her husband win continue to weigh their options are the type who want to consider it a while and talk to more people" she said overreact to anything My immediate neighbor said she is going to wait to see what we are going to of Public Health the state recomf mends taking action to reduce radon when the levels reach 20000 to 25000 picoCuries per liter And state officials expect the EPA to set standards to public drinking supplies next foil somewhere between 500 and 2000 picoCuries per liter PicoCuries measure radiation Although the EPA standards would not apply to private wells state officials say If the levels were lowered to 500 the majority of private wells in the state would not meet the standards For radon in the air the EPA recommends that homeowners take action when the levels average 4 picoCuries or more State officials say state home-owners test to airborne levels before testing their water The radon in Johnson's wefi measured about 325000 picoCuries per liter The airborne levels were 7 picoCuries "Everyone said we had a problem" he recalled no one was people said you should move out of the he said Others he said told him the health risks were great only If spread over a lifetime In the end Johnson said he end his wife decided to install the machine because of their two children didn't want to take a Johnson said is too up in the Debra and David Foster said they considered testing their water until they got a call from the town Their water also tested high but it was about a third the level found in Johnson's water The amount of radon in the air wss about half the level at which the EPA says homeowners should be concerned Defare Foster said the man who sold them their house lived to be 92 but moot of his life he used a shallow well Now the Fosters get their water from a 400-foot-deep well sunk into the bedrock Still Foster said she end her husband are taking their time deciding what to da it is because you TRANSPLANT- Continued From Page A-l who have problems with drink is that these pledges get broken much too easily But some Republicans uid Tower's jugii visibility promise before a television audii nee of millions would not be broken Touv a mnn his word" ducted a sign -carrying demonstration outside the school before the meeting began inside their participation was limited Four students one from each class spoke Sophomore Danielle Beales said the board's proposed cuts of athletics dubs and busing would promote tardiness and truancy She said the cuts would moke it difficult to a student to build the kind of credentials colleges look to when accepting candidates shatter the pride we have worked so hard to build in our she said TOWER Continued From Page A-l serve secretary of defense But Sen Bob Graham of Florida uid that Tower's problems go beyond his drinking habits a pattern of bad judgment -bad judgment in the 1970s in drinking bad judgment by placing himself in compromising positions as the US arms negotiator in Geneva in the mid-Ms bad judgment in accepting large sums from the defense industry in the late Graham uid Sen Donald Ricgle a Michigan Democrat uid Tower mack representations in the Armed Services Committee of not using alcohol in certain time periods and that turned out not to oe The fact he needed to make that pledge was a double-edged uid Sen James Exon a Nebraska Democrat who uid that recently two weeks ago the White House and Tower did not acknowledge Tower ever had a drinking problem "Yet on Sunday hi a move to allay fears John made that Exon said seems to me it might be interpreted meaning he wants this job too like marrying someone who says Trust me I'll said Sen Paul Simon an Illinois Democrat experience with people Patricia Fostier a cialist in the Medicaid uid her office hu long sought money to cover transplants only to get the cold shoulder from the Legislature If the state paid for the transplants from its existing budget Fostier uid the costly operations would eat up the money available for other critical services In the past administrators have estimated it would cost 6750000 and an equal amount of federal matching money to pay to six or seven transplants she said Fostier uid some transplant patients have received aid under other state programs such the vocational rehabilitation hind In Annese's caw she uid the office is trying to find private money to help pay to the operation State welfare officials meanwhile have proposed clarifying the state's Medicaid rules to cover cornea transplants Patients needing other types of transplants would have to seek free care or pay to the operations themselves Meanwhile a lawyer seeking money to Annese's transplant said he will take the state or city to federal court to try to get the money wiU look into every pocket to see that we can kern this kid said Bon Eskin of New Hampshire Legal Assistance changes in transplant rules told the Globe that New Hampshire is becoming land of the naves and talks about New Hampshire's quality of life and how good the economy and how much people want to live she said they forget to add that if you are poor ana sick or handicapped you may have nowhere else to turn" Gregg uid news accounts have distorted the Annese case by suggesting the family must raise the full 6150000 for the transplant and hospital costa He said the state is already committed to paying about 6100000 in hospitalization costs that accompany a bone marrow transplant But the Globe reporter covering the story Bartmresi and a lawyer threatening to sue the state for the money all said today that they were told repeatedly by state officials including Gregg's press secretary Brian Grip that Medicaid would not cover the hospitalization Gregg would not specify how much of his contingency fond he plans to offer to the operation hull but suggested it could be half or more of the 650000 The Executive Council would have to approve the payment Pay Phone Companies Ordered To Post Rates John I in i ii But would ici' f' -1' fringe any vnu-s? "It may it wont affect aty" uid Rcpublicm Son TTctl nf Mississippi may he fvt one It may be that one 'i iK difference" The Demorratic-controllcd Senate Armed Services Committee voted 11-9 along party lines last Thursday to recommend the full Senate reject the nomination Democrats hold a 55-45 majority in the Senate Tower must pick up at least five Democrats and hold all Republicans to assure confirmation A 50-50 split would mean Vice President Dan Quayle would break the tie and make Tower secretary of defense fay a single vote Snles Of Homes Decrease In January WNHT- Bill Boynton also was canceled Pulera said there are no plana to cancel rightly news broadcasts at 6 pm and 11 pm or the weekend callers with that long-distance company Businesses that use the alter native operator services for their py phones get a commission from each cidl Gerald Brock chief of the FCCs common carrier bureau said the FCC had ordered the companies to: Provide information on or near the telephone that an operator call will go through a certain company and indicate how to contact that company to rate information oMake their operators identity what company they are with and then give callers an opportunity to hang up without any charge Refrain from call blocking fat which a hotel to example will place aU Its long-distance calls through a particular operator Brock uid an industry panel also win be asked how to solve the problem of in which an alternative operator unices provider uses an operator in Los Angeles for example to handle a can from Denver to New York If the caller decides not to use that operator the operator wiU hand off the caU to another longdistance operator in Los Angeles and the caller wiU get a biU fori call from Los Angeles to New York instead of Denver to New York WASHINGTON (AP) Long-distance telephone callers in airports hospitals hotels and other public places will be getting more information on whose service using and how much it will cost but no price break The Federal Communications Commission yesterday ordered five companies that provide so-called alternative operator service to provide more consumer information The FCC also told those companies they must not block callers from using other long distance carriers However the FCC decided not to regulate alternative operator service rates which have caused numerous complaints from those making collect or credit card calls who sometimes get a big surprise when they later receive their bills at home The FCC action was in response to a complaint filed fay two consumer groups Telecommunications Research and Action Center and Consumer Action against Central Corp International Telecharge Inc National Telephone Services Inc Payline Systems Inc and Telesphere Network Inc Providers of alternative operator services typically lease lines from a long-distance carrier and then provide their own operators to connect home sold in January rose 32 percent from the December level to 691200 John TucciUa chief economist to the Real tore said the rise in prices would have been even larger if it had not been to an increase in sales volume at the low-end of the price range buyers altered their choices due to rising mortgage rates TheJanuaiy sales decline had been expected WASHINGTON CAP) Sales of existing homes fell 74 percent in January after a sharp jump in activity in December The National Association of Realtors uid today that existing singlefamily homes were sold at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3 63 million units in January alter a 57 percent rise in December The decline in sales did not dampen prices The median price of a Continued From Page A-l Uie station from meeting projected sales and ratings The station lost viewers because it was late in meeting its March deadline to air its news broadcuta nffera laid It lost revenue because it foiled to set up a national sales department until August he uid started reevaluating our operations in December but we didn't make our final decisions until this week" he uid "We're pulling back in one area to concentrate on more vital aspects of the busineu In addition to the half-hour noon show the station has canceled the five-minute local news briefs it aired in the morning at 7:25 and 825 Capital Commentary a Sunday morning talk-show hosted by reporter Among the workers fired yesterday were three reporters Chuck Bktzer A Carr and Jennifer Crompton and the weekend meteorologist William Hovey Last night Blitzer 30 said be was called into the office at about 2:30 and told that he had lost his 611000-a-year job to "financial He aaid he was given a severance pay had a feeling this might he said been rumbi-mgx about the changes ever since December" Blitzer uid he had been told IS people had lost their joba sacoiao O0N Concord Democrat! Mooting Wed March 1st 7:00 pm Hancock Home 33 Washington St ALL Invited.