Ft Vol. LXXXIX, No. 20-S
FT h c g ednesdayvMay 30, 1979
L...
Ann Arbor, Michigan Ten Cents
DEFECTS FOUND IN ENGINE MOUNTS
FAA orders DC-10s grounded
WASHINGTON (AP) - The gover- ministrator of the FAA, said
nment ordered immediate grounding of decided not to ground the twi
" ; -..all 134 U.S.-registered DC-10 airplanes Airbuses because "there isn't st
yesterday after the discovery of "grave commonality" in the engine-
* and potentially dangerous deficien- design of the Airbus and the DC
cies" in the assembly holding the Bond said the trouble with the
planes' engines to the wings. involves more than the
The order takes out of service all mounting bolt that broke as the
planes similar to the wide-bodied American Airlines flight was ts
American Airlines jet that crashed Friday. After the bolt snapp
near Chicago on Friday, killing at least plane lost an engine, crashed a
273 people in the worst air disaster in ted in flames.
U.S. history. Bond said inspections carried
"I have no choice but to ground all ce Friday's crash have turned u
U.S. DC-10s immediately," Federal ts in the assemblies that h
Aviation Administration (FAA) head engines to the wings of an uns
Langhorne Bond announced at a news number of DC-10s owned by Un
conference. Northwest airlines.
THE GROUNDING order also had ON MONDAY, Bond had ord
applied to A-300 Airbuses, a European- spection of the bolts that help1
made wide-bodied jetliner. But two engines to the DC-10 wings and
hours after the FAA announcement, mechanics to visually inspect t
Charles Foster, deputy associate ad- See FAA, Page 2
. .
it was
n-engine
ufficient
-to-wing
-10.
e DC-10s
engine-
doomed
king off
ped, the
nd erup-
lout sin-
p defec-
old the
pecified
ited and
dered in-
hold the
ordered
he pylon
THESE TUBES and wires are part of the Phoenix Memorial Laboratory's nuclear
reactor on North Campus. Over the weekend, several ounces of slightly con-
taminated water spilled from the reactor. A Nuclear Regulatory Commission
representative is expected to investigate the incident, which University officials
called minor, within several weeks.
Oficials call contaminated
47 &
water spill at N. Campus
reactor a 'minor 'incident
Carter gives governors
emergency gas controls
WASHINGTON (AP) - President "fact sheet" specifying that the order
Carter said yesterday he has signed an allows governors to act in the absence
executive order giving the nation's of emergency powers granted by state
governors authority to help alleviate legislatures.
gasoline shortages this summer. "GOVERNORS WHO choose to exer-
At a nationally broadcast news con- cise the authority delegated to them
ference, the president said the order will be acting as federal officers, ad-
gives the governors authority to require ministering and enforcing federal
that some gasoline stations remain law," the White House said.
open on weekends, to set minimum The White House also listed 19 states
purchases to avoid topping off tanks, that have not already given their
and to institute an odd-even selling See CARTER, Pages
system to avoid long lines.
Carter, who also was called upon to
defend his frequent-travel by helicopter
in a time of gasoline shortage, said the
order would "simply make it more con-
venient for drivers to purchase
gasoline" but will not save fuel.
HE SAID CONTINUED "care, plan-
ning, and conservation" would be
necessary throughout the summer to
'avoid lines at gasoline pumps as well as
spot shortages.
The president said the nation could
expect a "mild increase" in the supply
of oil "which should help alleviate spot
shortages." But he cautioned that "at
best" the gasoline available would only
equal last summer's supply, even
though the demand has increased.
The White House later released a Carter
By JOHN SINKEVICS
withStaff Reports
A small amount of water containing
low levels of radiation was spilled out-
side the tank in which it was stored
during an experiment Saturday mor-
ning at the North Campus nuclear reac-
tor.
Phoenix Memorial Laboratory of-
ficials called the spillage a minor in-
cident, but an inspector from the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
(NRC) will be sent to the University to
verify details of the event within the
next several weeks.
ACCORDING TO Assistant Reactor
Manager Gary Cook, the spillage of
about two ounces of water, which
originated from an area near the reac-
tor's core, occurred during a Neutron
Damage experiment at approximately
5:35 a.m. Saturday, at the North Cam-
pus laboratory.
"The water apparently travelled up a
vent pipe and left a little puddle by the
edge of the pool (which contains the
core)," said Cook. "Water dripped
down on his (the operator, Edward Bir-
dsall) hands and onto the knee of his
Levis. He was contaminated, but it was
a minor thing and he took care of it
right away by washing his hands."
Reactor Manager Bob Burn said the
incident was not unusual and the level
of radiation in the water was far below
the NRC's official contamination stan-
dards.
"I WOULD say something like this
happens about once every six months or
so. We consider it contamination here
(because it is above the normal level of
radiation), but the NRC doesn't even
require us to report anything this
minor," said Burn. "Actually the water
in the pool is probably drinkable - it's
just very acidic."
The water contained Sodium 24
with a half-life of approximately 15
hours, and Burn said the material
would have decayed within one or two
days even if it had not been cleaned up.
Although Burn said the spillage was
removed by 9 a.m. Saturday, security
guards who regularly patrol the
building apparently thought the leak
was serious and did not make their
scheduled rounds.
Q--Iez" nkssTiXVI ., Io9
See RAD10AL 1 V b, r age
Bills to protect tenants may backfire
By ADRIENNE LYONS - " Landlords must return to tenants any interest accrued
As part of a new wave of tenants' rights legislation in the on security deposits. -
state legislature, four bills designed to protect the rights of " Landlords would be required to submit to prospective
tenants are currently under review by legislative commit- tenants a list of any health or safety hazards in an apartment.
tees. However, some observers say the legislation may ad- " Landlords must give tenants 24-hour notice before in-
versely affect rather than reinforce the rights of Michigan specting an apartment.
renters. * Tenants who belong to tenants' associations are
Jo Williams, off-campus housing advisor at the University protected from arbitrary eviction.
Housing Office, said one of the bills may harm tenants Some tenants' rights advocates said they are par-
because the increased costs which landlords incur in com- ticularly concerned about the security deposit bill.
plying with the proposed regulations will probably be passed "In principle the tenant should get the interest,"
on to tenants. Williams said. But, she predicted, "(Landlords) will say this
UNDER THE PROVISIONS of the four bills, which were will bring on administrative costs and this will be passed on
introduced within the past six months: ,, .,. SeeIRILLS, Page 2