The Michigan'Daily
Vol, LXXXV, No. 67-S Ann Arbor, Michigan-Wednesday, August 20, 1975 Ten Cents Twelve Pages
Cause of respira tory
attacks traced to drug.
tested at 'U' lab
By DAVID WHITING
~. A federal medical official stated yesterday that a
- drug used to suppress breathing may be responsible for
6 the mysterious rise in the number of respiratory arrests
.s"*~ ~at the Veteran's Hospital here.
- - At the same time, hospital officials halted all non-
emergency surgery pending the results of the FBI in-
"'c~~.KY~& ::uzs7~>vestigation into the rise in attacks at the .hospital and
eight related deaths.
* Veteran's Administration Deputy Chief Medical Director Lam-
.} .r're4ce Foye s a i d yesterday,
\5-- "Our information suggeits that
- a g r o u p of neuro-muscular
y blecking agents called Pavulon
's and Tubocurare are the causi7
i tive agents in the respiratory
attacks."
.~... t~iiL~5. tuane Freier, the acting chief
p firmed reports yesterday thata
s~ti' ~, , thed tenie ae unita loca
lion where the drug is not nor-
m. atty kept.
IT WAS HIGH time to solve the problem as this crew member found out when he climbed the
mast to free a jammed spinnaker sail during the International Admirals Cup race at Cowes,
Ise of Wight, England.
LABOR DEPT. TO HOLD HEARINGS
Affirmati e action reviewed
By BILL TURQUE
The Department of Labor will open hearings
in Washington today to evaluate federal affirma-
tive action guidelines as they apply to American
colleges and universities. The review, the first
of its kind, could have a decisive effect on the
future of the University's hiring practices for
women and minorities.
"This is the first time since the guidelines have
been set that some of the people affected by them
will have a chance to change them," said Af-
firmative Action Program Director Nellie Varner.
VARNER refused to speculate on the final out-
come of the hearings, which some observers
claim will produce a shift in federal policy on
affirmative action from tighter to less stringent
regulations. She would say only that there are
"plenty of people both here and in Washington
who would like to see the guidelines weakened."
"You have people coming from all different
directions,' Varner continued. "Anytime you
have an opportunity to change a law, it can be
either strengthened or weakened."
In the myriad of federal laws covering affirma-
tive action and non-discrimination, the one most
relevant to colleges and universities is Executive
Order 11246, issued by President Johnson in 1961.
The order, expanded upon and enforced by the
labor department, requires that all institutions
receiving federal contracts worth over $50,000
have affirmative action programs. In 1972, the
department of Health, Education, -and Welfare
(HEW) issued a set of guidelines to aid in com-
pliance with the laws.
See LABOR, Page S
PRELIMINARY tests on the
IV medications indicate that
they were correct and free of
foreign d r u g contamination,
however, one doctor at the hos-
pital reported last night that a
paralyzing drug was apparently
found in one of the IV tubes.
Gary Calhoun, assistant chief-
of-staff at the hospital, said yes-
terday, "The only lead we have
is that it is something to do with
tV's (intravenous medications)."
The hospital is still awaiting
conclusive test results on IV
medication administered to pa-
tients who experienced respira-
tory attacks last Friday. The
University pharmacy laborator-
ies, who are doing the tests, had
a break-down in their sampling
machines and are still working
on those results.
DIRECTOR of University Hos-
pital Pharmacy Services Vin-
cent Bouchard stated that while
the test results are not final,
there has been an "absolute
zero" amount of drug contam-
ination found in the IV samples
thus far analyized. "My people
are working on this night and
day," he added, "and we expect
results in the next day or so."
However, the hospital's chief
of medicine, Dr. Ronald Bishop,
said an intravenous tube taken
from one of the victims showed
possible traces of a drug used
to induce paralysis.
Until last Friday, when the
hospital experienced three res-
piratory attacks within a period
of 20 minutes, breath supress-
ing drugs were not classified as
narcotics and therefore not lock-
ed up. These drugs are now be-
hind padlocked doors.
See RESPIRATORY, Page 9
Foye
Trade union
protested
in Portugal
LISBON, Portugal (A)-Rock-
hurling demonstrators laid
siege to the headquarters of the
Communist trade union federa-
tion for two hours last night
after a token general strike fiz-
zled out.
The Communist party post-
poned a rally in strife-torn
northern Portugal and the pro-
Communist commander of the
northern military region was
"temporarily" replaced by the
ruling military junta.
REMOVAL OF Brig. Gen.
Eurico from the northern com-
mand was seen as a further
erosion of the position of the
Communist - backed premier,
Gen. Vasco Goncalves-
The Communist union feder-
ation, Intersindical, called a 30-
minute general strike against
"escalating Fascist reaction"
but it had little effect in Lis-
bon and was ignored in the
north.
See PORTUGUESE, Page 7
The party's
over. folks
August is the time for vacations; Congress, the Michigan
legislature, President Ford and Ann Arbor's other morning
daily have all flown the coop to varying degrees. The Daily
will follow suit, but beginning Sept. 4 we'll be able to say:
"Good morning, Michigan" again. For Fall and Winter term
subscriptions, call 764-0558 starting Sept. 2.