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.