The Michigan Daily - Friday, February 10, 1989 -- Page 5 Center to study toxic waste cleanup BY NOELLE SHADWICK Michigan will be one of five states to take a lead in cleaning up toxic wastes with the establishment of a toxic waste research center funded by the Environmental Protec- tion Agency. The EPA yesterday announced that five consortiums of schools will receive one million dollars to study the problem of cleaning up hazardous waste sites. One college in each consortium will co- ordinate the EPA funds. The University of Michigan, in addition to the New Jersey Institute of Technology, North Carolina State, Kansas State, and Stanford Univer- sity will receive EPA money. The University of Michigan will cU, wins $1 million grant from EPA coordinate the consortium that includes Michigan State and Howard University. Researchers will study and try to improve the ability of microorganisms living in the soil to break down toxic wastes. Many studies have shown that certain organisms can break down compounds re- lated to benzene, a cancer-causing solvent in gasoline, said Dr. Jerome Kukor, assis- tant research scientist in microbiology and immunology. But the process is slow, he said. "We're trying to find out ways we can make them proceed a little bit faster," he said. By genetically altering the bacteria, re- searchers think they can produce a bacteria that will decompose waste faster. The chemicals that researchers will stuay - part of a class of chemicals known as BTX - pose serious problems in Michi- gan because of their prevalence, said Gary Guenther, director of research and develop- ment for the Department of Natural Re- sources. The chemicals, found mostly in gasoline and paint, are toxic in air and water. Indi- viduals as well as gas stations and indus- tries are responsible for the hazardous spills, Guenther said. Researchers will test the microorgan- isms by using them to clean a toxic waste site to be determined, said Ron Olsen, di- rector of the University's Institute of Sci- ence and Technology. The use of biological means is a solu- tion to a problem only recently recognized, Olsen said. "This will be a permanent solution and (allow us) to treat old messes," he said. There is no question whether or not mi- crobes can break-down the substances, Kukor said. "The question now is can we make them work quickly enough." he said. There is precedence for using microbes to clean up waste, said Kukor, who referred to the cleaning of sewage systems. But the cleanup of toxic wastes is more difficult because researchers must make sure they do not produce a microbe that will produce more toxic substances, he said. An additional nine million dollars will come from the Department of Natural Re- sources, The National Institute of Envi- ronmental Health Sciences, and the Michi- gan Oil and Gas Association. The Dow Chemical Company funded preliminary research. Author speaks Soviet journal blasts Gorbachev's reform on Vietnam War BY DONNA IADIPAOLO AND ANNA SENKEVITCH Wallace Terry struggled for 17 years to have Bloods: An Oral History of the Vietnam War by Black Veterans, printed, because publishers told him he had tackled the two topics which Americans were unwilling to face: Vietnam and racism. Terry spoke of his experiences in Vietnam as a reporter for Time magazine last night to a crowd of 300 at East Quad's auditorium. "Nobody wants to hear about Vietnam," he said, referring to the early 1970s when he was told he could not put to print his 600- page manuscript. He added that the racism he re- vealed in his book contributed to its late publishing - the idea of "a Black man with a gun who knew how to use it." In the 1960s, Terry said, racism was something that both diseased the nation and heightened the atrocities of the war abroad. During the first two years of combat, 23 percent of those who fought front line combat were Black, he said. As a result, that combat zone became known as "Soulville," he added. "I suppose Uncle Sam was an equal opportunity employer during the time of the war," he said. In addition to being set up as the prime casualties, Terry said Black soldiers were also frequent victims of "Friendly Fire" - be- ing shot by your own troops. Cross burnings, racial slurs, and Confederate flags were common additions to their war experiences. Terry presented an alarming dimension to the war, one of dis- crimination based on the socio- economic background of those who fought in Vietnam. Wallace Terry, a former Time magazine writer who covered the Vietnam War, and author of Bloods, speaks in East Quad last night. MOSCOW (AP) - A "new class" of Communist Party and government bureaucrats is sabotag- ing President Mikhail Gorbachev's reforms, and the Soviet leadership is unable to combat it, a daring maga- zine article says. Direct criticism of Gorbachev's reform program has remained largely off limits, despite his policy of greater openness in society. But Sergei Andreyev's article in the Leningrad monthly Neva is one of the harshest and most detailed attacks yet on the communist system and Gorbachev's policies. The party general secretary - the post Gorbachev holds along with the presidency- remains "an inaccessible and exemplary figure" and his at- tempt to make the system demo- cratic still leaves the people politi- cally powerless, Andreyev, a biolo- gist and plant director, wrote. "All decisions of the upper pow- ers are carried out only to the extent that they are advantageous to the new class," Andreyev said in the 28- page essay in the January issue of the literary and political magazine. He said the new class is a "production and managerial appara- tus" of 14 million party bureaucrats, government ministers and managers. Gorbachev himself has launched a war on bureaucrats who interfere in day-to-day decisions about pro- duction and has tried to transfer some of their power to local officials and factory managers. He often blames bureaucrats for the slow pace of re- form. But Andreyev said Gorbachev hasn't gone far enough and that the model government of the people has been replaced by the "dictate of the new class." Andreyev's use of the term "new class" appeared to be a reference to Milovan Djilas' book "The New Class," which criticized the Com- munist system. "Fewer than 50 graduates at all the Ivy League schools combined died in Vietnam," said Terry, comparing that figure of 57 from a single inner-city high school. The wealthy white section of "our great nation" had the pull to keep their sons our of the line of combat, he said. Vice President Dan Quayle's service in the Na- tional Guard was also used by Terry in a semi-comical fashion as an example. While the author said he is pleased with the recent public in- terest in dissecting the Vietnam war, Terry was disturbed with the images of the war presented in such violence-glorifying films as Rambo, The Deer Hunter, and Platoon. Tuition Continued from Page 1 "This is going to be a very key year for higher education appropria- tions," Kittrie said. "The MCC has made great leaps forward in repre- senting students at a state level." Kittrie said MCC will work to- wards making sure students do not get the brunt of the traditional fin- ger-pointing game between the state and the University over appropria- tions. "The University is realizing that they can't look at tuition as their way out," Kittrie said. "MSA is asking administrators and regents not to increase tuition. Instead, they should consider making cuts in the budget in a responsible way which will not compromise quality." RC Continued from Page 1 University students have recently suffered from skyrocketing tuition increases - 25 percent in the last three years. In the past, University officials have asked for more funds from the state than they expect, then raise tuition to cover an increase in the University budget when the state gives a lesser amount. According to the University bud- get proposal, $33 million of the $51 million increase in the University budget is needed to maintain current activities. The additional $18 mil- lion of the increase will come from the overhead money gained from re- search projects. The University received a higher increase in state appropriations than most other state universities. Mich- igan State received a 3.3 percent increase, and Wayne State received a 3 percent increase. PASS IT AROUND! 0 000p000060oA ,A COUPON With this entire ad- FREE 12 oz. drink expires 2-16-89 COUPON 3 BRING IN THIS AD FOR. A GREAT MOVIE DEAL! (ONE TICKET PER COUPON) Cousins The Accidental Tourist i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i bxK zxx.00. Ri"""iililiii"K o re" 4Z 0 * GOv IaC' Ow JVOA 4 5Vey diately and that he will talk members of the RC before any concrete plans. to other making Eagle, who has been interim di- rector of the RC since last July, is also an RC professor and an associ- ate professor of Slavic languages and literatures in LSA. For the six years before he became interim director, Eagle was the director of the Pro- gram of Film and Video in LSA. 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