Word: toxicity
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Government officials acknowledge that the scientists have a point. Says Charles Elkins, director of the EPA's office of toxic substances: "I would agree that in many cases removal is the wrong thing to do. It is a mistake for people to overreact. But it is also a mistake to say that asbestos is not a problem." In some situations, he says, simply blocking off an area or coating the damaged material with chemical sealants may do the trick. But asbestos insulation should probably be routinely removed from pipes in hallways, for example, to prevent passing children from dislodging...
...folly of spending $300 billion a year on defense: "I think we can get by easily with a $75 billion military budget. These bombers and all of this stuff is an absolute waste of money and a joke." Or industrial pollution: "We get more information every day that toxic poisons are a greater threat to us than anyone ever thought. Intelligent people now know that we are really in trouble." Or East-West relations: "Gorbachev has probably moved more quickly than any person in the history of the world. Moving faster than Jesus Christ did. America is always lagging...
...Goodwill Games to foster better relations between the superpowers following two Olympic boycotts. TNT has aired such advocacy films as Nightbreaker, an antinuclear drama starring Martin Sheen, and Incident at Dark River, in which Mike Farrell (who produced the movie) plays a man whose daughter is killed by toxic waste dumped by a local factory. Currently in production is Captain Planet, a cartoon show for kids about a superhero who fights environmental villains. And Turner's new publishing unit has just created the Turner Tomorrow Awards, offering prizes of up to $500,000 for outstanding unpublished works of fiction that...
Malathion spraying, the agency argues, is a necessary supplement to "biotechnical control," which consists of releasing 140 million sterile male medflies weekly into infested areas to disrupt the insects' prodigious reproduction. Malathion, state officials insist, is the mildest available pesticide. Though the chemical is toxic to the skin and respiratory system in concentrated doses, officials say, it is quite harmless in the diluted (2.8 ounces per acre) form used in spraying...
...Securitate's more unusual duties was to provide down-to-the-skin security for Ceausescu. According to Pacepa, after hearing Cuba's Fidel Castro claim that the CIA had once tried to poison him by treating his shoes with a toxic substance, Ceausescu developed a phobia about becoming the victim of such a scheme and began wearing brand-new garments every day. At one time, says Pacepa, the Securitate kept a year's worth of suits, socks and shoes stored in a special warehouse; one of each, presumably after careful inspection, was delivered daily to Ceausescu's private quarters. Once...