Burgstahler speaks to Ecology Action Club
Pollutants discussed at meeting
Albert Burgstahler, professor of chemistry at KU, spoke to the newly organized Ecology Action Club Tuesday in the Forum Room of the Kansas Union. His topic was "Some Hazards of Legalized Pollutants."
Burgstahler told the audience of 45 people that the 25,000 tons of coal used in production of electrical power annually caused 13 per cent of the country's air pollution problem. He said coal combustion accounted for 50 per cent of the sulphur dioxide released into the atmosphere.
"If the projection for future electrical power needs is realized, we will obviously have to find a better means of producing electricity." he said.
Burgstahler mentioned nuclear power as a possible alternative for producing electricity, but said the problems of radioactive waste disposal were increasing. The possibility of storage tank failure due to radioactive corrosion is estimated as a serious problem.
Fallout from nuclear explosions is also a problem, said Burgstahler. He said Iodine 131, a radioactive isotope which could cause thyroid malfunction in humans and animals, had been found in the milk of cows which grazed in areas receiving fallout from nuclear tests.
Burgstahler speculated that the increasing price of uranium in the quantities which would be needed to produce future power supplies would become prohibitive before the year 2000.
Increasing numbers of cases of chronic lead disease would undoubtedly result unless more precautions were taken in the
The Student Senate tonight will discuss problems concerning building of the proposed Wescoe Hall.
Rick Von Ende, Abilene, Tex. graduate student, said Monday that the Student Senate will probably recommend that the $7.50 increase in activity fees to pay for Wescoe Hall be tacked on to the new higher fee increase for next year.
"The $7.50 tack on should be made blatantly clear to the students that it is a building assessment," he said.
Chancellor Laurence E. Chalmers Jr., various University leaders, architects and representatives will be present at the meeting.
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Higher fee proposed to build hall
Albert Burgstahler
production and combustion of motor fuels, he said.
In the question-answer session following his speech, Burgstahler discussed the deficiencies of the "white bread diet" eaten by most Americans. He said too many minerals and vitamins are either lost or destroyed in the processing and canning of meats and vegetables.
"We have untold cases of borderline malnutrition in this country," he said. "People get the calories, but not the nutrients they need."
Using slides, charts and passages from books, Burgstahler illustrated his points as he presented them. He recommended several books to people interested in topics concerning pollution.
Burgstahler cited a study done in Illinois in which high fluoridation levels in soft water caused a greater percentage of Mongoloid births to young mothers.
Prof co-authors book
In speaking of artificial sweeteners, he said that though cyclamates have been taken off the market, saccharin still presented a problem. Burgstahler said one third gram of saccharin per day in the diet of an adult could impair digestion.
He said fluoridated water has been linked to such disorders as headaches, nausea, muscular aches, hypertension and gastrointestinal disorders. He also noted that in soft water areas, fluoride caused more harmful effects than in hard water areas. Other minerals, such as calcium, tend to counteract the adverse effects of fluoridated water, he said.
As an alternative to floridation for preventing tooth decay, Burgstahler recommended vitamin and mineral enriched diets for children and adults. He cited cases in which vitamin and mineral supplements had arrested tooth decay and improved physical and mental capabilities of children and adolescents in separate studies. He said the dental profession and the public were sadly uninformed as to the ill effects of fluoridation, which increased a person's intake of a cumulative poison.
Burgstahler recommended whole wheat bread and unrefined sugar as improvements in diets.
Some antibiotics used on livestock, Burgstahler said, have been shown to cause ill effects on humans. He said Britain had restricted the use of some antibiotics on livestock raised for consumption.
Edward T. Erazmus, associate professor of English, was coauthor of a reader designed to give foreigners a view of U.S. history and major issues in chronological order.
Erazmus, who is director of KU's English Center, prepared the anthology, "English as a Second Language," with Harry J. Cargas, professor at St. Louis University.
An avid opponent of fluoridated water, Burgstahler concluded his speech with a discussion of the proven harmful effects of fluori-
Lead poisoning, he said, might have contributed to the fall of the Roman empire. Burgstahler said lead deposits had been found in the bones of Roman patricians, who made greater use of lead-lined cookware and water pipes than did the plebian classes. Burgstahler said marked damage to bones had been found in the patricians' bones, all of which could be traced to lead ingestion.
dation.