Point News, 1989 December 12

              December 12,1989 The Point News Page 3
SMC Hoidav Formal
A Smashing Success
by Jennifer Garvey and Michael Berger
The luminaries glowed
softly, lighting up the path leading
to the door. The white columns
were wrapped in green holly. From
inside the building came the sounds
of laughter and music.
When the evening began,
it was apparent that this was more
than just another campus party.
The revelers, decked in silk and
satin, along with sportcoats and
ties, jammed the Daugherty-Palmer
Commons. The live band brought
the people flocking to the dance
floor, and the Holiday Formal was
in full swing.
This year's crowd was the
largest one to attend the Holiday
Formal in years. Many of the
organizers were quickly aware of
the problem this might cause. Their
fears were made real at around
11:30 pm, when the Commons was
filled to capacity, and many people
who had notreserved tickets ahead
of time were turned away at the
door. This did not create any great
turmoil, and the problem was dealt
with. Aside from this, the evening
went very smoothly.
In fact, very few com­plaints
were found at all. The
band played hard, and everyone
dancing approved. The platters
were more than adequate, even a
touch fancy - chocolate dipped
strawberries are perfect at any
formal affair. Clearly, good plan­ning
and organization were among
the keys to the success of the eve­ning.
Nonetheless, there were
a few complainers. Some people
were not satisfied with the affair,
complaining about the food or the
overcrowding, but this group is in
the minority. Most people could
be heard at the end of the evening
and the next day commenting on
the good time they had, and how
happy they were with the affair.
He Knows Who Has Been
Naughty or Nice...
If the rise in population at St. Mary's is any indication of the rise
in population of the world, then Santa Claus might need some help this
year. Keeping track of who has been naughty or nice can be a full-time
job. So, Santa hired more elves, The Point News staff, to compile a list
of who deserves a lump of coal in their stocking, and who deserves a
piece of gold. We found there are a variety of people and organizations
that deserve one or the other, (or both) for many different reasons.
Lumj) of Coal
Jerry Blair - For the MUMPS!
The Health Center - For taking too long to vaccinate all of us.
Wood Food Service - For always running out of food.
The Administration - For that banner across route 5.
The Point News - For not coming out until now.
The Library - For the temperature extremes.
Point News Movie Review Piece of Gold
” Gross Anatomy” Mixes Realism, Humor
by Holly Stewart and Sarah Newman
"Gross Anatomy" is not the B-grade
movie its title might sug­gest.
In the drama "Gross Anat­omy"
Matthew Modine stars as a
young man with a low-middle class
background who enters medical
school. The film tells of his fresh­man
year, and the trials he must
encounter in dealing with love,
difficult classes, and what it really
means to be a doctor.
The relationship of Modine's
lackadaisical character with his
hard-nosed professor brings out
the issue of science versus human­ity,
often encountered in the medi­cal
world. It also shows the almost
impossible standards a medical
students needs to be successful
and how damaging the pressure
can be.
The plot makes its point clear
and the drama is realistic. None of
the hard work (toward any con­quest)
is ever glossed over. Ro­mantics
at heart may find the love
relationship less than satisfying at
first, but by the end of the film
things are resolved well.
"Gross Anatomy" is able to make
you laugh and cry without being
overstated. The ending seems a
little too trite — can one person
really have it all? The lesson of
this movie is to be yourself, and
not forget others in the process.
Coming soon on vide­otape!
Look for it!
Sailing Club - For sponsoring a terrific Waterfront Weekend.
Wood Food Service - For better food, when there is any.
Sunil Punnoose, and David Jamieson - For helping the Point News
though many computer problems
U.S. News and World Report - For ranking St. Mary's as the number
one liberal arts college in the north.
Queen Anne Hall Council and B.S.U - For a fun Formal.
Judy Landau - For putting up with The Point News staff.
Lead Poisioning: A New Concern In St. Mary's County
Lead in our environment is a
public health issue about which
we should all be concerned.
Lead is a soft metal which is
now known to be harmful to hu­man
health if consumed or inhaled.
Since lead accumulates in the body,
its potential for harm depends upon
the level of exposure from all
sources.
Lead poisoning is primarily a
problem for young children. The
major source of lead exposure in
children is lead paint. Millions of
housing units in the country still
contain previously applied lead
paints. Lead contaminated solids
and dust have become important
contributors to block lead levels as
a result of leaded gasoline and
peeling lead paint. Lesser sources
include lead-contaminated food,
toys, newspapers, pottery, and
water.
To protect the public's health,
public drinking water supplies are
governed by the Safe Drinking
Water Act under which the United
States Environmental Protection
Agency sets drinking water stan­dards.
Although there is a high level
of compliance with drinking water
standards throughout the United
S tates, there is still reason for some
concern about certain contaminants
which may get into public drink­ing
water supplies, including lead.
The degree to which elevated
lead levels in water contribute to
blood lead levels in children is
uncertain and under study. How­ever,
it is desirable to reduce lead
in the environment wherever fea­sible.
As your supplier of drinking
water we have prepared this infor­mation
piece to help educate you
on this issue.
The United States Environ­mental
Protection Agency (EPA)
sets drinking water standards and
has determined that lead is a health
concern at certain levels of expo­sure.
There is currently a standard
of 0.05fo parts per million (ppm).
Based on new health information,
EPA is likely to lower this stan­dard
significantly.
Part of the purpose of this no­tice
is to inform you of the poten­tial
adverse health effects of lead.
This is being done even though
your water may not be in violation
of the current standard.
EPA and others are concerned
about lead in drinking water. Too
much lead in the human body can
cause serious damage to the brain,
kidneys, nervous system, and red
blood cells. The greatestrisk, even
with short-term exposure, is to
young children and pregnant
women.
Lead levels in your drinking
water are likely to be highest:
-if the water system has lead pipes,
or
-if the water system has copper
pipes in lead solder, and
-if the water system is less than
five years old, or
-if you have soft or acidic water, or
-if the water sits in pipes for sev­eral
hours, or
-if the water system has had major
plumbing work within the last five
years.
Typically, if lead is present in
the dunking water, it enters after
the water leaves the local water
treatment plant. The most likely
source for lead contamination is in
the home or residence. The most
common cause of lead entering
drinking water is corrosion, a re­action
between the water and the
lead pipes or the lead-based sol­der.
W
hen water stands in the pipes
of a residence for several hours
without use, there is potential for
lead to leach, or dissolve, into the
water if a lead source is present
Soft water (water that makes
soap suds easily) can be more
corrosive and, therefore, has higher
levels of dissolved lead. Some
home water treatment devices may
also make water more corrosive.
It was common practice in the
United States through the early
1900's to use lead pipes for interior
plumbing. Since the 1930's, cop­per
pipe has been used for residen­tial
plumbing. Until 1986, how­ever,
lead-based solder was used
widely to join copper pipes. Lead-free
solder and lead-free materials
are now required by federal law
for use in new household plumb­ing
for plumbing repairs.
Dissolved lead cannot be seen
in water. However, if there is
reason to believe that your drink-1
ing water has lead contamination |
because of the presence of soft
water, lead pipes, lead solder, and
other lead-based plumbing mate­rials,
there are ways to minimize
exposure.
One way is to "flush" each
cold-water faucet in a home when
water stands more than a few hours.
Flushing a cold-water faucet means
allowing the water to run until it
gets as cold as it will get before
each use. Normally this may take
up to two or three minutes. Keep
in mind that toilet and shower use
or doing laundry with cold water
will also move water through the
plumbing system, and this will
reduce the amount of time needed
to flush the cold water faucets to 5
to 30 seconds.
Another way is to avoid cook­ing
with or consuming water from
the hot water faucet. Hot water
dissolves lead more quickly than
cold water. Especially avoid us­ing
hot tap water for making baby
formula. If hot water is needed for
cooking or oral consumption, draw
water from the cold water tap and
heat it on the stove or in the micro­wave.
If plumbing repairs or other
plumbing work is done, make
certain that only lead-free solder
and other lead-free materials are
used. This is now a federal law.
Even if there is no obvious lead
source in your environment all
children under 6 years of age should
have a block lead test at least one
a year. Pregnant women with a
concern about lead in their envi­ronment
should also have a blood
lead test. Therefore, if there is
concern about elevated lead in your
drinking water, the most impor­tant
thing you can do is to have a
blood lead test. This can be ar­ranged
through your doctor or the
College Health Center.
For additional information,
please contact the U.S. EPA. The
U.S. EPA has a toll-free hotline
dedicated to this subject- 1-800-
426-4791 - and has also prepared a
booklet on this issue.
This information meets EPA's
lead public notice requirements
under Section 1417 of the Safe
Drinking Water Acts Amendments
of 1986.
As your local provider of wa­ter,
the following actions are being
taken to assure you of the highest
possible quality drinking water:
-The College's source water is
minimally corrosive before and after
treatment. (It dissolves lead slowly
when compared to corrosive wa­ter.)
-The College in its continuous water
treatments process adjust the PH
level and mineral content to de­liver
high quality drinking water
to you. (It dissolves lead slowly
when compared to corrosive wa­ter).
_The College constantly monitors
and tests the corrosivity level of
our water after treatment to assure
that you receive high quality wa­ter.
-The average level of lead found
in water delivered to you by the
College is .020 parts per million.
However, tap water may contain
higher levels of lead leached from
lead plumbing materials used in
your building.
-No lead or lead-based materials
will be sued in the College water
distribution system.
-The College has supplied its
employees with lead-free solder
and other plumbing repair materi­als.
The College has also notified
all plumbers, builders, contractors,
and others who work within the
College service area to use only
lead-free solder and materials.
-If you have any additional ques­tions
on this issue, please call x4287,
Monday through Friday between
8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Robert
Abell, Director of Maintenance will
be glad to assist you.