European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 13, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 4 the stars and stripes Friday december 13, 1985 Dod disputes Gao study on 1946 nuke test danger Washington a the Pentagon  wednes Day Thi Iii kinds of soldiers and sailors who us part in l 4  i atomic weapons were exposed Only to Low ice Lunf radiation ii assertion by tile defense nuclear Agency to the Senate Veteran affairs committee disputed a general  office report last week that said As Many As  of the 4.000 military personnel who were part of the . May  received More radiation than earlier believed. The radiation exposures were  air Force . Gen. John i Pickitt. Director of the Agency told the panel. Pickitt s i agreement with the report by the congressional watchdog Agency was the latest round in the Long running dispute Over the health risks posed by radiation exposure of a group of military personnel known As the atomic  Between the first . Atomic weapons test in 1945 and the l%3 treaty halting above ground tests there were 235 . Open air tests in Nevada and on Pacific Ocean is lands. The Pinta gun generally contends that the men received Small amounts of radiation and should not be paid health benefits by the veterans administration. A i9k4 defense nuclear Agency study of the two 1946 44 indicted by grand jury in drug Case Houston a a Federal grand jury has indicted 44 people a Bank and two companies for their alleged roles in what authorities Call one of the nation s largest narcotics and Money laundering rings. Two of those indicted Are uncles of a Man accused in the torture slaying last March of Enrique Camarena Sala a a drug enforcement administration agent and authorities say the drug ring and the Mexico killing May be related. This is probably one of the biggest narcotics trafficking rings uncovered in this country Henry Oncken. Assistant . At Torney in Houston said wednesday. If it s not the biggest one it Ain t far from  the indictments returned monday in san Antonio and unsealed wednesday resulted from a two year probe by the Houston based Federal organized crime drug enforcement task Force created in 1983 to uncover major narcotics rings. Twenty six people were arrested in the Case wednesday authorities said 21 from South Texas three from Houston one in new braunfels and one in Chicago. Mcnese to hold meeting the indictment was returned five Days before . Attorney general Edwin Mccase is scheduled to meet in san Anto Nio with attorney general Sergio Garcia Ramirez of Mexico to discuss snags in the mexican prosecution of the Man charged with the murder of Camarena in Mexico. The accused Man Rafael Caro Quintero awaits prosecution in Mexico City. The first two of 44 individuals named in the indict ment Juan Jose Quintero Payan and Emilio Quintero Payan Are his uncles. Members of the alleged drug ring de Vised a scheme to use about 40 Banks in Texas. California new York and the Cayman islands to launder millions of Dol Lars in drug profits according to the 109 Page indictment. The racketeering and drug trafficking conspiracy began in 1980 and involved the distribution of marijuana and  a hypnotic sedative found in qua Alucs imported from Mexico prosecutors allege. Authorities say the ring imported More than a Quarter million pounds of marijuana into the United states and the indict ments cited one shipment that contained 100,000 methaqualone  from the ring were invested in real estate air planes Gold jewelry and a Mari Juana processing Plant authorities said. Tests known As operation Crossroads at Bikini atoll was used by the a to refute claims filed by about 500 soldiers and sailors who were involved in the tests. The Gao disputed those conclusions contending about 41 percent of the men May have received More radiation than the nuclear Agency said. The Gao study said the film badges worn by some of the participants in operation Crossroads May have been unreliable and could have Given false readings but picket said his Agency was satisfied that the badges gave generally accurate readings. Veterans groups urged the committee to support legis lation granting benefits to participants in the tests. The National association of atomic veterans and the nation Al association of radiation survivors both criticized the government s efforts at protecting the men who took part in the tests. Fred Thompson an operation Crossroads Veteran Testi fied that declassified government documents show the ship on which he and other men were stationed during the test was contaminated along with the drinking water aboard. Or. David Bradley a medical officer during the opera Tion said the test series was ended because Many of the 80 ships in Bikini s Lagoon were contaminated. Could or. Caus get insurance Nashville Tenn. A he is Over weight. He smokes and he is in what could be considered 3 dangerous line of work since he lands on rooftops with just eight Liny Reindeer and a Sleigh. Could Santa Claus possibly gel insurance the Nashville Banner asked an underwriter. From everything i be read or seen. Santa has an excellent safety record said Garrett e. Ball. Local agent for equitable life Assurance society of new York. Have you Ever seen anyone with More flying experience now comes Santa s weight. He obviously needs to lose a few pounds Ball said. While this May endear Santa to youngsters it would not help the Overall assessment of the old gentleman As an insurance  and then there s thai pipe. Since it s not cigarettes i d try to help him get the Best possible rating Ball said. Everything considered he added i d go to Bat to get him the Best possible rate the company will approve. Apparently he has never filed a claim with anyone in his life and his life expectancy is  a gun shop in Pasadena Calif., is destroyed by a fire thai raged for three hours As Gunpowder and ammunition exploded. At least 3 die in California gun shop Blaze Pasadena Calif. Up three bodies were recovered and a fourth was being sought thursday in the ruins of a gun shop destroyed by a Blaze that raged for three hours As Gunpowder and thousands of rounds of ammunition exploded. Firefighters found the three bodies in the rubble that was still soldering wednesday night. There was no immediate word on what sparked the fire. The 3-year-old daughter of the shop owner was critically burned but saved by the store manager who carried her out the door just As the first of several explosions racked the building. It blew the front of the store Clear across the Street said Dan Swetman the manager of a nearby appliance store who was unlocking his door at the time of the first blast. Several explosions followed hurling Glass and burning debris hundreds of feet As Clouds of Black smoke billowed into the air. Firefighters kept at Bay by exploding ammunition and the scaring heal took about three hours to douse the flames. Fire officials said the Blaze apparently started in the basement gun repair shop of Fowler sport Center and quickly spread to an ammunition storeroom. There was a tremendous explosion. The whole front of the store was a Ball of fire Swetman said. What gave me the chills was the intensity of the blast at the front of the  los Angeles county fire department in Spector pal Bradshaw said there were three major blasts and six lesser ones. The shop manager Brent Hanson 35 of an Marino was taken to Arcadia methodist Hospital with Burns on his face and hands a Hospital spokeswoman said Little Crystal Fowler had second and third degree Burns Over 35 percent of her body. Hanson told relatives he was working on the main floor when he saw smoke Drifting up from the basement where owner and Gunsmith Mike Fowler was working. He said he ran downstairs and tried to help put out the Blaze with a fire extinguisher. When that failed he ran upstairs apparently for another extinguisher. Crys Tal s grandmother handed him the girl and he headed out the front door. Within seconds the building blew up. Several employee. Arrived As the building burned. They said 100 pounds of Gunpowder was stored in a heavy Metal Case in the basement but it was far removed from the electrical equipment used in the gun Smithing work. In the store employees said were about 52 million Worth of antique guns fishing equipment and civil War Memorabilia