European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 14, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 4 the stars and stripes Dod disputes Gao study on 1946 nuke test danger Washington a the Pentagon said wednes  thousands of soldiers and sailors who look part in 1 Mai tests of atomic weapons were exposed Only to Low Levels of radiation. Thi assertion by the defense nuclear Agency to the Senate veterans affairs committee disputed a general accounting office report last week thai said As Many As i7.ik10 of the 42.000 military personnel Olio were part of the tests May have received More r diction than earlier believed. Flie radiation exposures were  air Force it. Gen. John i i kill. Director of inc Agency told the panel. Pic Iii s disagreement 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 Fisl . Atomic weapons test in 1945 and the 1963 treaty halting above ground tests there were 235 . Open air tests in Nevada and on Pacific Ocean is lands. Inc Pentagon generally contends that the men received Small amounts of radiation and should not be paid health benefits by inc veterans administration. A i9s4 defense nuclear Agency study of the two 1946 44 indicted by grand jury in drug Case Houston a a Federal grand jury has indic cd 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 Camarina Salazar a drug enforcement administration agent arid authorities say the drug ring and the Mexico killing May be related. This is probably one of the biggest Nar comics trafficking rings uncovered in this  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. To my people were arrested in the Case wednesday authorities said 21 from South Texas three from Houston one in new braunfels and one in Chicago. Mccase id hold meeting the indictment was returned live Days before . Attorney general Edwin a desc is scheduled to meet in san Anto Nio with attorney general Sergio Garcia Ramiro of Mexico to discuss snags in the mexican prosecution of the Man charged with the murder of Camarina 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 qui Nicro 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 inc 109 Page indictment. The racketeering and drug trafficking conspiracy began in 1980 and involved the distribution of marijuana and  a hypnotic sedative found in Quad tubes 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 pills. Profits from inc 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 Valo 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 bul 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 Nalion Al association of radiation survivors both criticized inc government s efforts at protecting the men who took Par in the tests. Fred Thompson an operation Crossroads Veteran Testi fied that declassified government documents  the ship on which he and other men were stationed during the lest 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 Mac aus get insurance , term. A he is Over weight he smokes and he is in what could be considered a a in Crous line of work since he lands on rooftops with just eight tiny Reindeer and a Sleigh. Could Santa Claus pm Wibly get insurance then i Shihe runner asked an Unic Riler from everything i be read or seen. Santa has an excellent safety record said Garroll. Bull local agent for Lulu Itabac life Assurance society of new York. Have you Ever seen anyone with More flying experience now conies Santa s weight. He obviously needs to lose a few pounds Ball said. While this May endear  to youngsters it would not help the Overall assessment of the Oid gent Lyman As an insurance  and then there s that pipe. Since it s not cigarettes i d try to help him get he Best possible rating Ball said. Everything considered he added i d go to Bat to get him the Best possible a i a inc company will approve. Apparently he has never filed a Chism with anyone in his life and his life expectancy is  a gun shop in Pasadena Calif., is destroyed by a fire that 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 Iha. Raged for three hours As Gunpowder and ii Sards of rounds of ammunition exploded. Firefighters found the the Etc bodies in the rubble that was still smolder re wednesday night. There was no imme talc word on what sparked the fire. The 3-Ycar-old daughter of the shop owner was critically burned but saved by the store manager who Arri cd her out the door just As the first of so Cral explosions racked the building. It blew the front of inc store Clear across the Street Aid Dan. Swetman the manager of a nearby appliance store who was unlocking his snor at the Lime of the first blast. Several explosions Folk wed hurling Glass and Burn a debris hundreds of feet As Clouds of Black smoke billowed into the air. Firefighters kept at Bay by exploding ammunition and the scaring heal look about three hours to douse the names. Fire officials said the Blaze apparently started in the basement gun repair shop of i Owler Sporl Center and quickly spread loan 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 Blasl Al the front of inc  los Angeles county fire department in Spector hat Bradshaw said Uherc were three major blasts and six lesser ones. The shop manager Brent Hanson 35 of ban Marino was taken to Arcadia methodist Hospital Wilh Burns on his face and hands a Hospital spokeswoman said. To ii Ilc 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 inc 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 employees arrived As the building burned. They said 100 pounds of Gunpowder was stored in a heavy Metal Case in the basement bul it was far removed from the electrical equipment used in the gun Smithing work. In inc store employees said were about s2 million Worth of antique guns fishing equipment and civil War Memorabilia