European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - January 5, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tuesday january 5,1988 the stars and stripes Page 3 crumpled in a Lake of Dewl Oil h a huge Lank thai Rol hissed and spilled 2 million Zalloni or fuel into Pennsylvania s motion Hohtu River. Oil spill threatens Pennsylvania water Supply Pittsburgh Al emergency Crews worked la contain a 207milc-Bnb Oil Ilick Insl has contaminated two of he City s three Norrs threatened the drinking water for 750.000 people and halted shipping along he about 7,000 or the approximately i million gallon of i Csc fad floating in the Monongahela River was recovered by Laic sunday officials said. More equipment was heading to the area monday to help Bill official 5 said he cleanup could take weeks. The fuel stretched it least 20 Miles from the Monongahela at West Elizabeth into the Ohio River near downtown Pittsburgh. The Rivers were moving Early monday at Only to 2 Mph the National weather service said. The cleanup was suspended sunday evening an was resumed monday morning said coast guard it. John Farthing. The spill occurred saturday night when a new 4 million gallon storage Lank collapsed at Ashland Oil co s Flora let terminal near West Elizabeth officials said. One million of the estimated 3,5 million Gallons in the tank flowed into the River the rest was contained near the Lank Farthing said. About 920.000 Gallons have been recovered from the Lank area. Traffic on the heavily used Monongahela was halted and adjacent rail lines and highways Weir temporarily closed. No communities downstream Tram the spill lost water service sunday official said. The Western Pennsylvania water co. Closed one of two Monongahela intakes to prevent the fuel from contaminating water supplies serv ing about 750,000 customers in Allegheny and washing ton counties the water Supply is Low we arc at a dangerously Low level but we were Able to make it through today Utility spokesman Greg Mck Lvcy Laid tale sunday. Now tomorrow morning May be another  Pittsburgh s water is from the Allegheny River and was unaffected. The Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers con verge near downtown Pittsburgh to form the Ohio River. Gov. Robert p. Casey placed the Pennsylvania nation Al guard on Alert to deliver emergency water supplies. Authorities Don t know what caused the collapse a damage estimate has not Cyl been set. On sunday Allegheny county s hazardous materials team private contractor the coast Guan and others helped stretch hons across inc Monongahela to dam the Oil As it floated on the water. Specialized pumper trucks skimmed the Oil from inc surface but downstream of the booms Greasy ribbons of Oil meandered on a j Mph cur rent into the Ohio. The company planned to bring in several Skimmer barges to recover Oil in areas inaccessible to workers Sun Day. Those areas made up most of the 20-mile stretch. Speed was Impo Nani because the fuel is slowly dissolving into the water making it More difficult to recover he said. Casey said he s invited the governors or Ohio West Virginia Kentucky. Indiana and Illinois and member of Pennsylvania s congressional delegation to join him in asking the Federal environmental Protection Agency for Aid a spokesman Tor the army corps of engineers said the cold weather should minimize the Impact on wild life. Most share Birds have gone South for the Winter and fish were no spawning said Michael Boryack a corps biologist. Waterfowl and ish kills arc expected however. Ii will be a month before they can assess inc damage to wildlife said Samuel e. Locker Nan a supervisor far the slate game commission. Particularly vulnerable arc surface reeding fish like the while Bass and Gizzard bad Boryack said. The Birds most in danger arc ducks that live near the Shore enticed there in Many cases by people who teed them through the Winter he said. Mass obstetricians quitting Over High insurance costs Boston a nearly one Firth of the obstetricians in Massachusetts who responded to a Survey have quit their practices since 195-1. A result of increasing malpractice insurance rates and a Ris ing number of lawsuits against them. We re in a society hat is in a much More litigious Frame of mind than a number of years ago said or. Gorran Purcell an obstetrician and chief of staff Antic University of Massachusetts medi Cal Center in Worcester. Parents of babies bom ii congenital abnormalities an suing doctors More and More fora perceived failure to make a diag Nosis in a timely fashion Purcell said. Although Urban sections of Massachusetts arc not sult Cring from a Lack of obstetricians mainly because of the ability of cities such As Boston and Worcester to it tract them because of a great number of universities and hospitals Rural areas Are sult Cring Purcell said. When one. Two or three obstetricians quit in big cities there s somebody there to Lake up the  he said. But in Rural areas my women will travel hundreds of Miles to have a  a questionnaire sent this fall by inc Massachusetts chapter of the american College of obstetricians and gynaecologists to the estimated 615 Fellows in the state was an swered by 428 doctors. Twelve of the respondents said they quit their obstetrics practices in 1984.2in 1985 and4sinl9h6. Many of those who quit their obstetric practices retained their gynaecological practices while other physicians simply retired altogether said Fenny Kut Lodge a staff at Torney with the Couert professional liability department in Washington. The Survey was contributed to a National study whose results will be released this month Rul Lodge said adding dial she was unsure whether Massachusetts numbers would correspond with National figures. But she said obstetricians throughout the nation have indicated they ate quitting their practices because of High malpractice insurance costs. A National Survey by the College in 1985 indicated Ihrck Quirt a of the nation s obstetricians had been sued at some time. The january Survey will probably have a comparable number Kut Lodge said Florida obstetricians lad summer pro tested increasing malpractice insurance rates by curtailing their services. Physicians there also showed their unwillingness to pay premiums by taking out advertisements proclaiming a disaster Day for the medical Community. Obstetricians in Broward and Dade counties in Florida who currently pay s193,000 a year for is million in malpractice coverage will pay inc nation s highest malpractice premiums in 1988, 1189,000 for i million of coverage. Massachusetts obstetricians who Hare an average net income ofs9s, 1100,000, pay 160,000 for Ujj million in coverage per Ccu said the Premium Price went up j2,tt� since 1984. Purcell said Massachusetts obstetrician were lobbying for passage of a no fault Mal practice insurance Law modelled after a Bill recently passed by the Virginia legislature the Bill provides for malpractice cases to be presented before an ethics Beard composed  who determine whether Plain tiffs will be compensated. Cases can be appealed id a physician licensing Board. The process compensates in a fair and efficient manner and involves a process of peer review thai preserves the Quality of Medicine Purdeu said