European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 19, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Sunday february 19, 1989 the stars and stripes Page 7 assault weapons banned in Cleveland Cleveland a the City Council unanimously voted Friday to ban the Sale or Possession of assault weapons. It also approved the Purchase for police of 500pistols capable of firing up to 16 rounds without reloading. The ban on assault weapons will apply to several weapon types including semiautomatic rifles that hold clips of 20 or More rounds and certain semiautomatic shotguns and modified handguns Council members said. The Cleveland ordinance is similar to proposal sin California that Are being fought by the National Rifle association and other groups. There was no expressed Era opposition to the Cleveland gun ban proposal perhaps because the group was unaware of it Council members suggested. We have no obligation to inform the Era of what we Are going to do Council president George Forbes said. While they were watching California. We were passing an ordinance that is going to be very  under the new Law collectors of the weapons May keep them Only if the guns Are rendered inoperable. People found possessing any of these within City limit would be fined $1,000. After May 1, anyone caught with one of the High powered weapons would be subject to mandatory six month prison sentence. Police said they were being outgunned by drug criminals in asking for the 9mm pistols automatics that hold 14 to 16 rounds compared to the six round Capac Ity of their .38-caliber service revolvers. I am for the guns because the drug War is taking Over Pur neighbourhoods and we need to do something with it Council member Fannie Lewis said at Friday meeting. The 9mm weapons Are expected to Cost about $300each. The City will solicit bids before buying the guns which Are expected to be available to police this sum Mer. Scientists fear Ozone damage Over Arctic Washington a research ers believe the atmosphere Over the arc tic Region is primed for a very Large destruction of Ozone but a six week study did not uncover a vast Ozone Hole As had been found Over the South pole. Scientists who led the recently concluded International research Effort into Arctic Ozone depletion said there Are Clear chemical signs that significant Ozone destruction could occur Over the Arctic Region possibly within the next few weeks. However there is no Large Ozone Hole in the Arctic or. Robert Watson a National aeronautics and space administration scientist and one of the research project leaders told a new conference. A Canadian scientist recently suggested in a study that an Ozone Hole May be developing Over the Arctic be cause of atmospheric pollution. Watson said the latest research could not make that conclusion. But he and or. Adrian tuck another project scientist said the research Effort found Strong evidence of a abundance of chemically Active chlo Rine compounds and other condition sin the Arctic Region that Are key to the destruction of the Ozone layer. An International team of scientist began the research Effort in Early Jan uary and concluded it recently. Scientists Are concerned about the destruction of Ozone in the stratosphere because it provides a protective layer against ultraviolet rays of the Sun. Overexposure to such rays has Bee linked to skin cancer. Watson said it has been estimated that a 1 percent depletion of Ozone causes a 2 percent in crease in ultraviolet  primary cause of Ozone depletion is the release of chlorofluorocarbons of rfcs into the stratosphere. An inter #3 the Ozone layer normally this Ozone Rich layer in the stratosphere absorbs or reflects harmful ultraviolet rays from the Sun reaching the Earth rising gases slowed try the tropopause layer of cold air. It can take two years or gases to seep through to stratosphere rfcs that reach the Ozone layer Are exposed to the same ultraviolet rays and break Down releasing free chlorine which disrupt Ozone molecules break them up into molecular oxygen and deplete the Ozone layer. Stratosphere troposphere with less Ozone to absorb it. More of the Sun s ultraviolet rays reach the Earth rfcs from aerosols refrigerant to systems air co ditto log and plastics  Rise into the air. Gases Rise tort go the troposphere without breaking Down � most  troposphere National treaty has called for the reduction of rfcs used As a refrigerant and As a foam blowing agent by 50 percent Over the next decade be cause of its harm to the Ozone layer. The Arctic research Effort which involved scientists from the United states Britain and Norway began Jan. 1 from a base in Stavanger Norway. I included 28 flights Over the Arctic re Gion aboard an instrument Laden dc-8 and a High Altitude er-2 surveillance aircraft to gather data. The researchers focused on a Large vortex of Westerly winds Over the Arctic Region. They reported finding the stratosphere 12 or More mile above the Arctic highly perturbed be cause of chemical reactions including the presence of High Levels of Man made Ozone depleting chlorine oxide asses. Furthermore said the scientists the confirmed an abundance of High level Clouds formed by tiny particles of  so called Polar stratospheric Clouds intensify the chemical reaction that destroys Ozone because they pro vide a surface for chlorine molecules. The researchers said the six wee study found no direct evidence of Arctic Ozone loss but they concluded that considerable portion of the vortex air was primed for zone destruction and if the amount of sunlight increases Ozone could be destroyed at a significant rate possibly As much As 1 per cent a Day while the conditions exist. But they said the research provided no solid evidence As to How much Ozone destruction might occur Over the Arctic. Scientists previously have Esti mated that based on data collected from balloons about 6 percent of the Arctic Ozone May have been destroyed since 1970. The scientists said the degree of Actu Al Arctic Ozone destruction in the future will depend on a variety of factors including future weather conditions amount of sunlight and How Long the wind patterns remain in place. Nevertheless said tuck the Atmo sphere Over the Arctic is primed for a very Large destruction of Ozone Al though scientists do not foresee the de Gree of Ozone destruction Over the North pole As has been found Over the Antarctic. We re not dealing with a 50 percent Ozone loss situation Here said tuck a scientist for the National oceanic an atmospheric administration. Flights May be threatened by orbiting space debris Cape canaveral Fla. A the amount of Man made debris flying around in Earth orbit must be reduce because it could threaten manned and unmanned spacecraft a government re port said. The report said All agencies responsible for space projects particularly Nasa and the defense department have Bee told to minimize the creation of Orbital debris through tests experiments an better design of rockets and spacecraft. The study released last week sponsored by several government agencies cited the breakup of satellites and rocket bodies Ashe main source of the orbiting debris. A major problem it said is that therein limited knowledge about How Many tiny objects Are orbiting the Globe. The . Space come is tracking More than 7,000 pieces of space junk with about half of it left there by the United states an half by the soviet Union. The junk includes dead satellites rocket chunks 10 or 12 screws 1/8-Inch in diameter missing after a 1984 space shuttle Mission and a screwdriver dropped by a space walking astronaut aboard the soviet Mir space station. The space come Only tracks piece Down to a size of 10 centimetres or about 4 inches and the report said More precis information is needed on smaller chunks. The National aeronautics and space administration last month made a move to obtain such information when it asked Industry to invent by 1991 a radar Capa ble of detecting objects As Small As 1 Cen time Ter the equivalent of spotting a dime 360 Miles above the Earth. The space Agency wants this information to assess potential damage to the space station Freedom that it plans to assemble in orbit in the mid-1990s. Even the smallest pieces of Orbital debris pose a potential Hazard to the space station Nasa said. Exploding toilets close courthouse rest rooms Seattle a about two dozens toilets and urinals through out the King county courthouse exploded when they were flushed Friday after an air compressor was mistakenly connected to a waterline. We think we be lost about 20 to25 toilets building services Man Ager Bill Kemp said. The porcelains actually  instead of the usual swirl an gurgle of water geysers erupted every time the pressurized toilets were flushed in the 72-year-Oldbuilding, Kemp said. Officials eventually traced the problem to an erroneous compres Sor Hookup by a construction worker on a nearby $430 million bus Tunnel project. They started blowing at about11 30 . And it took us a while to figure it out Kemp said. We knew it had to be air in the system but the water department said that was  Kemp said there were no reports of injuries although several people apparently were soaked. After the incident All courthouse restrooms were closed for the Day and employees and others used Toi lets in the county administration building across the Street. Kemp said most courthouse Toi lets would be Back in operation sat urday. He said damage has not yet been determined