European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 7, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 b the stars and stripes wednesday August 7, 1991 measure would Register gis exposed to Kuwait fumes by Chuck Vinch Washington Bureau Washington a the defense department would set up a registry of All service members exposed to noxious fumes from Oil Well fires in Kuwait under a measure approved last week by the Senate. The proposal is meant to head off a repeat of the tangled Legal situations involving Vietnam veterans who were exposed to the defoliant agent Orange As Well As service members exposed to radiation from atomic. Bomb test blasts in the 1940s and 1950s. The registry would enable the Pentagon to keep track of who was exposed to the Oil Well fumes and for How Long in the event that service members develop future health problems. The proposal was offered As an amendment to the Senate a version of the fiscal 1992 defense authorization Bill by sen. Herbert h. Kohl a wis. The amendment was approved by voice vote. The House version of the Bill does not address the Issue but an aide to Kohl said the senator anticipates House lawmakers will agree to it when negotiators from the two Chambers meet in september to reconcile differences in their respective Bills. A this amendment will make sure that if problems do develop we will know about them a Kohl said. A and if problems do develop our veterans will not need to fight the Long and controversial Battles that have characterized the agent Orange and atomic veterans  agent Orange was sprayed extensively to defoliate Jungle areas during the Vietnam War and expose Viet Cong hiding places. Many veterans of that War later developed health problems or had children born with birth defects. Some of those veterans claimed the exposure to the defoliant a highly toxic herbicide caused the problems. Similar circumstances occurred when veterans who were exposed to radiation from atomic bomb blasts developed health problems years later. There was no accurate data indicating who had participated in the atomic bomb tests. Kohls amendment also requires the Pentagon to report to Congress As soon As possible on the results of current studies to assess the potential health risks to persian Gulf veterans As a result of their service in the Region. Although environmental Protection Agency officials have advised military commanders in Kuwait to restrict the physical activity of troops and Issue Gas masks on heavy air pollution Days preliminary conclusions indicate there Are no Short term health threats to personnel in the Region Kohl said. A was for the Long term health effects our experts have said there is no Way of predicting them a Kohl said. A a that a Why this legislation is so important a he said. A a let a get the data today. Lets not wait 20 years to notice some incidental cases of lung cancer and then try to go Back and see whether this Veteran or that one was near those Oil Well  firefighters Lay a pipeline leading toward a blazing Oil Well in Kuwait. Ship director says Crew prevented catastrophe Johannesburg South Africa a a cruise ship director on tuesday credited Crew members with preventing a disaster on the oceans liner even though the Captain and other officers abandoned ship with passengers still aboard. Lorraine Betts of tic Tours which leased the greek liner said most of the Crew acted professionally in the Rescue of All 571 people aboard. A i can to believe those people did what they did a she said of air Force and Navy rescuers Crew members tic staff and passengers. Many passengers and other tic employees on the ship criticized the Crew members who deserted the oceans soon after it lost Power and took on water saturday night. It Sank sunday afternoon about 90 minutes after everyone on Board had been pulled from life rafts or picked up with harnesses by military helicopters from the listing vessel amid Strong winds and powerful Waves. Passengers hailed Betts 35, for her efforts in organizing the Rescue and keeping people Calm. Betts told a news conference that the More than 170 Crew members on the ship had specific assignments in an emergency and that Many were required to operate the eight lifeboats and four raft on the oceans. One group of officers and Crew estimated at three dozen rushed to a Lifeboat and left the sinking vessel soon after capt Yiannis Vranas sounded the emergency saturday night she said. Vranas was unaware the Lifeboat had left without instructions from the Bridge Betts said. Other officers and Crew members from the staff Captain to waiters and Cooks helped operate the lifeboats and assist passengers during the storm tossed hours she said. About 50 Crew members and tic staff joined Betts in getting passengers to lifeboats keeping people Calm and talking by radio with other ships that had ans sered the oceans a distress Call Betts said. Vranas gave orders from the Bridge until about 9 . Sunday she said when he was airlifted by helicopter harness. As Many As 170 people were still on Board at the time awaiting Rescue by helicopter she said. Vranas told Betts a that he would attempt to get a Rescue ship near the oceans but she did not hear from him again. Christos Nikolaou the second in command said the Crew acted properly. Crew members gathered All passengers in the main lounge minutes after water was found to be flooding the Generator room he said. He said Vranas did not sound a general alarm for fear of panicking passengers. A huge amounts of water were coming in and we sealed the watertight doors and isolated All the ships compartments a he said. He added that he did not know Why the ship took it on water. Vranas has said a Piston burst in the engine room damaging the  s move to Augsburg is on Dean says by Vince Crawley Nairn Borg Bureau University of Maryland directors say they have received the final go ahead to move their Munich Campus to an army base in Augsburg even though the Cavern recently appeared on a Pentagon draw Down list. Augsburg a Reese Cavern was mentioned last week on a Pentagon list of bases being partly closed Down and Community officials said the announcement caught them by Surprise. But the army a european Headquarters has already Given the University a full fledged permission to move to the Cavern a said William e. Mcmahon resident Dean of the schools Munich Campus. The decision was made final in Early july he said. The school is now located at Mcgraw Cavern on the South Side of Munich but administrators began looking for a new Home last fall when the military announced it was pulling out of Munich by the end of 1992. The Campus Enrols about 600 students a year most of them from military families. The relocation project includes $70,000 to renovate up to seven buildings in the quadrangle at Reese Cavern Mcmahon said. The architects plans should be finished in october construction will begin in january and the University will begin moving in May the Dean said. A they Tell me there Are going to be no soldiers left on Reese Cavern just civilians a Mcmahon said. In the base closure announcement july 30, Pentagon officials said 1,083 soldiers Are stationed at the Cavern. It also employs 32 . Civilians. As the Center of the Augsburg military Community the Cavern now houses several Field artillery and personnel units government and Community offices warehouses a movie theater and the main Exchange. Two of the combat battalions have already appeared on draw Down lists. Ursel Heinze of the Augsburg Community a Public affairs office said she was told that the facility would be a partially returned to the German government. A right now nobody knows what is meant by a partial return a a Heinze said monday. A we think the word should be a reduced  a opened in 1950, the University of Maryland a Munich Campus offers two year degrees and a traditional dormitory stoic Campus for the children of military families and civilian workers living overseas. The move will let the school expand and offer More services even though the number of military families in Europe is shrinking said Virginia Boeh ringer a spokeswoman for the Munich Campus. This fall the University is adding three degrees to the two it already offers Boehringer said. The school will give two year degrees in German business management computers and Genera studies. Students also will have More space and greater Access to sports Fields Boehringer said. This years enrolment will be about 600, which is a a unexpectedly the same As last years Mcmahon said. Over the past decade the average has been 600 to 700 students he said. With troop cuts administrators were expecting lower numbers for the fall semester that begins aug. 24. More College students May be deciding on Maryland because they Are unsure where their parents will be and Are putting off Long Range College plans Boehringer said. Still As the military population inevitably shrinks members of the University staff said they want to stay in Europe. A a we re looking into the question of opening up our Gates Piore to an International population a Mcmahon said. Quot we done to want this tradition just to be