—The Daily Collegian Monday, March 18,1991
Dentists debate use
of mercury fillings
By DEBORAH MESCE
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON, D.C. Members
of a government scientific advisory
committee said Friday they were
confident mercury-containing dental
fillings are safe for most people.
But they recommended that more
research be done to allay fears of the
public that the fillings can cause
health problems.
Mercury is highly toxic. The ques
tion of whether mercury in dental
amalgams leaches into the body and
interferes with the nervous system
has been debated for years.
The Food and Drug Administra
tion asked the committee to evaluate
the most recent studies.
"We did not receive any informa
tion today that would warrant saying
that amalgam is unsafe," said
Dr. Manville G. Duncanson Jr.,
chairman of the Dental Materials
Department at the University of
Oklahoma.
Duncanson is chairman of the
FDA's Dental Products Panel.
"There are questions that are
unanswered, including the amount
of mercury that may leach into the
body from amalgam fillings," he
said.
"These questions have to be
answered. That doesn't mean that
we're saying that amalgam is
unsafe."
The nine-member panel was unan-
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imous in its recommendation
Some dentists, researchers and
consumer advocates had asked the
committee to call for a ban on the
use of mercury in fillings.
"We believe that the data to date
are not sufficient to demonstrate
clinical harm to patients," said Rob
ert Sheridan, director of the FDA's
Office of Device Evaluation.
Animal studies that show signifi
cant mercury absorption from den
tal fillings, and some anecdotal
accounts of harmful effects in
humans, are compelling and raise
important questions, he said. But he
added no studies have been done in
humans and there is no evidence
that mercury amalgam fillings
cause disease.
At this time, he said, "FDA is not
advising people with amalgam
fillings to have them removed, either
to prevent adverse health effects or
to try to reverse the course of exist
ing diseases."
Dental fillings containing mercury
have been used in millions of people
for more than 150 years.
Experts say that a few people,
estimated at 1 percent to 2 percent
of the population, are allergic to
mercury amalgam fillings and
should not receive them.
Dr. Michael Pawk, a dentist prac
ticing in Butler, Pa., told the panel
he stopped using mercury amal
gams about eight years ago after he
evaluated the scientific literature.
CNA
Americans honor long-time hostage
By JOAN MOWER
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON, D.C. Senators,
journalists and former hostages on Fri
day honored Terry Anderson and other
Americans still held in Lebanon, with
special tribute to the professionalism
and "guts" of the AP reporter impris
oned for six years.
"We have not forgotten them and we
will not forget them," President Bush
said of six American hostages in a letter
to Peggy Say, Anderson's sister, mark
ing the anniversary of his capture.
Bush, who has revived the hostage
issue since the end of the Persian Gulf
War, told Say that her brother and five
Pizza business tough, but lucrative competition
By ORLANA M. DARKINS
Collegian Staff Writer
Students who are too busy to cook or
are not interested in what the dining hall
has to offer frequently opt for another
alternative ordering from one of
State College's 15 pizza parlors.
"Pizza is very popular among college
students because it is a quick and easy
food that is somewhat nutritious," said
Brenda Foster, a shift superindendent
at Pizza Hut, 244 W. College Ave.
"I don't think there could be too many
pizza places. It could be worse if there
wasn't enough, especially for people
who live off campus and may not have
access to a pizza place," said Steve Cap.
pella (junior-administration of justice).
But Bill McFadden, owner of Hofbrau
Pizza, 1316 W. College Ave., said he
thinks State College is overcrowded
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others "are held cruelly apart from
their families simply because they are
Americans."
Katharine Graham, chairman of The
Washington Post Co., said at an emo
tional, 90-minute ceremony at the Capi
tol that Anderson had risked his
personal safety to bring the world the
story of Lebanon.
"Our American name for it is guts,"
she said. "Terry Anderson embodies
this description."
Relatives and friends of the other
American hostages Thomas Suther
land, Joseph Cicippio, Jesse Turner,
Mann Steen and Edward Austin Tracy
—attended the ceremony. Sutherland's
wife, Jean, flew from Beirut.
with pizza parlors.
"So many pizza businesses are not
making as much business as they
expected. That's why you see so many
pizza parlors offering a large pizza for
four dollars," McFadden said.
Pizza Hut offers an all-you-can-eat
special Monday and Wednesday from
4:30 to 8:30 p.m., which includes pizza,
pasta-salad bar and a small drink for
$4.99.
"About 50 pizzas are prepared for
Monday and Wednesday night. A lot of
people come in large groups, but these
nights aren't really crowded because a
lot people don't know about it," said
Eddie Wentz, a cook at Pizza Hut.
"It's a good deal. You come in hungry
and you leave full," said Nikki Van Dor
nick (senior-finance).
However, not everyone is satisfied
with this special.
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Anderson, 43, the chief Middle East
correspondent for The Associated
Press, was seized by unknown assail
ants on a street in Beirut on March 16,
1985.
"There is only the frustration and the
anger that we in the AP feel at the
mindless savagery of people who would
hold a man for so long for no reason, "
said AP Vice President Walter Mears.
But Say, reflecting optimism shared
by other speakers, said the Capitol Hill
gathering, similar to those held annual
ly since Anderson was seized, "is the
last ceremony."
She said she has waged her tireless
campaign to free her brother because
"it is not his destiny to die chained to a
"I think they have a hard time keep
ing pizza out. The most popular selec
tions like plain and pepperoni go so fast
that sometimes you don't get enough,"
said Kristy Bain (senior-art education).
Greg Ritter, assistant manager of
The Original Italian Pizza Restaurant,
222 W. Beaver Ave., said he believes
pizza parlors thrive in the area because
of the number of students living here.
"There is a high population of stu
dents who want something quick," said
Dave Dettinburn (junior-history), a
delivery driver for Original Italian Piz
za.
Some students like pizza because it is
convenient and does not consume a lot
of their time.
"We order pizza when we don't feel
like cooking, especially on Friday
nights. We don't have to clean, we can
just throw the box away," said Patti
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4 ( ,_ Would like to thank everyone who
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* support for the troops for our letter *
writing drive
4( Especially the following businesses: *
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filthy basement wall in the bowels of
Beirut and have no one notice."
Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, D-
N.Y., one of Say's strongest backers on
Capitol Hill, said the United States was
closer than ever before to promoting "a
political settlement" that could lead to
freedom for the hostages.
"True peace can't be achieved as long
as American hostages remain in captiv
ity," said Senate Minority Leader Rob
ert Dole, R-Kan.
The hostages are thought to be held
by pro-Iranian Shiites operating in an
area of Beirut controlled by the Syrian
army. Syrian officials told Secretary of
State James Baker 111 this week that
they would work to free the hostages.
Bommer (senior-hotel, restaurant and
institutional management) .
While delivering pizza may just be a
job to some people, it can have its sur
prises.
"One of our female pizza deliverers
arrived at the door of the person who
had order a pizza. The guy arrived at
the door with a robe wrapped around his
body. When he went to pay her, the robe
opened and he flashed her," Bitter said.
And sometimes it can be dangerous.
"When we did deliver, the Bell of
Pennsylvania phone book put a $7 off
coupon for pizza when it was supposed
to be $1 off," McFadden said. "A couple
of guys wanted to buy a pizza, but when
they were told it was a dollar off and not
seven they beat up the delivery driver
and held him hostage until they got $7
dollars off on their pizza."