Louisiana: The State We're In; 432

Production assistance for the following program was provided in part by Kaiser Aluminum. This is the BFI chemical waste plant near Lake Charles. Some of the people who live nearby believe their water is contaminated, and they think it's more than a coincidence. I'm saying it almost had to be chemicals. There's too many people in this area with the same problems. Is it the largest? The largest plantation home in the South, Nottoway. And for many years, people never even heard of Nottoway. But, of course. it's always been a private home and, in fact, just three weeks ago was the first time that it's ever been opened for the public for viewing. Beth George and Ron Blome.

Welcome to this edition of Louisiana: The State We're In. This week we have an in-depth report about a controversy in Lake Charles, where some citizens are claiming that their water has been poisoned by chemicals from a hazardous waste site. We'll also visit the largest plantation home in the South, and we're going to talk to retired General William Westmoreland, the chief of the Army during the Vietnam War. But first this week's capitol highlights. Governor Dave Treen and his staff say they are hard at work preparing a new capital outlay bill. Decisions on how the state should spend more than $2 billion on various construction projects will be made during a special legislative session scheduled to begin on September 2nd. Legislators could not reach an agreement on the bill during the regular session, so they get to come back and re-examine the more than 1,200 proposed projects. Treen's recommendations should be completed by the first of next week. A major investigation of the state mental hospital in Jackson was launched this week. That followed a series of reports in The New Orleans Times-Picayune/States Item that detailed alleged widespread abuse in the facility. Two top state officials launched the probe during a personal tour on Thursday.

Attorney General William Guste and health secretary George Fisher came to the state mental hospital in Jackson to see for themselves if allegations printed in a New Orleans newspaper were true. The Times-Picayune reported that patients at the hospital are not kept clean or properly supervised. They said that mental patients engage in sex or are raped on a frequent basis, that drugs are misused and that a high number of patients have died in recent years under mysterious circumstances. Reporters were kept outside while Guste and Fisher toured the facility with hospital administrators. But in a later meeting with reporters, they talked about the facility and allegations. There's a situation here where mentally retarded is kept with the other patients, which is distasteful to me. I don't think it should go on and I understand why it is done, but we'll be making a concentrated and a positive move to move those patients. And if, in the event there's no place for the retarded, then we must formulate a method to construct or to make available areas for them.

It's a mixture that I do not approve of, and I don't think that anybody else does. It's just one of those things that has occurred. There have been many studies done on these very grounds, and I guess many of them discussed in this room. Many of them ended up in desk drawers and, for some reason or another, really direct action has not been taken. That's not my style. I hope that when we have concluded our study here that we will, in fact, do something about it. We are going to put it out. We are going to let people see it. And we are going to publicize it. Fisher did not defend the hospital staff in the face of those news reports. The doctor T. N. Armistead, the hospital administrator, said he was horrified at the inaccurate reporting. This week another major investigation was revealed. The FBI and U.S. Attorney Don Beckner say that they have been investigating contracts involving the State Department of Education. Beckner says the probe has been under way for nearly five months, and at least part of the case involves the

state contract for the purchase of school library books. Our in-depth story this week concerns an unwelcome byproduct of Louisiana's huge chemical industry, namely hazardous chemical waste. We have from time to time on the show reported on problem disposal sites across Louisiana. And this week we took a look at a facility near Lake Charles, where residents believe their water supply has been contaminated by a waste well. Browning Farris Industries, which runs the site, says there is no contamination. And the controversy is the focus of this report. This is Lake Charles. Like many cities in Louisiana, it is at the heart of a booming petrochemical industry, an industry which produces not only valuable products and jobs, but also the byproduct of hazardous chemical waste. A good deal of that waste is disposed of here, at the Browning Farris Industries' disposal site eight miles northwest of Lake Charles at Willow Springs. BFI claims to run a safe, modern facility, but residents of the area feel otherwise. Last week over 200 residents came to a fact-

finding hearing in Lake Charles to complain about the facility. They said that air pollution from the site sometimes makes them ill, and they said that something was contaminating their drinking water. And they pointed the finger of suspicion at BFI's deep injection well. That well is where most of the hazardous chemicals are poured after undergoing preliminary treatment. It is an old oil well that gives the company access to clay cells forty-five hundred feet below the surface that are said to be impenetrable by the deadly liquids. So, in effect, BFI is using the old oil reserves as new storage tanks for the hazardous chemical waste. Among those convinced that the BFI well is contaminating their water supply are the George Acheson family. They live some three miles from the BFI site. Their drinking water comes from a 200-foot-deep well, and they say that for the last year the water has gone bad with occasional bad smells, strange colorations and oily films. George Acheson, his wife Karen and their three children don't drink the water anymore, but they do bathe in it and they say it is making them ill.

I had oil-type lesions all over my body, between my legs, and on my back and on my arms and just feel completely worn out most of the time. No energy. My legs ached very bad about three months ago and I had to be off work for 90 days. I came to the hospital for tests and one of the blood tests showed that I had a slight liver infection, but they didn't know what was causing the leg problem. Do you work with chemicals at all? No, I don't. What do you think has caused this, your problem? I'm saying it almost has to be chemicals. There's too many people in this area with the same problems. And the young baby next door has been diagnosed as having ITP, which was familiar in the Love Canal area in New York and another baby's three miles

west of us. She speculate having the same thing. And a baby close to us here bruises real easy. It's blood platelets were very low. What do the doctors say? We can't get them to say anything. They say they don't know enough about it, that they need toxicologists to come in and compare the symptoms with the different chemicals and see if maybe they can pinpoint something. But, we've also been told by doctors that we may be dealing with something a lot worse than just heavy metals. Last May Mr. Acheson hired a private Texas laboratory to test the water from his family well. The result: a finding of .10 parts per million of chromium in the water, double the EPA acceptable standard. Yet recent tests run by state and federal laboratories failed to turn up the same results, leaving state officials in Lake Charles skeptical that there is chrome poisoning in the water. I find it rather unusual, too, that the health department laboratories have not been able to substantiate this

chrome level that is, that was reported to be exactly two times the maximum of contaminant level that is accepted in drinking water. I find it most unusual. And the reason I say that... [fades out] Elmer Doonehoo, who heads the state Office of Environmental Affairs in Lake Charles, says Louisiana has one of the finest water pollution labs in the nation. And he says that, even when samples are split with other laboratories, all they have found in the Acheson water are naturally found iron, nuisance organisms, and hydrogen sulfide. This complaints though are not something that has just come up this last month. They've been around for a while, and the Department of Natural Resources, before that the Department of Health, has been watching the situation for some time. To date, have there been any evidence found that there is contamination of groundwater from that well? It took to this point in time. And if there's been any evidence uncovered that, that would validate a claim that the groundwater has been contaminated by this facility or any other

facility in the area, I'm not aware of it. I have not seen such data. The data that I've seen to this point in time indicates that we do have a sound, that we do have a safe water bearing sands, that we're taking the water from for the private citizens and the public supplies of this area. But the assurances that past testing may offer are no longer enough for the residents of Willow Springs or the Treen administration. A $150,000 comprehensive survey has been ordered by the Department of Natural Resources and in an unusual move to boost state credibility, a local committee headed by district attorney Leonard Knapp will have input on the operation. Because of the credibility of the state agencies involved was so poor among the people here in Calcasieu Parish, they felt like they needed to restore that credibility some way and the device that they used are designed to come up with that, to solve that credibility problem, was the making of this special committee to

investigate it. District Attorney Knapp says the advisory committee is already involved in the BFI study and has made a request that the state expand its groundwater testing and core samplings. A spokesman for BFI in Houston says they welcome the study because they believe it will clear their operation or pinpoint any problems they need to solve. We should note that we tried to interview BFI officials in Louisiana for this story, but they were unavailable for comment. As for the Acheson family, they remain unconvinced that the state is working in their interest now. As they put it, they feel the state would rather prove them wrong for pointing a finger at industry. Do you think things are going to change? Do you think the government will help? I don't think they will, not the state government. I think we need federal help. But at least, you know they're trying now. At least they are coming and admitting that there might be a problem. But are you optimistic? No. Do you think that the attitude of the public here in Lake

Charles is going to change to the point where they'll have confidence in the Department of Natural Resources with this study? I would hope that that would be the case. If I look real deep back in my mind and if I search my heart real closely, I can't say that it will be. It's hard to have credibility whenever you deal with something, I guess, that has as onerous a reputation as hazardous waste now. I find, I think that you pretty well made a point very well with that supposition. I think it would be very difficult. I would hope that the people will be able to believe me when I say something. I hope that they would be able to give me the honor of saying that, that he's an honest man, that he's going to give us straight answers. I certainly am going to attempt to do that.

It will be 90 days before the state's survey of the BFI area is complete. So for now, the residents of Willow Springs who still live in uncertainty and still cart in their drinking water will have to wait for the answers. The story at Willow Springs is a continuing one that we will, of course, follow. One other thing we should mention is that this week BFI told Willow Springs physicians that if any of their patients have any disease or anything they can't diagnose that BFI will pay for a Tulane specialist to take a look at them. We'll watch that with interest, Ron. Certainly the petrochemical industry has become a dominant feature on the landscape in Louisiana, and our next story talks about another feature along the Mississippi River. Along with the new landscape, there are still reminders of our past. Eighteen miles south of Baton Rouge on the River Road, there stands a magnificent mansion, an example of the Old South brought up to date. In 1859, John Hampden Randolph completed the building of his home.

Nottoway was to become the largest plantation home in the South, an opulent and magnificent residence for his family of eight daughters and three sons. Today the mansion is being restored to its former grandeur, and its doors have been opened to the public. Curator Steve Saunders shares with visitors the richness of the building and the history it contains. What is the design and the style of this? It's, it's an actually, it's a blending of two different styles of architecture. The Italianate. It looks very much like an Italian villa of the time and Greek Revival with the entrance way and the Greek key design around the doors and windows. In fact, part of the house, as you can see, is rounded, and it's unlike any other plantation home in the South, not only because of the styling of it but because of the sheer size of it. It has over 53,000 square feet and over 64 rooms in the house. It is the largest. The largest plantation home in the South, Nottoway. And for many years people never even heard of Nottoway. But, of course, it's always been a private home and, in fact, just

three weeks ago was the first time that it's ever been opened for the public for viewing. So it's been a very exciting time. Tell us something about the family that built this home. Okay, this was the Randolph family from Virginia. John Hampden Randolph built Nottoway, but he was from the Virginia Randolphs related to George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. And when young John Hampden Randolph was a boy, his parents moved from Virginia to Woodville and there he grew cotton. But he got tired of that and he wanted to come to Louisiana where they were growing sugar cane along the banks of the Mississippi right out here in front of us. And, in fact, when he arrived, he couldn't even buy any land along the river because it was so expensive and it already all been taken. So what he did is he waited a while. He moved into someone else's home that was built about eight miles from here and waited for over a year until he could get this tract of land on which he built the house. As I understand it, in the history of this plantation house, it almost didn't survive the Civil War. This accounting was kept in the diary by Cornelia Randolph, one of the eight

daughters, and she mentioned one day in the 1860s a northern gunboat pulled right up in front of the house and started to fire upon it. In fact, the grapeshot came through the windows, cannon ball shells crashed about the house, some struck the outbuildings out here, and the only reason it was saved is that one of the officers on the gunboat had been to a garden party at Nottoway before the war began and he recognized the house and he asked them to cease firing. In fact, he walked up to the front gallery here and Mrs. Randolph stepped out and she was very nervous. She was alone in the home with her children and he gave her his own silver handled pistol to defend herself because several days before troops had come through, taking all of the animals from the house and all of the family weapons. So the Northern gunboat officer giving a Southern lady his own handled, a silver handled pistol. And this was an incredible thing and it was just through the kind act of a Northern gunboat officer that this home wasn't completely destroyed. Nottoway was an unusual house for its time, distinguished not only by its

size, but by its modern conveniences such as gas lights both inside and out. It was also known for a unique ballroom designed with the children in mind. Steve, this is really the most famous, the most unique room in the home. Right, the white ballroom. And this was created just for eight daughters of Mr. Randolph. You could imagine there could be no better way to introduce them to society and the wealthiest men in the South than to give them their own ballroom for dancing. In fact, six of the eight daughters were married right here in this ballroom. They came down the grand staircase and walked through the sliding doors and the ceremony took place just where we're standing right now. You can almost hear the music. Surely can. You surely can. In a room like this then, the furniture was kept on the wall. Yes, because it was designed for dancing. This wasn't a sitting parlor. There are many here at Nottoway. This was the ballroom. And it's quite a room. The entire room, even the floor to the ceiling, done in different shades of white. And it's been known as the white

ballroom since it was first finished in 1859. After the dancing, guests could retire to the parlor and gentlemen to their tobacco and port. The color is important in this room, isn't it? Yes it is, because it's original. And you'll see two shades of green. In fact, you'll see something else that may look a little familiar to you. This, the draperies in this room are an exact duplication from the movie "Gone With The Wind," the green velvet that Miss Scarlett yanked down off the windows of Tara in order to make her dress to see Rhett Butler in jail and even the finials at the ends of the drapery rods are American Mercury glass and were made in 1850. What was this room used for? This room was used basically by the men in the library, of course, and after a meal the men would come into the room and close the door. They could then sit down to relax and discuss their business and light up their cigars and pipes. A man back then would never smoke in front of a lady. That was considered totally improper.

This dining room is, you're trying to preserve the way it might have been during the Randolphs' time. Oh, very much the way it was. In the diary kept by Cornelia, she mentioned that the table was covered with French porcelain. And what you're seeing now at Nottoway today is the very finest of French porcelain that was ever created, the Sevres porcelain. For instance, let me show you a plate that was made for the King of France. And notice the crown above the crossed L and the beautiful paintings on the front. Every piece on the dining table is handpainted with a different romantic scene and, outside of a museum today, it would be most unusual to find such a complete service. The crystal on the table is Waterford about 1840, and there's also a matching covered punch bowl over here on the sideboard. So a beautiful, beautiful service. Once again, the room was this peach color? Absolutely and two shades of peach, in fact. A lighter shade for the ceilings than the walls and you'll notice two chandeliers in the room.

That's because the room is 35 feet long and this provided proper lighting for the length of the room. Only a small number of the plantation's 64 rooms are completely restored and furnished. Nottoway's new owner, 34-year-old Arlen Dease, is the man responsible for the restoration. Dease has owned and restored three other plantations, and he says there may be more projects in his future. There are many others to restore. I'm in the restoration business, but I want to use Nottoway as my headquarters, not only for homes in South Louisiana, but throughout the country. They are, I constantly have realtors and investors calling for properties that need restoration work. But for today one more of Louisiana's architectural treasures has been preserved. Nottoway Plantation stands open to the public. And for those anxious for a glimpse of the way the old South may have been for a wealthy few, there is

no better example. Nottoway is open seven days a week and, not only can you go there and tour for a price, you may also soon be able to spend the night and have a plantation breakfast. I think it's a lot of that sort of Southern hospitality. It's probably better now than it was even in the Old South. In our final segment this week, we hear from a gentleman who will certainly have a place in this country's history, General William Westmoreland, the former army chief of staff and commander of American forces in Vietnam. General Westmoreland was representing the Fiscal Policy Council when he spoke in Baton Rouge this week. But in a conversation with Beth, he had a lot to say about politics and national defense. During a political year, we have seen all sorts of things such as Soviet invasion of Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Afghanistan, and the Tet Offensive in Vietnam. Do you think that then there is significance because this is a presidential election year? From that end. In a presidential election year, we're in the state of

semi-paralysis, and our adversaries, and particularly the Soviet Union, which is our principal adversary, let's face it. They realize that our political system, our democratic system and open society are very susceptible to manipulation. And they realize, since they understand our political system better than we do, that during a presidential election year we're in a state of paralysis and they can get by with murder. It's not coincidental that those events which you have mentioned happened during a presidential election year. Do you think we're going to see the invasion of Poland? Certainly, there's... It is quite conceivable. General Westmoreland, you suggested a rather novel approach to solving this problem of a presidential election year. What is that plan? It just, it just doesn't make sense to have a president running for re-election and thinking more in terms of votes than the next one.

And that could be corrected by electing the president for six years and then put him out to pasture. He can hold no further public office. He would then be motivated by a concern on how is he going to look in history and that is a very powerful motivation. Do you suggest perhaps sometimes the motivations are political or of the moment rather than that rather than long range? Oh, without a question, without any question. Look what's going on now. I mean votes are being bought at the taxpayers' expense and contrary to what should be done in connection with changing the tred of our economy. How did you feel when you heard that Reagan was defending the Vietnam War? There are perceptions about the Vietnam War, which are very much distorted. I think one has to realize, and I've tried to bring this out in my book, that the American people during the Vietnam War years were bombarded with propaganda, a lot of it started in Hanoi. They got a distorted idea of what it was all about.

As historians look at that era in the year 2000, they're going to conclude in my opinion, that this was probably the most idealistic, selfless commitment ever made by a major power to a small power. We went over there with the...we didn't need any resources that they had. Their being in our camp had very little to do with our economic progress. It was strictly a matter of principle, the principle that America's always stood for is the protector of the small nations and to protect their freedom and that was the basis of our commitment. It was very selfless and in the final analysis we defaulted. We made a solemn commitment to those people that we were not going to allow them to be engulfed by communism, backed by large military forces, where the people of South Vietnam would have no say in their form of government. And if you look at what's going on in Indochina now, it wouldn't happen if we'd succeeded. In my opinion that era in our

history will go down as a turning point of America. Youth was disaffected by virtue of political pressures, the draft was stopped. We've got Navy recruits now booing the flag and the Star-Spangled Banner. We glorified civil disobedience. We made a commitment which the world knew about and we defaulted. So we've lost an awful lot of our international prestige and clout. It was a tragic era. Now if we succeeded, it would have been just the reverse. That failure hurts America's conscience. Psychologically this is deeply ingrained in the conscience of America. Well then are you an advocate of reinstating the draft? If we could get the young people of this country to realize that that military service is an obligation to citizenship. This is the way I felt. This is the way your father felt. It's the way many of us felt. Military service is an obligation to citizenship whether you are drafted or otherwise. We've lost that. We've got to get back to the principle that we inherited from the British and the British

got it from Roman law. Otherwise our democracy will not work and our country will not survive. And it's very simple. For every right, there's a duty. For the last 10 years we've heard a lot about rights, rights, rights, rights. But have you heard anything about duties? Nothing about duties and the first thing we got to do is rediscover the other part of that equation. Duty. But if the young people of the country could rediscover that, you wouldn't have to have the draft. But they're not going to do it, in my opinion. Do you miss the military or is it a trade off now being able to speak your mind on a lot of issues? I have a freedom now that I've never had before. When you're in the military service, it's important that you support the commander-in-chief, the policy to govern. You can't have men in uniform going off in all directions. If they don't agree with a policy, they ought to resign. You know, to get out. While you're there, you have to adhere to the policies of the commande- in-chief. It won't work any other way. You cannot compromise on that front.

I did that and I tried to do it loyally. Now that I'm out, well I have the right of free speech and I exercise it. I don't have to have my speeches censored. I don't have to adhere to a policy that talks in favor of policy that I don't think is optimal for our country, and I must say I like this. But, General Westmoreland certainly is seizing the opportunity to talk about politics. He was very critical of Carter's defense policies and posture and says he's a Republican and is going to vote for Ronald Reagan. And that's our program for this week. We hope you'll join us again next week. I'm Ron Blome. I'm Beth George. Good evening. Production assistance for the preceding program was provided in part by Kaiser Aluminum.