Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 26, 1994 TAG: 9402260040
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Los Angeles Times
DATELINE: RIVERSIDE, CALIF. LENGTH: Short
"To the best of my knowledge, there is no clear-cut evidence that it [Ramirez' body] was contaminated with anything," said Dr. Jeffrey Simons of Riverside Community Hospital, where the pathologists and industrial hygienists who conducted the unusual autopsy were kept under observation for 12 hours.
The four autopsy participants were in good health and apparently unaffected by the procedure, during which they wore extensive protective clothing and breathing apparatus. They were released from the hospital Friday afternoon.
An unidentified firefighter who apparently suffered an anxiety attack while staffing airhoses outside the autopsy room remained in the hospital for observation, but Simons said he was not injured.
Blood and tissue samples from Ramirez' body, as well as air samples from the aluminum case in which it was stored, were collected and shipped to laboratories around the country for analysis. Riverside County spokesman Tom DeSantis said it could be days to weeks before results of those tests become available.
County officials had no other comment on the autopsy findings.
The consensus among scientists not directly part of the investigation seems to be that Ramirez and the emergency room personnel were exposed to organophosphates, chemicals that are among the primary ingredients of nerve gas and many agricultural pesticides.
by CNB