Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, April 28, 1995 TAG: 9504280070
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
SEATTLE - A 4-year-old girl has won $5 million from the Jack in the Box fast-food chain because a 1993 hamburger bacteria outbreak cost her one-third of her colon and caused kidney and pancreas damage.
Cheray Jefferson must use a colostomy bag and has a 30 percent to 70 percent chance of developing diabetes as a result of her infection by a deadly strain of the E. Coli bacteria, her lawyers said.
She was among more than 600 people in the West who became sick from the bacteria E. coli O157:H7, which grew in contaminated, undercooked hamburger. Three children died in Washington.
The settlement of her lawsuit was approved this week by U.S. District Judge Thomas Zilly in Seattle.
- Associated Press
Children, minorities at risk from ozone
ATLANTA - One in four children is at risk for health problems because ozone in their communities exceeds government standards, health officials said Thursday.
The risk to minorities is greater because they are more likely to live in cities where ozone limits are exceeded, such as Los Angeles, New York City, Atlanta, Houston and Detroit, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.
Although ozone in the upper atmosphere forms a protective barrier against ultraviolet radiation, at lower levels it is a major component of smog and causes respiratory problems and irritation of the eyes and mucous membranes.
Levels of the pollutant dropped by 12 percent from 1984 to 1993, but 104 counties and cities still exceeded the limit during 1991-93, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
- Associated Press
by CNB