ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, January 23, 1996 TAG: 9601230074
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: VIRGINIA EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: What's On Your Mind?
SOURCE: RAY REED
Q: I have aluminum pots and pans, and someone said I shouldn't use them for cooking because aluminum causes Alzheimer's disease. What's the story on that?
R.A., Roanoke
A: The story is inconclusive. In the United States, there's no official warning that people should avoid aluminum.
In Canada, researchers at the University of Toronto proposed a limit of 0.05 parts per million of aluminum in tap water, citing evidence of a link between aluminum intake and Alzheimer's disease.
Who's right? Average citizens have to decide for themselves.
Here are some generally agreed-on points:
Aluminum has been found in unusual quantities in autopsies of the brains of Alzheimer's patients, who suffer mental deterioration.
Did the aluminum get there because people swallowed it in large quantities? Or did their bodies absorb aluminum more readily because of some other chemical imbalance, such as low iron in the blood? No one can say, yet.
Does aluminum cause Alzheimer's? No scientists, either Canadian or American, have enough facts to make that claim. The Canadians say only that there seems to be a link between aluminum and Alzheimer's, and aluminum is known to be toxic to nerve cells.
Some common sources of aluminum: antiperspirants, some antacids, pots and pans like yours, thousands of food and beverage containers - and tap water.
Aluminum sulfate is used in water treatment plants to remove tiny particles of matter and make the water clear.
The aluminum sulfate mostly falls out in settling basins, carrying the particles with it. The aluminum content of finished water at Roanoke's Carvins Cove treatment plant on Friday tested at 0.08 parts per million, a lab manager said.
That's not an alarming figure - Salem reports its aluminum content at 0.01, but Lynchburg has 0.31 parts per million. There's no official limit on how much aluminum can remain in treated water. The bottom line on pots and pans: They add little to our daily exposure to aluminum - even when they cook acidic foods such as tomato sauce.
Tanglewood signal
Q: Traffic gets tied up at the southbound off ramp of the Roy Webber Highway going toward Tanglewood Mall because the traffic light doesn't permit a right turn while the left-turn arrow is green. If the right-turn lane (toward Tanglewood) were green at the same time, it would expedite traffic flow.
R.W., Roanoke
A: Your question's timing is exquisite. A new controller with a microprocessor to handle this traffic squeeze is being tested this week.
If things go well, it may be installed as soon as Friday.
The result would be that traffic turning right could flow as quickly as traffic turning left, a Virginia Department of Transportation engineer said. Currently, the left-turn signal forces the right lane to be red. That backs things up considerably around 5 p.m., even though a right-on-red sign is posted.
Have a question about something that might affect other people, too? Something you've come across and wondered about? Give us a call at 981-3118. Or, e-mail RoaTimesinfi.net. Maybe we can find the answer.
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