Take precautions after an accident

Editor:

A recent auto accident taught me a lesson. I would like to pass it on so that you can protect yourself from people who change their minds about their responsibility and don't want to get the police involved. They say they have insurance coverage and that they will take care of the damages

I am sure many of you have had this experience, but I cannot remember anyone telling me that it does not pay to take anyone's word because they try to get by without paying the full cost of repairs, or perhaps in some cases pay nothing.

The police report is very important because insurance companies require proof and if the person at fault runs off, your uninsured motorist coverage needs this report to pay your damages.

Never let anyone tell you that you do not need a police report in a parking lot accident.

I had to pay for my mistake but feel it is my duty to inform everyone I can to be careful about this type of people.

Joe I. Treviño

Brownsville

Via the Internet

What are risks of Donna fish?

Editor:

Jackie Leatherman's front-page article Aug. 22 titled "Canal & Cancer" was a prime example of scare-tactic journalism. Where in the article does it show that anyone contracted cancer from eating fish from the Donna canal? Where does it tell the reader about the general risks of eating fish from the canal?

The chemical in question, polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) has been studied at length. The most current data from the U.S. Health Department (http://ntp. niehs.nih.gov/ntp/roc/toc11.html) shows that PCBs are a suspected carcinogen due to responses in mice.

They say, "There is inadequate evidence for the carcinogenicity of PCBs in humans." USHD has a list of 54 known carcinogens and they include cigarette smoke, benzene (about 1 percent-3 percent in gasoline) and aflatoxin, found in peanut butter.

So what are the relative risks of eating a fish from the Donna canal? Being in a room with a smoker for 10 minutes, eating a peanut butter sandwich, or filling your car with 10 gallons of gasoline?

S.A. Beckwith

Los Fresnos

Via the Internet

Editor's note: Current laws restricting PCBs, are part of Title 40 - Protection of the Environment (http://edocket. access.gpo.gov/cfr_2007/julqtr/40cfr761.1.htm)