Valve

Eastbound on the inner loop of the Beltway, just past the Loch Raven Boulevard exit where the road seems to rise into the sun, a voice inside Mayer Handelman's head whispers: "It's time! Let's see what this baby can do!"He stomps on the accelerator of his gleaming new 1998 Plymouth Prowler and the car leaps forward with the kind of jolt that usually leaves you cruising the neck brace aisle of a drug store. We shoot past a groaning 18-wheeler and then another big rig and then a minivan filled with either parishioners or prisoners -- there's no telling which, we're going too fast.

Two weeks after the Mayo Clinic suggested a possible link between two popular weight-loss drugs and a heart disorder, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has learned of 17 additional cases in states ranging from Maryland to California.The reports came in response to an FDA letter, dated July 8, asking doctors to document any cases of heart valve disease among patients who took diet pills used in a combination known as "fen-phen."The agency has yet to evaluate the reports, and the link between fen-phen and heart disease remains unproved.

THERE IS NO good reason for inspectors to have delayed reporting safety problems discovered in furnaces and boilers at Baltimore City schools. Perhaps the inspectors thought they were doing the schools a favor by giving them time to correct the problems. But the possibility that a disabling, even fatal, accident could occur while they waited for repairs to be made should have been paramount.Yet a Sun investigation has turned up at least 21 instances where serious safety violations at 16 schools over a two-year period were not reported to the state as required.

Three weeks before a boiler system accident that severely burned a first-grader last June, city school officials ordered the replacement of an inadequate safety valve at Hazelwood Elementary School.But six days before the accident, workers installed an equally ineffective valve at the school that violated safety standards according to records obtained by The Sun. A proper valve would have averted the accident, state regulators say.In the state's inquiry into the accident, school officials did not disclose the slipshod repair effort to investigators.

The guessing games are over at Carroll Springs School: A plumber has found not only the source of the rubbing-alcohol odor in the school's water, but also the cause.A valve that regulates the mixing of hot and cold water was leaking diethyl ether from a diaphragm that expands and contracts according to the water temperature. The valve was probably weakened by a hot water heater set too high, said Vernon Smith, director of support services for Carroll County schools."That was the source of the problem all along; it had nothing to do with the solar panels on top of the building," Mr. Smith said.

An employee at the Maryland-Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative in North Laurel was seriously injured Wednesday when a mechanical valve broke and ammonia was blown into his face, Howard County rescue officials said.Dennis Wilson, 53, of Cordova in Talbot County, was in the intensive care burn unit of Washington Hospital Center yesterday. He was being treated for respiratory complications and severe burns to his head and face. A hospital spokeswoman said he was in good condition.Rescue officials said Mr. Wilson was working on a ladder at the milk plant in the 8300 block of Leishear Road when the accident occurred.

A Harford County utility worker is suing a Bel Air engineering firm and a Fallston contractor for alleged negligence and faulty design and installation of an air relief valve that burst and struck him in the face in 1992.In the lawsuit, Ronald Burns, 34, of the 2400 block of Rocks Road in Forest Hill, contends he was removing the valve to repair a leaky water main when it burst, injuring his head and neck.Mr. Burns, an employee of the Department of Public Works, is seeking $350,000 in damages from Frederick Ward Associates Inc., the company that designed the water line; David R. Hall, an engineer for Frederick Ward Associates; and T. C. Simons Inc., ++ the contractor responsible for building Wheel Road Feeder System, a county project, in 1991 and 1992.

Q: My 16-year-old son has been diagnosed with mitral valve prolapse. What is it? Will it affect his physical activity? Why does he need to take antibiotics before medical procedures?A: Mitral valve prolapse (MVP) is one of the most common "abnormalities" of the heart among teen-agers. Some people don't even consider it a disease because it is so very common (affecting as many as 5 percent to 10 percent of people).To explain MVP, we must first tell you a little about the mitral valve. Thisvalve separates the upper (atrium)

Reuben Standifer of Mount Airy always has liked race cars. With five brothers racing, it was only natural for the youngest to become involved in the sport.Most of his brothers started drag racing on the streets before organized competition became popular, but Standifer settled for the safety of the 75-80 Dragway in Monrovia.As soon as he turned 16, Standifer, 36, started racing with a 1968 Plymouth Barracuda. From the start, he concentrated on consistency first, speed second. And he has become one of the top runners in the area.

The 213-passenger sightseeing cruise ship Baltimore Patriot II was spared a trip to the bottom of the Inner Harbor yesterday after a leak was discovered in the after section.City firefighters spent about two hours yesterday morning pumping out water that had tilted the vessel at an angle that brought the rear deck down to the water level.The firefighters also floated a boom to contain spilled fuel oil and were able to keep leakage down to about 1 gallon."Our main concern was the oil and pollution," said Fire Department Capt.