Port Earthquake Symposium OKd

The Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners on Wednesday approved plans for a scientific symposium in which as many as 75 earthquake safety experts will examine the effects of a major temblor on the Port of Los Angeles, and specifically on a proposed 800-acre landfill that will be directly over the fault line.

The symposium, which will cost $250,000, will bring together experts from as far away as Japan and Canada for three days of discussion in March and then again in July for a report on their findings. They will try to draft state-of-the-art guidelines for future harbor construction--especially for the landfill, which will house oil tanks that might rupture and burn during a quake.

The board approved the symposium by a 3-1 vote, with Commissioner Ronald Lushing dissenting. Lushing said after the meeting that he believed that the money would be better spent for hiring consultants.