ROANOKE, Va. (AP) - More than a decade ago, Environmental  Protection Agency scientists discovered polychlorinated biphenyls in fish in the Roanoke River between Altavista and Clover.
PCBs were used as coolants until the 1970s, when government banned the compounds after learning they may cause skin and liver damage as well as cancer.
The chemicals persist in the river because the source of the  contamination has not been discovered. Last year, the General Assembly appropriated $250,000 to help find the source.
What legislators didn't know was that the state Department of  Environmental Quality had data that many scientists believed might have shed light on the contamination source, The Roanoke Times reported Sunday.
But top DEQ officials denied access to the data. No one was allowed to use it - including other scientists, agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency, researchers at the College of William and Mary who created the database, and even the DEQ staff.
Instead, the database spent more than five years locked in a safe in the agency's building in Richmond.
Last month, DEQ released some of the data to the EPA and other interested parties, and an agency spokesman said the database recently has been reactivated.
Critics of the agency say the episode shows the way the agency was run under the administration of Gov. George Allen and former Secretary of Natural Resources Becky Norton Dunlop.
The public, they said, was left with a rosier picture of water quality than actually existed, and a database paid for with millions of taxpayers' dollars sat unused and inaccessible.
The Virginia Toxics Database was created in the late 1980s by Craig Smith, a scientist with the Virginia Institute of Marine Science at William and Mary.
The system was designed to allow users to gain access to data on toxic chemicals found in water monitoring samples around the state.
In 1993, the database was turned over to DEQ. It contained several data tables with fish tissue, sediment samples, industrial discharge and other monitoring data from special studies dating back to the 1970s. The database also contained information from a program called the Toxic Fingerprinting Program, which was designed to trace sources of contamination to a specific facility.
In early 1994, under the Allen administration, the water toxins monitoring program, which generated and kept the toxins database, was eliminated by budget cuts. Most of the staff was reassigned.
But many scientists and government agencies continued to ask permission to use it. Scientists at VIMS, including Smith, wanted to put the data on the Internet so other researchers could access it.
The DEQ did release a portion of the data to the EPA in 1995, but all requests for the full database were denied.
''They are worried that we might misuse the data or use the poorer-quality data,'' an EPA official wrote in a June 22, 1998, memo.
Many seeking information were told that the database was dead. Some were told that the data were in an inaccessible format and that there was no one to obtain access to the data. Others were told that the data were too old, damaged, incomplete or of poor quality, according to documents obtained by The Roanoke Times.
Eileen Rowan had been the manager of the toxins database. For years, she and other DEQ staff members had tried unsuccessfully to provide access to the information. Even though she had accepted another job within the agency, she continued to receive requests for access, but was never allowed to turn over the data.
''I was instructed to refuse requests verbally,'' said Ms. Rowan, who left DEQ this year. ''But was unable to receive permission to refuse in writing.''
Last month, the DEQ finally released the database after continued requests from the EPA and several inquiries and freedom of information requests from the Natural Resources News Service, an environmental news service in Washington.

Juvenile petitions have been issued against three South Boston area teenagers, two 13-year-olds and a 14-year-old, charging them with a felony destruction of property charge and arson in connection with a pair of incidents that occurred April 18.
The felony destruction of property charge stems from the vandalism of a track hoe owned by Lee Henson and Ronald Elixson which was parked in the lowgrounds of the Dan River off of Lomax Street off Berry Hill Road.
South Boston Police Lt. R.D. Loftis said an estimated $3,000 damage was done to the track hoe which had had its windows broken out and was found to have had holes chunked in the engine radiator.
In addition, the youths are charged with arson in connection with a fire that destroyed one of the old historical slave quarter buildings on the Berry Hill Plantation which is now owned by AXA, causing an estimated $15,000 damage.
Loftis said that while police were investigating the vandalism to the track hoe, an officer spotted a fire in the distance. The fire was reported to the South Boston Fire Department and fire chief William Murray went up Route 58 in an effort to locate the blaze.
After attempts to locate the blaze on the ground failed, a local pilot, Linda Clark went up in an airplane, spotted the blaze, and told firemen and police how to reach the fire.
Fire fighters extinguished the blaze, but, not before the blaze had destroyed the structure.
"The fire had apparently smoldered all night," Loftis said.
"By the time we found it, it had pretty much burned itself out."
Loftis said a fire had been set in a downstairs fireplace and that another fire had been set in the upstairs portion of the structure.
The roof and and the floor of the structure had fallen in by the time fire fighters reached the scene.
No court date has been set for the youths.
The incidents were investigated by Lt. Loftis and Inv. B.K. Lovelace.

An Alton man was arrested on weapons charges Saturday morning, according to reports from the Halifax County Sheriff's Department.
A. Danison, an officer with the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, arrested Christopher Brad Watts, 25, of Evans Trail, shortly after 11 a.m.
Danison charged Watts with possession/transportation of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Watts is scheduled to appear in Halifax County General District Court May 12.
William Julius Carrington, 46, of Reverend Coleman Road, Clover, was arrested early Sunday morning following a domestic dispute.
Reports indicated that Carrington was arrested shortly after midnight Sunday morning and charged with brandishing a firearm at Connie Mae Carrington.
W.J. Carrington is scheduled to appear in Halifax County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court May 12.
An argument between two women Saturday night turned violent and resulted in assault charges, reports indicated.
Deputy M.R. Thompson arrested Johanna Barksdale Ferrell, 26, of Union Church Road, and charged her with assaulting Joanna B. Hamlet, a household member, Saturday night around 8 p.m.
Ferrell is scheduled to appear in Halifax County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court May 12.
Tony R. Dunn, 45, of Cluster Springs Road, Alton, faces charges for allegedly making a harassing phone call Friday afternoon.
Reports stated that Dunn was arrested Friday shortly after 3:3 p.m. and charged with making a harassing phone call to Margaret Y. Dunn.
He is scheduled to appear in Halifax County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court May 5.
A South Boston man allegedly had one too many and was arrested on public intoxication charges Saturday.
Mark Anthony Crews, 31, of Elmo Road, was arrested at 11:51 p.m. and charged with being drunk in public by Deputy D.H. Barksdale.
Crews is scheduled to appear in Halifax County General District Court May 19.

A debris fire from Saturday night reportedly rekindled the following afternoon and caught an abandoned trailer on fire along River Road.
Oak Level Volunteer Fire Department Chief Todd Moser said someone cleaning up the property had been burning some brush and debris Saturday evening and that fire apparently had rekindled and spread to the trailer, which was part of the Richard Petty estate, located along River Road approximately one mile west of Hankins Loop Road.
By the time units from Oak Level and Halifax Fire Department arrived, the trailer had already burned to the ground, catching the surrounding grass on fire.
Moser estimated approximately one half acre of grass was scorched, but fire fighters contained the blaze from catching the woods that bordered the property.
Moser said the Virginia Forestry Department will be contacted regarding this fire as it was apparently caused by an unattended brush/debris fire.
Neighbor Terrie Wilkerson, who reported the blaze, said when she turned on to River Road from Berry Hill Road shortly after 2:20 p.m. she could see the smoke, and when she drew near to her home she saw the blue and white single-wide trailer engulfed in flames.
"It was all ablaze, and I didn't know if anyone was in there, but I didn't think anyone was living there," she said as she watched the fire from the road near her home.
Within five minutes of her arrival, she said, the roof fell in.
Moser said approximately 25 men from the two departments were at the scene for about an hour to ensure that the fire was completely extinguished, which took about 4,750 gallons of water. Three trucks from Oak Level and two from Halifax responded to the incident.

Three persons were injured early Saturday afternoon when a pickup truck crashed into a utility pole on Ridge Street near the intersection of Spring Avenue, cutting the pole in half.
Injured were the driver of the pickup truck, 49-year-old Larry Douglas Ragland of 2407 N. Main Street, South Boston, and two passengers, 37-year-old Elizabeth Mary Burch and 40-year-old Clarence J. Sydnor.
South Boston Police Lt. R.D. Loftis said all three were taken to Halifax Regional Hospital for treatment of injuries they sustained in the mishap that occurred at 2:04 p.m.
Lt. Loftis said that Officer S.M. Comer's report stated that Ragland lost control of the 1976 model pickup truck and the vehicle ran off of the road and crashed into the utility pole, splitting it in two.
According to Loftis, both Ragland and Burch went through the front windshield and that Sydnor, who was riding in the rear truck bed, was thrown out of the back of the truck.
The truck was declared a total loss.
Ragland was charged with driving under the influence and refusing to take a blood or breath test.

According to State Police reports a Scottsburg man was charged after he allegedly grabbed the steering wheel while his wife was driving Saturday evening causing a wreck near Liberty that injured five people including three children.
Virginia State Trooper D.J. Cline said that Mary Lee Davis, 45, of Scottsburg was driving along West Store Road (Route 609) one mile north of Newbill School Road (Route 621) when Major W. Davis, 43, allegedly reached over and grabbed the wheel causing the 1991 four-door Ford to veer left off the road and overturn.
According to Cline, three children, ages 2, 4, and 10 years old, were injured in the 6:10 p.m. as well as both Mr. and Mrs. Davis.
Cline charged Major Davis with reckless driving

BY DOMINIC PERELLA
Associated Press Writer
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - In an era of ever-growing restrictions and taxes on cigarettes, smokers can look to Virginia for some solace: The state's taxes on tobacco products are lower than anyplace else in the nation.
And the low tobacco taxes are just one area in which Virginians save money compared to other Americans. Data from a University of Virginia researcher show Virginia has one of the lowest overall tax burdens in the United States.
''Compared to many states, Virginia's general sales tax and corporate income tax are particularly low,'' U.Va. economist John L. Knapp wrote in a university newsletter.
Virginia imposes a 2 1/2-cents-per-pack tax on cigarettes. The tax, plus levies on other tobacco products, totaled $15.9 million in tobacco tax collections in 1998, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
That's $2.34 per state resident - less than one-tenth the national figure of $28.72 per person.
Next were tobacco-growing states Kentucky and North Carolina, which collected $4.63 and $6.27 per person, respectively. By comparison, Florida residents paid $31.31 per capita, and residents of Rhode Island, the state with the highest tax, paid $64.74 apiece.
The numbers didn't surprise John F. Banzhaf III, executive director of Action on Smoking and Health, a Washington-based anti-smoking group.
''It's no coincidence that the lowest taxes are generally in the major tobacco-growing states,'' Banzhaf said. ''The tobacco companies and growers ... are still influential.''
Tobacco is Virginia's largest cash crop with annual sales of nearly $200 million.
The state also is home to the manufacturing operations of tobacco giant Philip Morris and, in Southside, to a declining but still large number of tobacco farmers. It is one of the few states that have no statewide restrictions on smoking in public, Banzhaf said.
''It's too bad, because the two most effective and proven ways of reducing smoking are, number one, substantially increase the price, and number two, restricting smoking in public places,'' he said.
Lila Young, a spokeswoman for Gov. Jim Gilmore, said Gilmore prefers other tactics.
''The governor has pursued vigorous policies to eliminate smoking among young people with ABC enforcement,'' Ms. Young said. ''The problem with raising taxes on tobacco is that it is very financially harmful to the thousands of Virginians who work in the tobacco industry, and the governor is very sensitive to their needs.''
It isn't just tobacco taxes that are low. Virginia ranks 47th in the country in total state and local taxes per $1,000 of personal income, according to Knapp's research.
On a strictly per capita basis, without taking into account Virginians' relatively high incomes, the state ranks 31st in tax burden, Knapp said. He said residents' tax burdens have dropped each year since 1989, and they will continue to fall as the car tax is phased out.
Knapp said it remains to be seen whether the low taxes will be good for Virginia's economy.
''A lower tax burden could stimulate economic growth,'' he wrote, ''or it could have the opposite effect if state and local governments become so revenue-strapped that they must curtail spending on education and infrastructure that support economic growth.''

For the past several months, a number of local youths have dedicated countless hours grooming and preparing their animals for the Junior Livestock Show being held today at the Halifax Fairgrounds.
To the children who participate and their parents, this annual show represents a lot more than simply having the prettiest lamb or most obedient steer in the ring.
"It's all about teaching responsibility," said David Slabach, a parent of four active 4-H'ers and longtime participant in youth livestock programs. "This program is a vehicle to teach children responsibility while they also learn about growth and development. It is also a wholesome way for them to compete."
Four of the five Slabach children have been devoting the majority of their free time after school preparing nine lambs, two steers and one heifer for the annual show and livestock sale.
"The kids have to fill out a record for all the medications they use and to keep track of how much feed each animal receives, and they also have to keep a basic expense record. They also have to go out and get their own sponsors and help sell ads to help pay for the program," Slabach explained. "Then after the show they have to write thank you notes to all their sponsors. This all has to be done before they get any of the money from the sale of their animals."
The participants also get together the Thursday before the show to help set up, and then come back the following Thursday to clean up the grounds.
"It's a good way for them to get to know each other before they go in the ring and compete," Slabach said.
Not only that, it is a lot of fun, according to the children.
The Slabach children, Ben, Tim, Sarah Beth, Jason and Rebekah, all work together to prepare for the show.
"We all help each other," said Tim while explaining how he and his siblings practice together every day except Sundays. "You have to practice because you are judged on how well you handle your animal and how you respond to the judge."
This will be Tim and Ben's, 11 and 13 years old, respectively, fifth year in the show ring, while their younger brother, Jason,10, is showing for his fourth year. Sarah Beth, 7, will be showing for her third year today.
"It's a lot of work," Ben said. "We take turns getting up to feed before school. It doesn't matter what the weather's like."
But the toughest part for the young exhibitors is the sale that follows the show when the animals they've cared for, and in many cases grown to love, are auctioned off.
"The last part is the worst," Sarah Beth agreed.
Her little sister, Rebekah, 5, is showing for the first time and is still coming to grips with this reality.
"There's going to be a lot of tears," her mother, Gert, agreed. "She's still trying to get used to the idea, but it's always tough for all the children."
Some of the children who show heifers keep their animals for breeding purposes, thus learning another facet of animal husbandry.
"There is a lot involved in showing livestock. We trim the cattle and bathe them, and these lambs have to be sheared, washed, and kept clean before the show," Slabach explained, adding that to keep the lambs' wool white and pretty for the show ring they wear body tights. "It really is a good experience."
Today marks the 41st year of the Halifax Junior Livestock Show. This year the show will host 34 participants showing ten steers, four heifers and 40 lambs.
The exhibitors begin their projects in November by seeking sponsors for each animal they plan to show.
"There are a lot of good people in this community that want to help kids. We all invest a lot of time in this, but it's worth it," Gert Slabach concluded.

John Manion Brisben, 81, of Charlotte Courthouse died Friday, April 23, 1999.
Mr. Brisben was born June 30, 1917 in Brooklyn, NY.
Surviving are his wife, Barbara Elliott Brisben; two sons, John M. Brisben and Philip D. Brisben; one daughter, Constance Brisben; and two step-sons, C. Scott Elliott and Bruce Cole Elliott.

A memorial service will be held at a later date.

Rhoda Maurice Coleman Hayes of 2204 Meadville Road, Halifax died Friday, April 23, 1999 at her home at the age of 79.
Mrs. Hayes was born in Halifax County on May 26, 1919 the daughter of William Coleman and Mary Susan Plenty Coleman and was married to Walter Hayes Sr. She was a member of Piney Grove Baptist Church.
Survivors include two sons, Robert Coleman of Nathalie and Walter Hayes Jr. of Scottsburg; six grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; and a devoted nephew, James Coleman of Albany, NY.

Funeral services for Mrs. Hayes will be held Tuesday, April 27 at 2 p.m. at Piney Grove Baptist Church with Rev. Whitfield Scott officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.
The family will receive friends at the home of Robert Coleman, 16179 L.P. Bailey Memorial Highway, Nathalie.

Dr. Coleman Preston McCown of Silverspring, MD, formerly of Halifax County, died Wednesday, April 21, 1999 at the age of 67.
Dr. McCown was born in Halifax County the son of Clarence Preston McCown and Sally Coleman McCown and was married to Dorothy Alexander McCown. He was a member of Mt. Olive Baptist Church. He graduated from Booker T. Washington High School in South Boston and did undergraduate studies at Lincoln University in PA where he received his BS degree. Upon graduation he entered Howard University School of Denistry where he earned his DDS degree in 1963.
Survivors include two daughters, Arvia McCown Few of Chicago, IL and Dorothy Renee McCown of Atlanta, GA; one granddaughter, Bradlee Olivia Few; three sisters, June McRobinson of Norfolk, Vivian McThirston of Atlanta and Florence McEasley of Silverspring; one brother, Rev. Dr. Lowell M. McCown of Willow Grove, PA; and one son-in-law, Jason Few.
Memorial services for Dr. McCown will be held today, April 26 at noon at Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ in Washington, DC.

Linda Easley Harris of Halifax died Wednesday, April 21, 1999 at Halifax Regional Hospital at the age of 35.
Mrs. Harris was born in Halifax County on May 2, 1963.
Surviving her are her father, William Easley of Mt. Rainier, MD; three brothers, Rickey Easley of Alexandria, William 'Bobby' Easley of Halifax and Ben Crews of Washington; a devoted step-father, Cornelius Chalmers of Halifax; step-sister, Bent Chalmers and step-brother, Dwayne Chalmers, both of Richmond; her grandparents, Thomas and Magnolia Easley.

Funeral services for Mrs. Harris were held Sunday, April 25 at 2 p.m. at New Mt. Olive Holiness Church in Halifax with Pastor Leonia Palmer and Elder William Terry officiating. Burial was in the church cemetery.

A former South Boston Town Engineer, Brent Remsburg, has died in Abingdon at the age of 84. He had been Town Manager of Abingdon before his retirement in 1981.
Mr. Remsburg was a native of Lynchburg, who was raised in Lexington. He attended Washington & Lee University and VPI, and was a veteran of World War II, having served in the Naval Construction Battalion (Sea Bees). He had served as the Assistant City Engineer in Martinsville and Town Engineer in South Boston; as well as Acting Town Manager.
He had also served as Town Manager of Vienna and Herndon. A member of Rotary International since 1954, with perfect attendance for 40 years, he served as President of the Herndon Rotary Club and he was named a Paul Harris Fellow in 1981. He was a life member of The International City Management Association and The American Waterworks Association and Vice Chairman of the Abingdon Planning Commission. He was a member of Sinking Spring Presbyterian Church in Abingdon.
Mr. Remsburg was the son of the late Chester C. and Elizabeth Roberson Remsburg. Survivors include his wife, Vera Baron Remsburg of Abingdon; and several cousins.
Memorial services were held Friday, April 23 at 11 a.m. in Sinking Spring Presbyterian Church with Rev. Robert Tolar Jr. officiating. Burial will be private at a later date in Stonewall Jackson Cemetery in Lexington.
Those wishing to make contributions are asked to consider U.S.A. Fund Number 298, c/o Sinking Spring Presbyterian Church, 136 E. Main St., Abingdon, VA 23210.

Virginia Louise Allen Newton of 104 Love Shop Mobile Home Park Lot 30, South Boston died Saturday, April 24, 1999 at Duke Medical Center. She was 42 years of age at the time of her death.
Mrs. Newton was born December 9, 1956 in Halifax County the daughter of John Acree Allen Sr. and Laura Virginia Fifer Newton and was married to Bobby Ray Newton.
Graveside services will be held Tuesday, April 27 at 2 p.m. at Bethel Baptist Church Cemetery with Rev. Tony Brooks conducting the service.
Surviving Mrs. Newton are her husband; one daughter, Sherry Lloyd and her fiance, Marvin Cash of Halifax; two brothers, John A. Allen Jr. and David Bruce Allen and his wife, Sarah Allen of Halifax; four grandchildren; six nephews and two nieces.
The family will receive friends at Brooks Funeral Home tonight, April 26 from 7 until 8:30, and other times at the home.

Garland 'Joe' Lee Bostick of 631 Berry Hill Road, South Boston died Friday, April 23, 1999 at McQuire's Veterans Medical Center in Richmond at the age of 73.
Mr. Bostick was born in Halifax County on October 3, 1925 the son of Willie Bostick and Otelia Clark Bostick. He was a member of Banister Hill Baptist Church and was a WWII Army Veteran.
Survivors include one sister, Carrie 'Peggy' Houtman of New York, NY; one brother, William E. Bostick of Halifax; one uncle, Granville Barksdale of Virgilina; and a devoted niece, Joy Stephens of Richmond.
Funeral services for Mr. Bostick will be held Wednesday, April 28 at 1 p.m. at the chapel of Jeffress Funeral Home with burial in St. Luke CME Church Cemetery in Halifax.
The family will receive friends at the home of Mr. and Mrs. William E. Bostick, 670 Hedderly St., Halifax