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| Depleted
Uranium : The New Agent Orange The doctors had no idea what was causing their condition, but Herbert and his companions believe they know. Their unit was housed in a bombed out train station in Iraq surrounded by destroyed tanks and unexploded ordinance. When a unit of Dutch marines was stationed there, their radiation detection equipment registered so hot that they refused to remain in the train station. Herbert and his fellow veterans sent samples of their urine to an independent lab where the results came back positive for depleted uranium. They have hired a lawyer and are suing the U.S. Army, claiming the Army knew of the danger and concealed it from them. The military did not warn any soldiers in the first Gulf War of the dangers of depleted uranium. Depleted uranium (DU) is the waste product of the uranium enrichment process whereby fuel for nuclear power plants and atomic weapons are produced, and it’s estimated that the Department of Energy (DOE) has 1.5 billion pounds in storage.1 It is referred to as a “resource material” — a legal definition that saves the DOE the cost of managing DU as a radioactive waste. In reality, it’s a heavy metal similar to lead or mercury and is radioactive with a half-life of 1.5 billion years. Because such a large quantity of DU has created a storage and disposal problem for the DOE, the Pentagon has come up with a solution: weaponize it. Since DU is approximately one and a half times as heavy as lead, it’s extremely hard, and when made into a penetrator or bullet, it can pierce the heaviest of armor plating. Upon hitting its target, the DU ignites and burns at a very high temperature, incinerating everything in its vicinity; and its heavy weight allows it to travel further than conventional munitions. These qualities make DU a very desirable weapon. When a DU bullet hits its target and burns, it produces tiny radioactive dust particles that can be inhaled or ingested. It can contaminate soil, water, air, and also the blood, tissues, and organs of those exposed. In its weaponized form, DU appears to be in violation of several international agreements, such as the Geneva Convention and the Geneva Gas Protocols. On Jan. 17, 2001, the European Parliament voted to ban the use of DU among its members.2 Researchers in Canada have discovered DU in the urine of Canadian veterans eight years after the soldiers’ involvement in the first Gulf War.3 German researcher Albrecht Schott has found that British veterans exposed to DU have suffered ten times more genetic defects than the general population.4 What’s more, the U.S. Veterans Affairs recently found that children of veterans of the Persian Gulf conflict are two to three times as likely as children of veterans of other wars to have birth defects or be miscarried.5 But it’s not just the vets who suffer from DU exposure. The British Royal Society’s second DU study found that children in DU-bombed areas face a long-term risk of cancer and heavy metal poisoning.6 What is the Pentagon’s response to all this? Deny, deny, deny. The Pentagon claims there is absolutely no health risk to DU exposure, despite the fact that soldiers in Iraq were ordered to stay away from anything that had been hit with a DU weapon. This sounds eerily like Agent Orange déjà vu. Countless veterans and their families will again have to fight the stonewalling of the government. Many will die, while many more suffer a life of pain and despair before the truth is allowed to come to light. In October 1997, I saw first-hand the devastating effects of depleted uranium on the children of Iraq while delivering much-needed medicines to hospitals. I witnessed young children dying from leukemia, unexplainable illnesses, and other types of cancers. Leukemia — a disease that was almost nonexistent before the U.S. bombing in 1991 — is now rampant. Because children’s bodies are growing, their cells are more susceptible to damage from radiation and toxic metal. According to Mt. Sinai pathologist Thomas Fasey, chemical DU has an affinity for bonding with DNA and even trace amounts can cause cancers or fetal abnormalities.7 The doctors — all of whom are trained in Western medicine — were helpless, as sanctions did not allow the importation of medicines or medical equipment. I was told by the doctors that all the children I saw in the hospitals would be dead in two months. I felt like a voyeur, walking in on these peoples’ pain and suffering. The mothers residing at bedsides knew that my government was responsible for the suffering of their families, yet they graciously allowed us to ask questions and photograph their children. I wanted to scream ‘I’m sorry’ and run out of the hospital, but knew I could not. I had a responsibility to tell the citizens of the United States what was happening to the Iraqi people. Our continued use of DU in the Middle East should be viewed for what it really is: illegal chemical warfare. It is time for a change. As citizens, we should support the position taken by The Physicians for Social Responsibility. Their brief from October 2005 states: “As physicians and health professionals dedicated to the survival of a healthful and sustainable planet, we believe that the use of depleted uranium weapons that leaves a persistent noxious environment and public health hazard is unconscionable. We owe it to future generations to stop their use and attend to their cleanup immediately.” ---------------------------- 1 “Sickened Iraq Vets Cite Depleted Uranium” By Deborah Hastings. AP National Writer Aug. 12, 2006 4 The Express, UK, Dec. 24, 2001 5 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Oct. 6, 2001 and Chicago Tribune, Oct. 10, 2001 6 “The Health Hazards of Depleted Uranium Munitions Part II” The Royal Society, Mar. 2002 7
“Radioactive Wounds of War” by Dave Lindhoff. In These
Times Aug. 25, 2005 By Randy Bond |
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