-Caveat Lector- Jet Fires Shells Near Puerto Rico SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, May 28, 1999 (AP Online via COMTEX) -- A Marine fighter jet has mistakenly fired 263 shells loaded with radioactive depleted uranium at a practice range about 10 miles from a Puerto Rican town, the Navy said. The accident near the town of Isabela Segunda on Vieques island, off the eastern coast of Puerto Rico, in early March was an ''isolated, one-time incident,'' Navy spokesman Roberto Nelson said Thursday. Nelson, noting it was illegal for the Navy to use the shells on Vieques, said the Harrier jet was mistakenly loaded with the 25 mm shells either at Mayport, Fla., or Norfolk, Va. The admission bolstered claims by Puerto Rican politicians that the military has acted irresponsibly and should stop using the island for live bombing. Some are demanding that the Navy leave the U.S. territory altogether. Anti-U.S. politicians who disclosed the incident Thursday said it supports their claims that the military has subjected the island's 9,300 residents to radioactive material, causing a higher rate of cancer. People on the island suffer a cancer rate of 208 per 100,000 residents -- almost double the Puerto Rican average. Nelson said the area had been cleaned up and that even though only 57 of the shells were recovered, they pose no health threat. On its official Internet site, the Department of Defense says there is much ignorance about depleted uranium, developed to explode into the armor of tanks. The heavy metal is only 40 percent as radioactive as naturally occurring uranium ore and -- while chemically toxic -- isn't a radiation hazard unless inhaled, the Web site says. But Tara Thornton of The Military Toxics Project, an activist group based in Lewiston, Maine, said small amounts of depleted uranium can cause health problems and requires automatic medical testing. She said that depleted uranium, when it is fired, burns on impact and then oxidizes into tiny dust particles that can be carried by the wind and water. People in the area can be inhaling it or ingesting it, she said. Copyright 1999 Associated Press, All rights reserved. -0- By MICHELLE FAUL News provided by COMTEX. [!EMERGING+MARKETS] [!INTERNATIONAL] [!LATIN+AMERICA] [!WORLD+AFFAIRS] [ACCIDENT] [ACTIVIST] [APO] [CANCER] [DEFENSE] [HEALTH] [INTERNET] [MAINE] [MILITARY] [NAVY] [NEWS] [NEWSGRID] [ONLINE] [PUERTO+RICO] [RADIOACTIVE] [TOXIC] -- ----------------------- NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ----------------------- DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
