of the danger to our brave and noble solders who are using
Date: Thu, 14 Mar 2002 00:48:49 EST
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Latest DU Study
[NOTE: The Royal Society is a British elitist institution. However, the
findings are significant in that they reverse some of the Royal Societies own
previous positions and are begining to acknowledge DU for the horrible weapon
it is. The concern of course in the report is for occupying soldier, no
Western government using DU has ever funded a single study into the impact of
these weapons on civilian populations.]
Depleted uranium may cause liver damage -- study
By Patricia Reaney
LONDON, March 12 (Reuters) - Soldiers exposed to high levels of depleted
uranium may suffer kidney damage and it could pose a danger to civilians
through contaminated soil or water supplies, scientists warned on Tuesday.
But, in the latest contribution to a sometimes heated debate, a report by
Britain's Royal Society said that only a small number of soldiers would have
inhaled large enough amounts of depleted uranium (DU) to seriously damage
their health and preventive measures could limit any danger to civilians.
It said most veterans of the Gulf War or Balkans conflicts were unlikely to
suffer from heavy metal poisoning.
A by-product of nuclear reactors, depleted uranium (DU) is used not for its
low radioactivity but as a cheap, heavy tip that helps armour-piercing shells
batter through steel plate.
"For the majority of soldiers on the battlefield it is unlikely there will be
any adverse effects on the kidneys," Professor Brian Spratt told a news
conference.
"The concerns that we have are about soldiers who have the highest levels of
exposure to DU, those surviving within struck tanks or those working for long
periods cleaning up contaminated vehicles after a battle."
Spratt said a few hundred U.S. servicemen and an unknown number of Iraqi
soldiers would have been exposed to the most dangerous levels of DU.
The report also warned that DU particles in the ground near attack sites
could contaminate the soil and pose a risk if some of the soil is swallowed
by children. It also suggested the topsoil in heavily contaminated areas
should be removed and water quality should be monitored for any
contamination.
"It is very difficult to predict whether contamination of a local water
supply will occur in these areas because there are too many uncertainties and
variables," said Spratt.
Water samples in areas where DU shells were used have been examined and there
has been no sign of contamination but the scientists said monitoring should
continue because contamination could take decades.
FEAR OF CANCERS
Concerns about the health effects of the armour-piercing depleted uranium
shells used in the Gulf War and the Balkans arose last year after
peacekeepers in Bosnia and Kosovo said they had developed leukaemia after
exposure to the material.
Iraq also says there is a link between depleted uranium in weapons and an
increase in leukaemia and other cancers.
In an earlier report, the Royal Society concluded that the levels of DU
soldiers were exposed to were not high enough to raise their risk of
leukaemia. But it added that very high amounts could cause a very small
increased risk of lung cancer.
Scientists have been hampered in their research into the health effects of DU
because there is no accurate test to measure very small levels of the element
in the human body.
Spratt said a sensitive test could be available by the end of the year but he
added that just testing positive for DU does not mean someone will suffer
from health problems.
The report called for more research into the effects of DU and long-term
studies of soldiers exposed to high levels to determine any link to kidney
disease and lung cancer.
Depleted uranium shells are favoured by the United States, Britain and France
among others as the best and cheapest ammunition available to smash enemy
armour. Some 40,000 rounds were fired in the Balkans by U.S. ground attack
aircraft during the Kosovo conflict and in 1995 in Bosnia.
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