-Caveat Lector- Make that 713 million years...
> Do you know what's the half-life of Uranium-235? It's 13 million years. > Do you know what it does when it's extremely toxic dust enters the air > and pollutes the ecosystems? - You probably will. Personally. > > Military Using Depleted Uranium in Afghanistan and Here > http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/011103E.dpltd.urnim.htm > > Afghanistan: The Nuclear Nightmare Starts > By Davey Garland > CoastalPost.com > > When questions were asked in the British parliament a year ago about > whether depleted uranium (DU) weapons had been used in the military > strikes on Afghanistan, "It is not being used at present" was defense > minister Geoff Hoon's reply. > > A few days earlier, Hoon had been similarly vague on the issue, assuring > us that: "No British forces currently engaged in operations around > Afghanistan are armed with depleted uranium ammunition. However, we do not > rule out the use of depleted uranium ammunition in Afghanistan, should its > penetrative capability be judged necessary in the future." > > The defense minister played his cards close to his chest, no doubt having > been informed that DU or other uranium weapons were being used by the > United States (and no doubt British) forces to penetrate the caverns of > Tora Bora and other targets (including civilian ones), especially in the > vicinity of Kabul. > > The refusal of the Ministry of Defense to fully admit that dangerous > uranium weapons may have been used in Afghanistan and the conflicts in the > Balkans (Bosnia and Kosova), when evidence shows the contrary, illustrates > just how sensitive the government is to the possibility that its use, or > its collusion in the use, of weapons of mass destruction may be > discovered. > > This is not just because thousands of innocent civilians will suffer due > to radiological (and heavy metal) poisoning, but also because the > government is prepared to send British troops and aid workers, possibly > for a long occupation of the war zones, ill-equipped and vulnerable to > contamination. > > When the Afghan crisis began, many of us believed that a great amount of > DU/dirty uranium would be used to achieve the US-British campaign > objectives, both to penetrate the opposition's hideouts in rocky terrain > and to test new weapons systems (dirty uranium or dirty DU contains > radioactive contaminants, such as plutonium isotopes, derived from spent > fuel from power reactors). The amount used in Afghanistan might have > exceeded the several hundred ton's of DU/dirty uranium used in the 1990-91 > Gulf War and the Balkans conflicts. > > Startling report > > A startling new report based on research in Afghanistan indicates that our > worst fears have been realized. The study, produced by the Uranium Medical > Research Centre (UMRC), points to the likelihood of large numbers of the > population being exposed to uranium dust and debris. > > Dr. Asaf Durakovic, a professor of nuclear medicine and radiology and a > former science adviser to the US military, who set-up the independent > UMRC, has been testing US, British, and Canadian troops and civilians for > DU and uranium poisoning over the past few years. His findings confirm > significant amounts in the subjects' urine as much as nine years after > exposure. > > Two scientific study teams were sent to Afghanistan in the aftermath of > the conflict in 2001-02. The first arrived in June 2002, concentrating on > the Jalalabad region. The second arrived four months later, broadening the > study to include the capital Kabul, which has a population of nearly 3.5 > million people. The city itself contains the highest recorded number of > fixed targets during Operation Enduring Freedom. For the study's purposes, > the vicinity of three major bomb sites were examined. > > It was predicted that signatures of depleted or enriched uranium would be > found in the urine and soil samples taken during the research. The team > was unprepared for the shock of its findings, which indicated in both > Jalalabad and Kabul, DU was possibly causing the high levels of illness > but also high concentrations of non-depleted uranium. Tests taken from a > number of Jalalabadd subjects showed concentrations 400% to 2000% above > that for normal populations, amounts which have not been recorded in > civilian studies before. > > Those in Kabul who were directly exposed to US-British precision bombing > showed extreme signs of contamination, consistent with uranium exposure > and with some types of chemical or biological weaponry. These included > pains in joints, back/kidney pain, muscle weakness, memory problems and > confusion and disorientation. Many of these symptoms are found in Gulf War > and Balkans veterans and civilians. Those exposed to the bombing report > symptoms of flu-type illnesses, bleeding, runny noses and blood-stained > mucous. > > The study team itself complained of similar symptoms during their stay. > Most of these symptoms last for days or months. The team also conducted a > preliminary sample examination of new-born infants, discovering that at > least 25% may be suffering from congenital and post-natal health problems > that could be associated with uranium contamination. These include > undeveloped muscles, large head in comparison to body size, skin rashes > and infant lethargy. Considering that the children had access to > sufficient levels of nutrition, the symptoms could not be due to > malnourishment. > > Durakovic and his team have searched for possible alternative causes, such > as geological or industrial sources, or the likelihood of Al Qaeda having > uranium reserves. But the uranium found is not consistent with the "dirty > bomb" scenario proposed by the US (in which stores of radioactive > materials might explain the findings), nor is it connected to DU, or an > enriched uranium-type dust that has been found in Iraq and Kosova. > > The only conclusion is that the allied forces are now possibly using > milled uranium ore in their warheads to maximize the effectiveness and > strength of their weapons, as well as to mask the uranium, hoping that it > may be discounteded as part of any local natural deposits. > > However, marked differences between natural uranium and the uranium used > in the metal fragments found in Afghanistan was uncovered with the use of > an electron microscope, which revealed the presence of small ceramic > particles produced by the high temperatures created on impact. This method > of disguising uranium would benefit governments that are under pressure > from the growing anti-DU lobby. > > Repeated warnings of this possible contamination was sent to both the > British and Afghan governments in April by scientific researcher Dai > Williams in her report, "Mystery Metal in Afghanistan". Warning were also > sent to the UN Environment Program, the World Health Organization and > Oxfam. All have ignored them and failed to conduct their own > investigations. > > Iraq > > Present information and studies stressing the growing mortality rates > amongst young children, especially the new born, indicate that > malnutrition and other social causes cannot be the only attributable > source of this phenomenon. This is confirmed by health specialists, > international observers and a few brave officials from local hospitals who > are convinced that this rise in illnesses and malformation are due to > uranium/DU weapons. > > In October, Durakovic spoke on al Jazeera television, claiming that the > amount of DU/uranium used in Afghanistan far exceeded that of past > conflicts. He also warned that if the scale of the attacks in Afghanistan > was matched or exceeded in a forthcoming war in Iraq, then the > consequences would be of appalling proportions for both civilians and > military forces alike. > > This scenario has substance, if the $393 billion defense authorization > bill that Congress approved recently is taken into account. More than $15 > million was assigned to modifying bunker busters bombs to nuclear capable, > quite apart from uranium being added to conventional and bunker buster > systems.s. Money was also invested in other weapons of mass destruction, > including thermobaric and electromagnetic weapons. > > The anti-war movement must oppose radiological and other weapons, as well > as research and access to the source materials. Many of us have seen the > heart-wrenching pictures of deformity and death in Iraq, and know of the > growing cancer wards in Bosnia and Kosova, not to mention the 80,000 > American, 15,000 Canadian and thousands of British, Australian, French and > other troops! who are suffering a painful existence from Gulf War Syndrome > plus the growing number suffering from a Balkans equivalent. > > Davey Garland is a coordinator of the British-based Pandora DU Research > Project. Source; Green Left Weekly, Issue of December 2002. > > > Toxic Ammo is Tested in US Fishing Waters > by Larry Johnson > SeattlePi.Nwsource.com > > Thursday 9 January 2003 > > U.S. Navy uses depleted uranium in coast > waters; activists may go to court > > The Navy routinely tests a weapon by firing radioactive, toxic ammunition > in prime fishing areas off the coast of Washington, raising concerns from > scientists, fishermen and activists. > > The Navy insists the use of depleted uranium off the coast poses no threat > to the environment. Depleted uranium, known as DU, is a highly dense metal > that is the byproduct of the process during which fissionable uranium used > to manufacture nuclear bombs and reactor fuel is separated from natural > uranium. DU remains radioactive for about 4.5 billion years. > > Cmdr. Karen Sellers, a Navy spokeswoman in Seattle, also said there are no > hazards to the servicemen and women on board the ships, adding that "all > crew members are medically monitored" to ensure their safety. > > But a coalition of Northwest environmental and anti-war activists say they > are considering seeking an injunction to halt the tests. > > "The Navy is willing to put us all at risk, including its own sailors, to > improve its war-fighting capabilities," said Glen Milner, of Ground Zero > Center for Nonviolent Action, one of the groups weighing a suit to stop > the Navy tests. Milner received information on the Navy's tests of > depleted uranium ammunition off the coast in a memo released in response > to a Freedom of Information Act request. > > No major studies apparently have been done on the effects of such weapons > in the ocean. Where depleted uranium munitions have been used in combat on > land, such as in Iraq during the Gulf War, or in tests on land, such as > Vieques island in Puerto Rico, they not only give off relatively small > amounts of radiation, but produce toxic dust that can enter the food > chain. > > Seattle environmental attorney David Mann asked, "How can the Navy fire > depleted uranium rounds and spread radioactive material into prime fishing > areas off our coast?" > > Sellers, however, said that only 400 to 600 rounds would be fired during a > typical test at sea. And even though these tests have been going on since > 1977, she said Navy environmental experts say that the DU dissolves very > slowly in the ocean. > > "It would be too diluted to distinguish from natural background uranium in > the sea water," she said. > > The weapon in question is the Phalanx, also known as a Close In Weapons > System. Such a system is on virtually all U.S. Navy combat ships. It > includes radar and rapid-fire 20mm guns. The guns are capable of firing up > to 3,000 or 4,500 rounds per minute of depleted uranium, a superhard > material prized for its armor-piercing ability. > > The Defense Department says the military uses the munitions "because of > DU's superior lethality against armor and other hard targets." > > Although depleted uranium emits radiation, a second, potentially more > serious hazard is created when a DU round hits a hard target. As much as > 70 percent of the projectile can burn on impact, creating a firestorm of > ceramic DU oxide particles. The residue of this firestorm is an extremely > fine ceramic uranium dust that can be spread by the wind, inhaled and > absorbed into the human body and absorbed by plants and animals, becoming > part of the food chain. > > Once in the soil, DU can pollute the environment and create up to a > hundredfold increase in uranium levels in ground water, according to the > U.N. Environmental Program > > The Defense Department said DU munitions are "war reserve munitions; that > is, used for combat and not fired for training purposes," with the > exception that DU munitions may be fired at sea for weapon calibration > purposes." > > Another Navy spokeswoman described those firings at sea as "routine" and > says they occur regularly off both the East and West coasts. > > "If the firing is with DU, it's probably with what we call the Close in > Weapons System, and it is routine," said Lt. Brauna Carl, a Navy > spokeswoman in Washington, D.C., and a former gunnery officer who has > worked with DU weapons. > > When asked if the tests of DU rounds posed any health hazards, she > replied, "God, I hope not. All I know is I haven't started glowing." > > But Milner says, "It just makes sense that if DU can contaminate land and > get into the food chain, then it would do the same thing in the sea." > > Robert Alverson, president of the Fishing Vessel Owners Association in > Seattle, said he was "very troubled" to hear that the Navy was using > depleted uranium off the coast of Washington. "I don't like what I'm > hearing," he said. > > The Navy memo obtained by Milner described a June 2001 operation by the > USS Fife, an Everett-based destroyer. The memo said the Fife would conduct > gunnery operations with depleted rounds in what was described as areas > W237C and W237F. > > These areas are designated Navy Warning Areas and are about 25-100 miles > off the coast between Ocean Shores and Ozette, south of Neah Bay, > according to Milner. > > "These are certainly prime fishing areas" for some salmon, flounder and > other bottomfish, Alverson said. "It is folly to be testing anything in > this area that might contaminate the natural food supply." > > "How would the Navy feel about eating fish caught there?" he asked. > Alverson said even the perception that fish might be contaminated could > scare consumers and have dire consequences. > > "If any species ever turns up with radiation, it would be devastating to > the fishing industry," he said. > > Leonard Dietz, a research associate with the private, non-profit Uranium > Medical Research Centre in Canada and the United States, said that the > degree of environmental contamination the DU rounds will cause in sea > water depends on what kinds of targets were hit and how much DU was fired. > > "Corrosion of the DU by sea water would occur over a long time," said > Dietz, who with Asaf Durakovic, director of the center, and research > associate Patricia Horan, published a landmark study on inhaled DU that > showed Gulf War veterans still had DU in their urine nine years after the > war. > > "The end result is that the ocean becomes a dumping ground for the spent > DU penetrators and they add to the (natural) uranium content of sea > water," he said. > > The Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action is one of five peace and > environmental organizations already involved in a federal lawsuit against > the Navy for violations of the Endangered Species Act over the Trident D-5 > nuclear missile upgrade at the Bangor submarine base. > > DEPLETED URANIUM HAZARD > > The Pentagon has sent mixed signals about the effects of depleted uranium, > saying there have been no known health problems associated with the > munition. At the same time, the military acknowledges the hazards in an > Army training manual, which requires that anyone who comes within 25 > meters of any DU-contaminated equipment or terrain wear respiratory and > skin protection, and says that "contamination will make food and water > unsafe for consumption." > > Some researchers and several U.S. veterans organizations say they suspect > depleted uranium of playing a role in Gulf War Syndrome, the > still-unexplained malady that has plagued hundreds of thousands of Gulf > War veterans. > > ------- > > On the Net: > > Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action: > www.gzcenter.org > U.S. Navy: www.navy.mil > Iraqi birth defects, Gulf War Syndrome > linked to depleted uranium: > http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/1112-01.htm > > (In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. 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