Tragic, of course. Expected, of course. Defence departments deny any
wrong doing. Study incomplete. They need funds to test for depleted
uranium in subjects.
Natalia
http://en.ammonnews.net/article.aspx?articleNO=18428
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| 2012-10-18 |
By
Sarah Morrison
It played unwilling host to one of the bloodiest battles
of the Iraq war. Fallujah's homes and businesses were left
shattered; hundreds of Iraqi civilians were killed. Its
residents changed the name of their "City of Mosques" to
"the polluted city" after the United States launched two
massive military campaigns eight years ago. Now, one month
before the World Health Organisation reveals its view on
the legacy of the two battles for the town, a new study
reports a "staggering rise" in birth defects among Iraqi
children conceived in the aftermath of the war.
High rates of miscarriage, toxic levels of lead and
mercury contamination and spiralling numbers of birth
defects ranging from congenital heart defects to brain
dysfunctions and malformed limbs have been recorded. Even
more disturbingly, they appear to be occurring at an
increasing rate in children born in Fallujah, about 40
miles west of Baghdad.
There is "compelling evidence" to link the increased
numbers of defects and miscarriages to military assaults,
says Mozhgan Savabieasfahani, one of the lead authors of
the report and an environmental toxicologist at the
University of Michigan's School of Public Health. Similar
defects have been found among children born in Basra after
British troops invaded, according to the new research.
US marines first bombarded Fallujah in April 2004 after
four employees from the American security company
Blackwater were killed, their bodies burned and dragged
through the street, with two of the corpses left hanging
from a bridge. Seven months later, the marines stormed the
city for a second time, using some of the heaviest US air
strikes deployed in Iraq. American forces later admitted
that they had used white phosphorus shells, although they
never admitted to using depleted uranium, which has been
linked to high rates of cancer and birth defects.
The new findings, published in the Environmental
Contamination and Toxicology bulletin, will bolster claims
that US and Nato munitions used in the conflict led to a
widespread health crisis in Iraq. They are the latest in a
series of studies that have suggested a link between
bombardment and a rise in birth defects. Their preliminary
findings, in 2010, prompted a World Health Organisation
inquiry into the prevalence of birth defects in the area.
The WHO's report, out next month, is widely expected to
show an increase in birth defects after the conflict. It
has looked at nine "high-risk" areas in Iraq, including
Fallujah and Basra. Where high prevalence is found, the
WHO is expected to call for additional studies to pinpoint
precise causes.
The latest study found that in Fallujah, more than half of
all babies surveyed were born with a birth defect between
2007 and 2010. Before the siege, this figure was more like
one in 10. Prior to the turn of the millennium, fewer than
2 per cent of babies were born with a defect. More than 45
per cent of all pregnancies surveyed ended in miscarriage
in the two years after 2004, up from only 10 per cent
before the bombing. Between 2007 and 2010, one in six of
all pregnancies ended in miscarriage.
The new research, which looked at the health histories of
56 families in Fallujah, also examined births in Basra, in
southern Iraq, attacked by British forces in 2003.
Researchers found more than 20 babies out of 1,000 were
born with defects in Al Basrah Maternity Hospital in 2003,
a number that is 17 times higher than recorded a decade
previously. In the past seven years, the number of
malformed babies born increased by more than 60 per cent;
37 out of every 1,000 are now born with defects.
The report's authors link the rising number of babies born
with birth defects in the two cities to increased exposure
to metals released by bombs and bullets used over the past
two decades. Scientists who studied hair samples of the
population in Fallujah found that levels of lead were five
times higher in the hair of children with birth defects
than in other children; mercury levels were six times
higher. Children with defects in Basra had three times
more lead in their teeth than children living in
non-impacted areas.
Dr Savabieasfahani said that for the first time, there is
a "footprint of metal in the population" and that there is
"compelling evidence linking the staggering increases in
Iraqi birth defects to neuro-toxic metal contamination
following the repeated bombardments of Iraqi cities". She
called the "epidemic" a "public health crisis".
"In utero exposure to pollutants can drastically change
the outcome of an otherwise normal pregnancy. The metal
levels we see in the Fallujah children with birth defects
clearly indicates that metals were involved in
manifestation of birth defects in these children," she
said. "The massive and repeated bombardment of these
cities is clearly implicated here. I have no knowledge of
any alternative source of metal contamination in these
areas." She added that the data was likely to be an
"underestimate", as many parents who give birth to
children with defects hide them from public view.
Professor Alastair Hay, a professor of environmental
toxicology at Leeds University, said the figures presented
in the study were "absolutely extraordinary". He added:
"People here would be worried if there was a five or 10
per cent increase [in birth defects]. If there's a
fivefold increase in Fallujah, no one could possibly
ignore that; it's crying out for an explanation as to
what's the cause. A rapid increase in exposure to lead and
mercury seems reasonable if lots of ammunition is going
off. I would have also thought a major factor would be the
extreme stress people are under in that period; we know
this can cause major physiological changes."
A US Defense Department spokesperson said: "We are not
aware of any official reports indicating an increase in
birth defects in Al Basrah or Fallujah that may be related
to exposure to the metals contained in munitions used by
the US or coalition partners. We always take very
seriously public health concerns about any population now
living in a combat theatre. Unexploded ordnance, including
improvised explosive devises, are a recognised hazard."
A UK government spokesperson said there was no "reliable
scientific or medical evidence to confirm a link between
conventional ammunition and birth defects in Basra",
adding: "All ammunition used by UK armed forces falls
within international humanitarian law and is consistent
with the Geneva Convention."
Dr Savabieasfahani said she plans to analyse the
children's samples for the presence of depleted uranium
once funds have been raised. She added: "We need extensive
environmental sampling, of food, water and air to find out
where this is coming from. Then we can clean it up. Now we
are seeing 50 per cent of children being born with
malformations; in a few years it could be everyone."
Metal hazards
Lead
Throughout pregnancy, lead can pass from a woman's bones
to her child; the levels of lead in maternal and foetal
blood are almost identical. Children and particularly the
unborn are more susceptible to lead than adults. At high
levels of exposure, lead attacks the brain and central
nervous system, causing comas, convulsions and even death,
according to the WHO. Children who survive acute lead
poisoning are typically left with mental defects and
behavioural problems.
Mercury
Exposure to metallic, inorganic or organic mercury can
permanently damage the brain, kidneys and developing
foetus. Mercury can enter the air, water and soil. Its
harmful effects can be passed from mother to the unborn
child, leading to brain damage, mental defects, blindness,
seizures, muteness and lack of co-ordination.
Depleted uranium
A toxic heavy metal, depleted uranium is what is left over
after natural uranium has been enriched, either for use in
weapons or for reactor fuel. While the US and UK
acknowledge that the dust can be dangerous if inhaled, the
jury is still out when it comes to long-term damage to
people and their children. Scientists have suggested that
its molecules can travel to the sperm and eggs, increasing
the probability of cancer and damage to genes.
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