Monday, September 30, 2002 Back The Halifax Herald Limited
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Attack on Iraq would expose soldiers to depleted
uranium
By Scott Taylor ON TARGET
A SENIOR Iraqi medical official warns that any
U.S.-led military action against Iraq will have to confront "the hidden
killer" as well as Saddam Hussein's forces.
"If they wish to launch Gulf War II, they had better
be prepared to lose many of their soldiers to Gulf War Syndrome II,"
says Mona Al Jibowei, dean of the science faculty at Baghdad University.
"The allied soldiers went home after being exposed to
depleted uranium for only a short period of time. Iraq has lived with
its devastating effects for the past 12 years."
Since the end of the Gulf War, tens of thousands of
allied veterans have developed debilitating illnesses and have qualified
to collect medical pensions. Despite the fact these ex-service members
have been compensated for their disabilities, officials say there is no
scientific proof their illness is linked to service in the Persian Gulf
or exposure to depleted uranium.
Depleted uranium is the waste byproduct of nuclear
reactors. In the 1980s, U.S. researchers recognized that the material's
density gave it tremendous armour-piercing potential. In addition to
being able to punch through layers of hardened steel, shells coated with
depleted uranium also ignite on impact, creating a fiery burst of
radioactive particles inside an enemy armoured vehicle. It is this
"aerosol" that most experts believe causes the variety of long- term
health problems associated with Gulf War Syndrome.
"Although depleted uranium itself contains only low
levels of radiation, once tiny aerosol particles are breathed in and
become lodged in the lymph nodes, this radiation continues to attack the
immune system and to alter reproductive chromosomes," Al Jibowei said.
"This is why it creates such diverse results in different individuals."
Al Jibowei is on the executive committee of a special
Iraqi research project to monitor the health hazard created by depleted
uranium. A specialist in toxicology and pathology, the British-educated
Al Jibowei has spent a lot of time since the Gulf War liaising with a
number of international experts.
"This is entirely new science," said Al Jibowei. "The
Gulf War was the first time that (such) munitions were used on an actual
battlefield, and no one at the time had any idea what effect they would
have on the body."
By analysing the available case information, the Iraqi
researchers realized that the epicentre for effects is around Basra, in
southern Iraq.
The U.S. and British air forces expended an estimated
300 tonnes of depleted-uranium ammunition in and around this key staging
area for Iraq's military.
International researchers consider Basra to be "ground
zero" as it represents the heaviest concentrations of depleted uranium
next to a major urban centre.
"What we have noticed here is a tremendous increase in
soft cancers like leukemia, particularly among children," said Al
Jibowei. "There has also been a horrific epidemic of birth defects over
the past 12 years."
The Iraqi surveys show children with such anomalies
are almost exclusively born to parents who were directly exposed to
depleted uranium.
"Either they were in the vicinity of Basra during the
war, or their fathers were serving in the army and were exposed to (the
material) in Kuwait," Al Jibowei said.
While attending an international conference in New
York last year, the Iraqi research team met with U.S. Gulf War veterans
to compare statistics.
"It was amazing the similarities in the birth defects
between the U.S. and Iraqi babies," he said.
Any potential ground invasion of Iraq by U.S.-led
forces would most likely be launched from Kuwait, and troops would have
to pass straight up the Death Highway to Basra. The hulks of thousands
of Iraqi vehicles still litter the sides of this highway. Although the
aerosol from the coated shells has long since dissipated, Iraqi
scientists believe the particles remain in the desert sands.
Uranium possesses a radioactive half-life of 200
million years and therefore, would still pose a serious risk.
Despite increasing evidence linking the material to
degenerative health disorders, the British and American militaries
steadfastly refuse to suspend their use of such weapons.
On Aug. 16 of this year at the annual UN Human Rights
Convention, a motion was tabled to ban the use of depleted-uranium
munitions until a full-scale medical survey can be conducted. Britain
and the U.S. were the only two countries to vote against the motion.
It is a decision both countries could come to regret
should hostilities erupt.
"If the Americans do attack us, they will inherit a
hostile environment of radioactive toxicity," said Al Jibowei. "They
will face the same tragedy that Iraq is already experiencing and
suffering. Everyone will end up buried in Iraq."
http://www.herald.ns.ca/stories/2002/09/30/f104.raw.html
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