Depleted Uranium - A Hidden Looming Worldwide Calamity

Written By: Ed Deak
Date: 2006-03-30 15:09:00
<a href="/article/95129382-depleted-uranium-a-hidden-looming-worldwide-calamity">Article Link</a>

THE ARROGANCE OF DOMINANCE

There's little dispute that the U.S. today is the preeminent world power and unlike any that ever preceded it. It now admits to being an empire. In fact, it's the first ever world global empire. To expand its reach and influence, it now spends nearly as much on its military as all other nations combined and has built and maintains a military capacity no other nation dare challenge. It also reserves for itself the sole right to develop and use the most dangerous and destructive weapons, even those banned from use by international law or custom. Some of those now in charge at the highest levels believe they have a divine right to use them, even a duty. George Bush may be one of them. A self-proclaimed and so-called born-again Christian, he says he gets his direction from the Almighty. That's real arrogance, the supreme kind only an unchallengeable power and its leaders dare arrogate to itself.

Up to now, the U.S. has effectively used its power to dominate other nations either by persuasion, economic isolation or conquest. We claim to be a model democracy, but our policies and actions prove otherwise. At home we're a democracy for the few - the privileged and powerful. It's they who govern and run our institutions including the most dominant one of all - the giant transnational corporations whose interests all administrations serve including waging war for their benefit. Wars are good for business - as long as they're easily winnable, the public supports them, and they don't cause undo economic stresses that may disrupt the economy, in which case they're bad for business.

There's a striking term often used in the plural and in a business context that's also appropriate more broadly. The term is "externalities." In business it refers to the unfortunate side effects or consequences of a company's action that may have a detrimental affect on others. A typical example is an industrial plant that produces a dangerous substance as an unsalable byproduct from its production process. To avoid the cost of disposal, storage or treatment, the plant dumps it into waterways, unused land areas or through smokestacks. In so doing it harms the environment. Wars also have "externalities" - with far greater consequences. Overall, death, disease and destruction are the best examples. But so are the dangerous residues and their side effects from the use of weapons like toxic chemicals, biological agents and all types of nuclear munitions. We're all aware of the danger from the first two categories, although when used they only affect small areas and are not "weapons of mass destruction." We've also seen the destructive capability of a nuclear bomb and have heard of DU. But, the public has little or no knowledge about the real danger and threat from the use of any nuclear device or substance. That information has been willfully and deliberately suppressed because the potential harm is so great and irreversible. Even when there's clear evidence of widespread problems as there was in the case of the Agent Orange effects on Vietnam veterans and "Gulf war syndrome" on the military from that conflict, our government has denied any connection and stonewalled efforts to help those in need - until they no longer could hide the truth and had to act.

<a href="http://tinyurl.com/d2q2x">http://tinyurl.com/d2q2x</a> [Global Research]
<a href="http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context==viewArticle&code==LEN20060119&articleId">http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context==viewArticle&code==LEN20060119&articleId</a>=54

Just so that you all know... ALL flus are ALL from birds!

From a presentation on Depleted Uranium by Thomas Fasy MD PhD, Associate Clinical Professor of Pathology Mount Sinai School of Medicince, New York: 
 
By the early 1900s, uranium was well recognized to be a kidney toxin. By the mid-1940s, uranium was known to be a neurotoxin. By the early 1970s, uranium was recognized to be a carcinogen based on mortality studies of uranium workers and on experiments with dogs and monkeys. The first evidence that uranyl ions bind to DNA was reported in 1949 and by the early 1990s, uranium was shown to be a mutagen. Also, in the early 1990s, uranium was shown to be a teratogen, that is, an inducer of birth defects. The toxic effects of uranium on the kidney and on the nervous system typically occur within days of exposure and radiation probably plays little or no role in mediating these effects. In contrast, the carcinogenic effects of uranium have a delayed onset. The teratogenic effects of uranium might be due to exposure of one parent prior to conception as well as to exposure of the mother to uranium early in pregnancy. 
 
Now let us briefly consider the routes of exposure to uranium. In the context of the dust particles derived from depleted uranium weapons, this means exposure to uranium oxides. By far the most dangerous route of exposure to uranium oxides is the inhalational or respiratory route. Absorption of uranium oxides through the gastrointestinal tract, the skin and the conjunctivae is possible but quite limited. 
 
Following impact with hard targets, uranium metal undergoes combustion releasing large quantities of very small uranium oxide dust particles into the environment. 
 
These dust particles derived from depleted uranium weapons are drastically different from the natural uranium that is normally present in rocks and soil. 
 
Soil particles contain uranium at very low concentrations, typically less than 5 parts per million; the vast majority of these soil particles, however, are too large to be inhaled deep into the lungs. In contrast, the dust particles derived from depleted uranium weapons contain very high concentrations of uranium, typically more than 500.000 parts per million; moreover, most of the D.U. dust particles are sufficiently small to be inhaled deep into the lungs. Thus, compared to the uranium naturally present in the environment, D.U. dust contains uranium in a form that is vastly more bio-available and more readily internalized. 
 
Uranyl ions bind to DNA; they bind in the minor groove of DNA. While bound to DNA, uranyl ions are chemically reactive and can give rise to free radicals which may damage DNA. Chemically mediated DNA damage of this type may contribute to the ability of uranium to induce cancers. 
 
<a href="http://tinyurl.com/chwef">http://tinyurl.com/chwef</a> 
 
From the web site of the Uranium Medical Resarch Centre ( <a href="http://www.umrc.net">http://www.umrc.net</a> ), founded by Dr. Asaf Durakovic, a former Head of Nuclear Medicine at the US Veterans' Association medical facility in Wilmington, Delaware and Professor of Nuclear Medicine at Georgetown University: 
 
Uranium and Weapons 
Modern warfare since the Gulf War in 1991 has employed weapons which make use of DU for its properties: 
 
1. It is cheap and available to arms manufacturers free of charge. 
2. It has a very high-density which makes it a superior armour piercing material. 
3. It burns upon impact producing intense heat and easily cuts through steel. 
4. It acts as a self-sharpening penetrator. 
 
The danger posed by DU in weapons: 
 
1. When DU weapons hit a target, a fine aerosol of uranium oxides is formed. The majority of particles (46 - 70%) are less than 10 microns. 
2. The aerosol-like particles (dust) are easily inhaled into the lungs. 
3. These fine particles can be spread by the wind and are readily re-suspended by modest breezes or vehicle and personnel movements. There is no existing study measuring the distance traveled by such particles. However, there is a documented instance were particles were physically captured 42 km from a test site. (Dietz 1999). 
4. This only proves migration beyond the specific site but does not preclude the possibility that particles can travel a great many times more kilometers. Fluid dynamic studies report that particles fewer than 5 microns can remain almost permanently suspended in the atmosphere. 
5. While some of the DU is soluble, the majority (in the form of other oxides) is insoluble and remains in the body for years. Once in the body, DU slowly spreads from the lungs, mainly into the lymph nodes and bone. Excretion from the body is very slow. 
6. The uncontrolled use and spread of uranium goes against the scientifically established conventions for handling radioactive substances and contravenes international laws. See the case made by Karen Parker at the UN that DU weaponry is illegal under existing human rights and humanitarian (armed conflict) law 
7. It is estimated that 300 - 800 metric tons of DU were deposited in the battlefield in Iraq and Kuwait in 1991. Dr. Doug Rokke (DU expert and former US army physicist) estimated that 120 to 480 million grams of DU would be aerosolized if 40% of the DU were burnt up. 
8. These airborne and respirable sized particles will be radioactive for billions of years into the future. 
 
<a href="http://www.vivelecanada.ca/comment.php">http://www.vivelecanada.ca/comment.php</a> 
 
The 2004 Nuclear-Free Future Education Award: 
 
Dr. Asaf Durakovic, USA 
 
Dr. Durakovic served as Chief of Professional Clinical Services of the 531 Medical Detachment during the Desert Shield phase of the Gulf War. When he returned to the Veteran’s Administration (VA) Nuclear Medicine facility in Wilmington, Delaware, which he headed, he was asked to assess 24 soldiers who had served in the Gulf for evidence of depleted uranium (DU) in their bodies. Durakovic’s team performed a whole-body count of uranium 238 on the troops and found that 14 of the 24 had been contaminated. According to Durakovic´s June 26, 1997, testimony before the Subcommittee on Human Resources of the House Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, the government ‘lost’ all records of these examinations. And shortly thereafter, Durakovic ‘lost’ his job. Durakovic may have been forced to step down from his VA position, but the army could not strip him of his ethics as a medical doctor. In the interests of his patients he founded the Uranium Medical Research Center ( <a href="http://www.umrc.net">www.umrc.net</a> ), an independent non-profit institute which studies the effects of uranium contamination. 
 
<a href="http://www.atomstopp.com/artikel.asp?nr=198&lang=alternative">http://www.atomstopp.com/artikel.asp?nr=198&lang=alternative</a>

I'm disappointed that our armyguy didn't yet jump in here, denying the existence of DU ammo, or the harm it causes.

If his colonel finds out, he could lose his tank and be court martialled for dereliction of duty and sentenced to 7 years of kitchen duty.

Ed Deak.

I don't think Armyguy was denying the existence of DU, he only stated while he was in command of a tank in Bosnia and Afghanistan, he had no access to DU ammo and didn't see any while there.

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"I think it's important to always carry enough technology to restart civilization, should it be necessary." Mark Tilden

OOOO Ed
As I said, In Bosnia and when I was serving with US Troops. There was no DU Ammo in their Tanks. I didn't say there was none. All I said was it has not been used in 120 Ammo. As for the Airforce stuff?

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27 in the military, 9 tours.

I believe that DU is even beyond a crime against humanity. One can commit atrocities but to sentence Humanity to many generations of the horrors of birth defects with full knowledge of what it can do is in a league of its own. There is no charge for this crime nor punishment great enough. It makes me hope there is a god because maybe there would be just punishment in the afterlife for George Bush and his father.

So what are you going to do if you are ever out on operations and relying on the Yanks for air support when someone calls in the USAF to waste some terrorist evil doers blocking your way. They might send in a couple <a href="http://www.cursor.org/stories/uranium.htm">DU spewing A10 Warthogs</a> to clear a path for you, and those tiny uranium oxide particles from the expended ammo can travel quite a ways, especially when there's a bit of a breeze blowing. Just as an FYI, here's a well known case of a Gulf War 1 Canadian vet, Captain Terry Riordon, who got contaminated by DU and what he went through on his return to Canada Terry went to the Persian Gulf in December 26, 1990 with honor, dignity and pride - serving his country as Captain J. Terry Riordon of the Canadian Armed Forces. Terry left Canada a very fit man who did cross-country skiing and ran in marathons. On his return only two months later he could barely walk. He returned to Canada in February 1991 with documented loss of motor control, chronic fatigue, respiratory difficulties, chest pain, difficulty breathing, sleep problems, short-term memory loss, testicle pain, body pains, aching bones, diarrhea, and depression. After his death depleted uranium (DU) contamination was discovered in his lungs and bones. For eight years he suffered his innumerable ailments and struggled with the military bureaucracy and the system to get proper diagnosis and treatment. His wife, Susan Riordon, speaks most eloquently of the nightmare of physical, mental and emotional hardship endured not just by Terry but his entire family. He was ultimately unsuccessful it getting the answers or help he needed in his lifetime. His final wish was to donate his body to independent research on DU. That was Terry's gift to all who served in the Persian Gulf. He wanted his body to supply the answers to years of suffering and frustration. Through his gift UMRC was able to have obtain conclusive evidence of internal DU contamination in his lungs and bones. Even after death Terry continues to contribute to his country and his fellow veterans. <a href="http://www.umrc.net/riordon.aspx">www.umrc.net/riordon.aspx

The horror of depleted uranium appears beyond our ability to address. Hundreds of tons have been dispersed in Iraq. Every time a US Abrams tank cannon is fired 9 lbs of DU is dispersed. Once the shell explodes the DU vapourizes into a fine radioactive dust covering an area of several hundred yards, and it readily becomes air born.
Canadian troops in Afganistan could very well be exposed to DU dust, yet our peerless leaders suppress parliamentary debate on our involvement.
The Pentagon of course denies adamantly that there is any connection between the use of DU ammunition and the obvious radiation sickness that afflicts so many returning US military personnel.

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Robert Billyard