ALERT ON DEPLETED URANIUM SHELLS
AGAINST AFGHANISTAN POPULATION
Homepage.
DU in Afghanistan
Afghanistan after the war
Allies defend cluster bombs in Afghanistan
Depleted uranium shells against Afghanistan population
More than 5 million Afghans now require humanitarian assistance
to survive in Afghanistan in November 9 - 2001
Call the President (BUSH junior) for his human catastrophe in Afghanistan
Depleted Uranium in the Afghan War
The future for very many Afghan children 1 and 2
Mystery metal bombs may cause Afghan war syndrome Dai Williams, UK MEDIA BRIEFING: 17 November 2001
DU genocide could by itself be a sufficient reason to respond with terrorism

Subject:           [du-list] du info bulletin no 23
     Date:          Mon, 1 Oct 2001 21:45:21 +0100 (BST)
     From:          davey garland <thunderelf@yahoo.co.uk>
 Reply-To:       du-list@yahoogroups.com
       To:            du-list@yahoogroups.com
 DU INFO BULLETIN NO 23
VETERANS ALERT ON URANIUM SHELLS
By Macer Hall> (Filed: 23/09/2001)>
 Shells with depleted uranium tips are being
transported to the Middle East for use in the war
against terrorism despite concerns of health threats
to thousands of Nato service> personnel, The Telegraph
has learnt. Veterans of the Gulf War and the Balkans
who believe that the armour-piercing ammunition caused
them to suffer leukaemia and other illnesses, last
night gave a warning that a new generation of service
personnel could be at risk.

Nato has been
investigating complaints by former service personnel
from several European countries that radioactive dust
spread by the weapons made them ill. A spokesman for
the United States Defence Department confirmed that
depleted uranium shells were widely used in America's
armed forces. The department refused to take any
action after a Pentagon report found no link between
depleted uranium and cancer. The Ministry of Defence,
which earlier this year agreed to test hundreds of
veterans for traces of uranium poisoning, also
confirmed that depleted uranium rounds could be used
in a forthcoming conflict against terrorists.

An MoD spokesman said: "We do still have depleted
uranium-tipped shells and, if we have to, we will use
them." He added that the only depleted uranium-tipped
shells used in British Armed Forces were those fired
by the  Army's Challenger 2 tank.

Tony Flint, a spokesman for the National Gulf Veterans
and Families Association, said: "This is a major concern for us.
Depleted uranium should not be used in any
forthcoming> conflict. These weapons do not just
affect the enemy, they have consequences for the
troops that go in on the ground after they are fired."

Mr Flint, a 54-year-old Gulf veteran, now suffers from
fatigue and a muscle-wasting illness. He added:

"Depleted uranium will cause a lot more deaths through
poisoning. We could be creating another generation of
service personnel with terrible illnesses." Bernie
McPhillips, of the Gulf Families Association, another
campaign group, said: "If they go ahead with a ground
invasion, it is more than likely that depleted>
uranium weapons will be used and there will be
consequences for our troops. Until they develop a new>
weapon, depleted uranium will continue to be used."

A recent investigation for the MoD by the scientists at
the Royal Society found no evidence of a link between
depleted uranium and cancer, but conceded that
further research was needed.
 

INDEPENDENT PANEL TO OVERSEE MOD'S DEPLETED URANIUM
SCREENING PROGRAMME

 Press Release Number: 218/01 Date: 26 September 2001
 A panel of scientists and veterans' representatives
has been appointed to oversee the MoD's depleted
uranium (DU) screening programme. The group meets for
the first time tomorrow (Thursday 27 September).
Following concerns earlier this year about the
potential exposure of UK service personnel to DU, the
MoD agreed to establish a screening programme for
those who had served in the Gulf and the Balkans.

The Oversight Board will oversee the development of a
scientifically valid test for DU exposure and a case
control study. Announcing the membership of the
Oversight Board, veterans' minister Dr Lewis Moonie
said: "This is a significant step forward in
addressing the concerns of our veterans. The Board
provides the programme with independence. The Board
also provides confidence that questions about past
exposure to DU will be answered on a scientifically
sound basis."

Eminent scientific experts and veterans'
representatives form the bulk of the Oversight Board.
The composition of the Board is designed to ensure
independence, transparency, scientific rigour and to
provide an important voice for the veterans.
Tomorrow's meeting will decide the way ahead for the
screening programme.A further element of the MoD's
response to concerns over DU was to initiate
environmental monitoring in the Balkans.

Over 500 air,
dust, water and soil samples were collected in August
from sites in Kosovo where DU ammunition had been
used. Early indications show that the risks to British
troops from DU residues in Kosovo are low. Dr Moonie
commented: "This is good news and should provide
reassurance to our troops deployed on the Balkans.

Work is now underway to fully analyse the many samples
collected and an initial report will be produced in
the next few months. "The MoD today also published a
summary of responses to the second consultative
document for a screening programme. As part of our
response to the DU issue a consultative process was
announced in January of this year with the aim of
generating practical ideas for establishing a
screening programme. This is latest stage in that
process.
 

BABY BONE USED IN NUCLEAR TESTS

Bones were removed from the bodies of thousands of
dead babies without parents' consent, a government
agency has admitted.

The UK Atomic Energy Authority
(UKAEA) said thigh bones from 3,400 children were
tested between 1954 and 1970. It emerged in June that
the Yorkhill Children's Hospital in Glasgow had been
involved in the project - but it has now been revealed
that bones were collected from hospitals throughout
the UK. Scientists were trying to establish what
effect the fallout from nuclear tests being carried
out around the world was having on health.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/newsid_1571000/1571883.stm
 
 

A GROWING OPPOSITION
by John Nichols

After President Bush's "win this war" speech to
Congress Thursday night, Senate majority leader Tom
Daschle and Senate minority leader Trent Lott strode
to a podium where Lott declared, "Tonight, there is no
opposition party."

On the streets of America, however, there is an
opposition. In growing numbers, and in every region of
the United States, a new peace movement is delivering
a message summed up by Harvard Initiative for Peace
and Justice organizer David Jenkins. "It's OK to be
scared; it's even OK to be angry,"

Jenkins said at a
September 20 rally that drew more than 500 war foes to
Harvard Yard. "But it's not OK to lash out violently
as a result of those emotions; it's not OK to target
groups of people; it's not OK to accept 'collateral
damage' of the lives of innocent people for a
retaliation against terrorism."

/directory/view.mhtml?handle=nichols_john/directory/view.mhtml?handle=nichols_john

 URANIUM COMPANY FOR DISCRIMINATION ASHTABULA,
Ohio, September 27, 2001 (ENS)

- The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has proposed
a $17,600 fine against RMI Environmental Services (now
Earthline Technologies), for apparently violating NRC
requirements protecting employees from discrimination.

From 1962 until 1988, the company fabricated uranium
metal products for the Department of Energy, the
Department of Defense, and other commercial clients.

The facility is now being decontaminated and
decommissioned. An NRC investigation found that an RMI
radiation protection technician was placed on
involuntary leave after he raised safety concerns
about the handling of a radioactively contaminated
pipe and other radiation protection issues. The NRC
cited RMI for discriminating against the employee who
had raised safety concerns and proposed the $17,600
fine.
http://ens-news.com/ens/sep2001/2001L-09-27-09.html">
http://ens-news.com/ens/sep2001/2001L-09-27-09.html</
 

Subject:  Re: [du-list] BUSH ADMN. URGED TO USE NEUTRON BOMB
     Date:  Sat, 29 Sep 2001 09:33:53 -0400
     From: "Dr. H. D. Sharma" <hdsharma@golden.net>
 Reply-To:  du-list@yahoogroups.com
       To:        du-list@yahoogroups.com
 

Yes, I like to know a little more as well. The use of neutron bomb will add
to already a very precarious situation. Nuclear devices should not be used
by the super power for such situations. In my opinion, even guided
misssiles should not be deployed. I do hope that cool heads will prevail in
the President Bush adminitration.
I should like to know a little more about the neutron bomb. There has not
been any sort of estimates provided to us as to how it destroys life  --
radiation dose from neutron flux from a thermo-nuclear device. How is it
triggered? This is not meant to get details of the bomb but to estimate how
this bomb destroys human life and not non-bio environment.

Hari Sharma.

Subject: Re: [du-list] BUSH ADMN. URGED TO USE NEUTRON BOMB
       Date:  Sun, 30 Sep 2001 00:23:08 -0300
      From:  "Mitzi" <upthesun@tallships.ca>
   Reply-To: du-list@yahoogroups.com
        To:      <du-list@yahoogroups.com>
 References:            1

Dr. Sharma, Re: the neutron bomb, Your best source, probably, would be
Dr.Arjun Makhijani mailto:arjun@igc.org who is an expert on ionizing
radiation physics and the nuclear technology.

His organization IEER (can't remember what the letters stand for)
Institute for Energy and Environmental Research? Takoma Park,
Maryland, USA, puts out an excellent newsletter
"Science for a Democratic Society".  Another one is Union of Concerned
Scientists' David Lochbaum (I'm sure they have a website, though I haven't
tried to look at it yet).

Dr. Ernest Sternglass is another, Professor
Emeritus of Radiology, U. of Pittsburgh mailto:mssejs@aol.com (|I hope
that's current). He is extremely knowledgeable also.  Other sources are
Abolition 2001and The American Friends Service Committee.

These latter were involved in the anti-neutron bomb campaign
when that monstrous idea was first promoted sometime in the '70s
and/or early '80s.

I remember that the bomb was supposed to be exploded in air,
showering neutrons sufficient to kill all living things in a given area |
(I can't remember the details) but leave the buildings standing.

I don't remember any mention at the time of
the problem of induced radiation of the buildings by the neutrons, which
might leave them uninhabitable for quite a while.  Goes to show  how sick
our "leaders" were - and are - doesn't it?  At any rate, the powerful
campaign to stop its development made the big boys shut up about it at the
time.
Looks as though they didn't drop the idea, though, if there's talk
about it again.  Mitzi
 

Sent: Sunday, September 30, 2001 10:24 PM
             Subject: Re: [du-list] BUSH ADMN. URGED TO USE NEUTRON BOMB

             From Strategic Review, Winter 1978, Page 9

                                       ENHANCED RADIATION WARHEADS:
                                        SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT
                                            S. T. COHEN
 

             THE AUTHOR:   Mr. Cohen has been professionally engaged in nuclear weapon development,
             military applications and policy matters since 1944.  His experience includes the Manhattan Project
             (Los Alamos); nuclear weapon planning with the U.S. Air Force; and nuclear policy consultation with
             the Office of the Secretary of Defense.  In 1958, he performed the study which led to the formulation
             of the enhanced radiation warhead concept [neutron bomb].  He is a contributor to numerous national
             and professional publications.
                                                                   IN BRIEF
             During the last year [1977], a major international debate has flared over the issues of development
             and deployment of enhanced radiation weapons.  Misunderstanding has been rife with regard to the
             effects of these devices.  Since the advent of nuclear weapons, a major emphasis has been on
             designing large-yield devices rather than "clean," low-yield and discriminating tactical nuclear
             weapons which could reduce unintended damage.  ER weapons have the desirable advantage for
             NATO of making it possible to attack military targets without causing widespread structural damage.
              The outcry against ER tends to be based on erroneous assumptions and/or emotion.  The addition
             of more discriminating weapons -- including ER weapons -- to the NATO arsenal will be a step toward
             a more credible tactical nuclear posture for the Alliance.

             In June 1977, a reporter from the Washington Post, reviewing testimony on nuclear weapons
             developments to the House Appropriations Committee the previous March, noticed that pursuant to
             Presidential approval an "enhanced radiation lower average" yield warhead would go into production
             for incorporation into the Army's Lance battlefield missile.  Almost immediately, the Washington
             Post picked up this disclosure in an editorial entitled "A New Warhead We Don't Need," which
             argued that this weapon's allegedly uniquely different propertioes made it singularly pernicious
             among tactical, nuclear weapons.  Moreover, the editorial argued, deployment of the weapon would
             be downright inimical to U.S. security interests in view of the greater probability that its use would be
             much preferred over that of other nuclear weapons, and thereby significantly increase the risk of
             general nuclear war.
                   In short order, the subject was taken up in the news media, the Congress, the scientific
             community and public forums.  A debate of major national proportions emerged, which soon was
             joined by voices in NATO Europe and Soviet-Warsaw Pact pronouncements.  The weapon was
             attacked on political, military and technical grounds.  In particular, arguments were mounted against
             the "insidious" concept of emphasizing a weapon kill mechanism -- namely, nuclear radiation --
             designed for anti-personnel application.
                   Generally ignored in these arguments was the historical fact that, beginning with the bow and
             arrow, battlefield weapon developments have always emphasized effects against enemy personnel.
              Indeed, like the neutrons from the proposed enhanced radiation warhead for Lance, today's most
             effective conventional anti-tank weapons are designed to penetrate tank armor and produce effects
             which will kill or disable the tank crews.  Also overlooked was the fact that the bulk of NATO's
             battlefield nuclear weapons (and perhaps also those of the Soviet Union) have their most extensive
             anti-tank effects in the form of nuclear radiation against tank crews.

                                    **************************************************
             Page 13:
                   When the battle is being waged adjacent to or actually within major urban areas -- i.e., towns
             and cities -- ER weapons take on an almost unique advantage.  By raising the burst height to the
             appropriate level, it becomes possible to attack effectively (with radiation) enemy forces occupying
             these areas with but little significant structural damage resulting...
                   To the extent that ER weapons can divorce the military from the collateral damage effects, a
             vista for tactical warfare emerges which would seem to have a substantially more desirable image
             than either nuclear fission or conventional explosuve weapons can provide...

             Page 15:
                   Norman Cousins, writing in his nationally syndicated column on September 8, 1977, maintained:
              "The neutron bomb advocates have overlooked a basic fact.  Survivors in the outlying areas will suffer
             genetic damage.  This means that human beings yet unborn are going to pay a fearsome price.  The
             radiation will affect the human genes, bequeathing to our descendants all sorts of inherited defects...
                   Alton Frye, long a respected analyst of nuclear warfare issues, makes the point that "the Army's
             ideas for using enhanced radiation weapons offer no meaningful protection to civilians in the combat
             zones.  One hundred rounds could easily be another Hiroshima...'
                   On the other hand, Dr. Frye would seem to have a point, if he were concerned about the radiation
             effects on civilians, since injurious and lethal effects may reach considerably beyond the military
             radius.  If the civilians do nothing to protect themselves, it is possible that 100 ER devices could
             result in many thousands of casualties. However, if civilians do take elementary measures to provide
             radiation shielding, full protection against ER weapons can be achieved very simply and very
             cheaply, since blast hardening is unnecessary for ER weapons.  In most cases, the required
             shielding can be achieved by piling the equivalent of three or four feet of earth atop family
             basements...

                   I will stop here as it becomes more technical and continues to page 17. [Note: Dr. Cohen
             assumes that everyone  in the world has a basement.]

             Pat Broudy, Leg. Dir. NAAV
 
 

DOE SEEKS PUBLIC INPUT FOR DEPLETED URANIUM
HEXAFLUORIDE  ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT

 Public Meetings Planned in Portsmouth, Paducah, Oak
Ridge Oak Ridge, Tenn.
- The U.S. Department of Energy has  issued a Notice
of Intent to begin preparation of an  Environmental
Impact Statement which will cover construction,
operation, maintenance, and decontamination and
decommissioning of depleted uranium hexafluoride
conversion facilities at Portsmouth, Ohio, and
Paducah,  Kentucky. The Department of Energy (DOE) has
a legacy of  approximately 700,000 metric tons of
depleted uranium  hexafluoride that was created over
the last 40 years, which  is stored in 57,700
cylinders stored at Portsmouth,  Paducah, and the East
Tennessee Technology Park in Oak  Ridge. This material
was created at each facility during > processing to
make natural uranium suitable for use as fuel, such as
that used in nuclear power plants.

 The full text of the NOI, found in the September 18,
2001, > edition of the Federal Register (66FR48123) is
available on > the Department's National Environmental
Policy Act web site > at >
http://www.tis.eh.doe.gov/nepa> and the depleted
uranium hexafluoride project Web site at >
http://web.ead.anl.gov/uranium. >
 

BRAZIL COVERS UP NUCLEAR LEAK

- Safety issues at Brazil's controversial nuclear
power program came into the spotlight yesterday after
a local magazine reported a four-month-old accident at
a beach side nuclear reactor. Government officials
played down the gravity of an internal leak of
radioactive water at the Angra I plant, 80 miles (130
km) west of Rio de Janeiro in May, saying there had
been no need to inform the public; However,
environmentalists and the media took the government to
task for hiding facts ofthe accident.

"Radiation spills in Angra and the government conceals,"
said a front-page head line in Jornal do Brasil. O Globo
daily said: "Information about Angra delayed by four
months."
http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid

Alaska Antimissile Site: Too Close for Russians' Comfort?

By James Dao

Defending Against a Missile Attack FORT GREELY, Alaska
— In a patch of fire-scorched forest in central
Alaska, under the shadow of towering peaks,
construction crews have been carving the outlines of a
135-acre missile field at an Army base here, 100 miles
south of Fairbanks.
They are laying the foundations
for a rudimentary missile defense site. But as those
crews rush to beat winter's subzero temperatures and
pounding snows, their work may complicate the Bush
administration's efforts to keep Russia in an
international coalition to fight terrorism in the
aftermath of the attacks on New York and Washington.
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/26/international/26MISS.html?
ex=1002168000&en=d42a616508bf424e&ei=5040&partner=MOREOVER

Senate approves 'Downwinder'

 By Robert Gehrke Associated Press WASHINGTON

 Thousands of people sickened by radiation exposure
during Cold War nuclear weapons development could be
guaranteed compensation payments under a proposal
adopted by the Senate on Tuesday. In the past,
payments to former uranium miners and "downwinders"
— people unknowingly exposed to radioactive fallout
from above-ground atomic tests — had been delayed
because the program had run out of money. Many died
holding IOUs from the government. But the amendment to
the Senate defense spending bill would set aside $655
million over 10 years to pay the claims, beginning
with $172 million in the coming year.
A
HREF="http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,315009576,00.html?">
http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,315009576,00.html?</

Oak Ridge contractor resumes shipping low-level
nuclear waste
OAK RIDGE, Tenn. (AP) –

 Shipment of low-level nuclear waste from Oak Ridge
National Laboratory has resumed, but officials say
other restrictions remain because of heightened
security caused by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
U.S. Department of Energy spokesman Steven Wyatt said
BNFL Inc., a cleanup contractor, initiated waste
shipments to Utah and Nevada on Monday and Tuesday.

Wyatt said Bechtel Jacobs Co., DOE's environmental
manager, also was expected to send wastes to a Western
site for disposal. However, he said the transportation
of special nuclear materials, such as highly enriched
uranium used at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant,
remains on hold.
="http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/nevada/2001/sep/26/092610410.h
tml">http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/nevada/2001/sep/26/092610410.html
</A>
 

VIDEOS/FILMS

 Jawad Metni, an independent documentary filmmaker
working in New York has recently completed a
documentary dealing with DU weapons entitled

"Downwind: Depleted Uranium Weapons in the Age of
Virtual War". The film places the weapons within an
historical context of the memory of Hiroshima/Nagasaki
and the above-ground testing of nuclear weapons in
America.

The film also maps out the movement towards a
kind of virtual warfare, a dissociation of the representation
and reality of war.  There are six interviews within the film,
most of them no doubt familiar names to those regularly
on the du-list. They are as follows:

Dan Fahey
Carole Gallagher
Dr. Rosalie Bertell
Dr. Doug Rokke James
Der Derian
Dr. Melissa McDiarmid

These interviews are interwoven with stock footage
from Hiroshima, Nevada, and the 1991 Gulf War. The
film hopes to raise questions about the true human
cost when the desire for total victory outweighs the
moral obligations of humanitarian intervention.

If anyone is interested in obtaining this documentary,
please contact Jawad Metnimetni7@hotmail.com, or
du_downwind@hotmail.com.
Also, please feel free to pass this information along
to anyone who may be interested in this issue.

There will also be a website for the documentary on the
web by the 5th of October, 2001.

The site will be pinholepictures.com. Please
also forward this information to any interested
parties.Thank you for your time and continued concern
for this important issue, and thank you in advance for
any support you may give to this film.Peace to you
all,Jawad Metni Pinhole Pictures
 
 

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