The quantitative analysis of depleted uranium isotopes in British, Canadian, and U.S. Gulf War
 veterans. Horan P, Dietz L, Durakovic A.

The Morning Show, a Canadian Radio Program, featuring Pat Horan's departure

US Army measurements on Depleted Uranium as comparison
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It is time to get this out to the press, so they can phone Memorial and ask questions.
Pat Horan resigned on Friday after months of harassment. Here are the basic facts.

Pat does not want to talk to the press just now.  She will accept a tel call to verify
that these events did in fact happen as outlined. Her tel #  is 709 7814702
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Powered by counter.bloke.com

Pat Horan has been working on the analysis of depleted Uranium in human samples
since 1999. The story came to media attention in 2000. (See New York Times and
London Times )

Jim Wright became Head of Earth Sciences on January 1, 2000, two months before
Pat Horan's office was broken into.

Since Jim Wright was put in charge of the Dept he has
1) Put human DU samples as low priority
2) Last summer he accepted and gave priority to a Department of National Defense
study on DU control samples thereby intentionally delaying the analysis of the Gulf
War veterans samples for almost four months
3) Accepted one sick veteran’ urine sample from CBC where no medical
consent forms or medical doctor was involved.

The results were not properly conveyed to the veterans. Six veterans, whose samples
were collected by the CBC’s Kathy Tomlinson,  were told they were negative while
only one was tested. There is a possible lawsuit over this deception. This samples
was given priority over the medical research study being conducted.

Early in 2002, the great shuffle began leading up to Pat’s removal

4) In early February, Jim Wright removed Greg Dunning as head of
AURIF (the radiogenic isotope facility). Greg Dunning had always supported Pat
Horan in this important research allowing her access to the TIMS machine. (Greg
had been head of AURIF since 1993).
5) Jim Wright then put Pat Horan in charge of AURIF .Ten days later he removed
Pat and installed Paul Sylvester as the new chair for AURIF at a user group meeting.
(Paul has no working knowledge of a TIMS machine or clean lab.)
Pat’s assistant who did the chemistry on the DU samples was reassigned  to other
duties mostly sitting around. He was finally dismissed on Friday July 5, the day Pat
resigned.
6) He then hired a French post doc from South Africa who is totally unfamiliar with
the work on DU and unable to perform the analysis. Actually this was in the works
unbeknownst to Pat since the fall of 2001 when he was first contacted.
7) Removed Pat Horan as manager of the AURIF facilities in early April. She had
been manager of the AURIF facilities since 1989-1990.
8) Removed Pat’s assistant and assigned him to other duties.

9) Ordered the locks changed on June 14th , they were actually changed June 20th
thereby locking Pat Horan out of the TIMS lab and her office as she was preparing
to go back to work in July 5th after her sick leave. Her first priority upon returning
was to finish all the DU samples.

This marks the end of the DU work at Memorial.

10) Refused to answer calls from veterans, widow and legal representatives who
were acting to retrieve the unfinished samples and data from the finished samples.
11) After several calls to the University, one of Jim Wright's superiors,
the Dean of Science Robert Lucas agreed to speak with him. The outcome was an
agreement that Jim Wright would allow Pat Horan in to the labs to collect the
samples on 4th and 5th of July. Then in the afternoon of July 5th,she would be
permitted to pack up her personal effects in her office.
12) Jim Wright changed his mind the evening of August 2nd regarding the retrieval
of the samples  he also decided not to allow Pat Horan even to enter her office to
collect  her personal belongings as he had previously agreed.
13) Finally Pat had no other choice but to ask for the assistance of the
human resources people. When arrangements were made to go over to let her pack
her office, Paul Sylvester told human resources that he would physically restrain her
from entering her office. Human Resources then asked for the assistance of MUN
security to prevent Paul from physically restraining Pat from packing up her office.
When she did so they were all confronted with Paul Sylvester’s  assistant and a PC
support person to ensure that whe did not access anything on her She was not
allowed to access the DU data from her computer. It is sad that it has come to this,
treating Pat Horan like a criminal . The only reason she gained access to her office
that she has occupied for over 16 years is that the security guards and Human
Resources were willing to stand up for her.
14) The samples and data are still being held, the samples may be released next
week but they are refusing to give Pat access to the data on her computer. It will not
work to have someone else access the data. Jim Wright is suggesting this .
15) Paul Sylvester has now placed an ad in a journal to hire a TIMS expert to teach
"him" to use the TIMS machine after eliminating a very competent scientist who has
been working there for 16 years running the lab and doing the analysis and  the
AURIF assistant who has been working for two years in the lab and who was hired
to help with the DU work.

It may be stated that Pat Horan resigned. However many questions need to be
asked as to why she was harassed and forced to resign in the middle of her year’s
research contract and with a firm intention of finishing the samples of sick veterans
and bone specimens of deceased veterans.

Why did Jim Wright and the person he put in charge of the TIMS lab, Paul Sylvester,
carry out months of harassment and lock her out of her office if not to force her to
resign before finishing this DU work.
_______________________________________________________________
It is a repeat of several DU scientists in the US  who were also locked out of their
departments, denied access to their computers , harassed and dismissed  simply  for
yielding to the pressure to stop their work on behalf of the GW veterans who were
exposed to DU.

Another interesting point is that the same president ,Axel Meisen who awarded Pat
the Presidential award for excellence in science for her work on DU among other
research has allowed all of  these events that lead to the resignation of the scientist
he praised just last year.

Why did Jim Wright who also praised and defended her work suddenly turn  and
eliminate both Pat, her assistant  and the DU work. Was it just coincidence that
this change in attitude happened after he was approached by Ed Ough of the Royal
Military College and the Department of National Defense  and forced Pat to do
work for them. This work proved that she could in fact see the levels of Uranium
isotopes that distinguish DU from natural Uranium . Ed Ough and the DND had
originally  called Pat’s work laughable and she proved during 4 months of work for
them that her data was accurate and reliable. This work has never been mentioned.

The other labs that did the analysis on Canadian veterans most certainly did not
succeed in the test organized by the DND and Ed Ough to try to discredit Pat’s
work, her accuracy in measuring the minute levels of U 234 U235 and U236
necessary to distinguish between natural and depleted Uranium were  excellent.
(The announcement made by Col Scott and the DND to the press that all 136
veterans tested in the commercial labs that they were negative were all based on
measurements  of U238 as they said that the levels were too low and they could
not detect the other isotopes. Pat’s success in the DND test proved she could
accurately detect levels of U234 U235 and U236. Since the science stood up
under scrutiny  what else remained but to remove the scientist.

See below Jim Wright’s quote defending Pat’s work.

Jim Wright’s quote  from an interview by Mike Trickey in a Southam newspaper
Ottawa article entitled MUN tests show “substantial” depleted uranium

“Memorial's equipment for testing for isotopes is considerably more sensitive than
those used to test for the mere presence of uranium, which occurs in all humans

Maclean’s March 21 2001 Jim Wright is quoted again

“DND has been critical of Pat Horan’s work , but we have absolutely stuck
behind her.”

More quotes form the MUN gazette "Dr. Jim Wright, head of the Earth Sciences
Department stands firmly behind their results.

"Pat's data is totally reliable, and clearly establishes there has been exposure to
significant levels of DU contamination in those tested. What we have been doing is
looking for the isotopic signatures of depleted uranium and, indeed, we've been
finding them," he said, adding, "Memorial's equipment for testing for isotopes is
considerably more sensitive than those used to test for the mere presence of
uranium, which occurs in all humans."

Dr. Wright went on to say, "The laboratory is an Atlantic regional facility for isotopic
analyses to measure minute amounts of uranium isotopes. The lab has been in
operation for more than 10 years and it has a very strong peer review record both in
Canada and Europe.
"
What happened to Jim Wright that he moved from absolutely sticking behind
her to months of harassment and locking her out of her office. Was it that
after wasting four months of valuable time and holding up the real research
on sick veterans, she refused to do more work for the DND? This answer
may be a long time in coming as Pat Horan has moved on. She did admirable
ground breaking research for as long as she could .Quotes from the  MUN
gazette, the Memorial University newspaper:

"Dr. Meisen also had praise for the ," the work of faculty members such as Pat Horan,
whose work with depleted uranium attracted international media attention earlier this
year, and the "very consistent success of the Faculty of Business in national and
international competition.""
"
In 2001, Pat Horan received the he Presidents award for excellence in Science at
Memorial : the following was read during the award ceremony:

"Patricia (Pat) Horan
Research and project geologist, Department of Earth Sciences

Pat began her career at Memorial University 15 years ago when she was hired after
graduating from our Chemistry Department. Her laboratory, and the work that she
performs there, are known nationally and internationally. She provides analyses for
Memorial's researchers and, because her lab is the only one of its kind in Atlantic
Canada, she consistently takes on work from other universities.

Pat is probably most well known for her work in identifying depleted uranium in
British war veterans. While this project generated much controversy and military
scrutiny, Pat continued her work, many times working through the night, with one
goal in mind: determining if depleted uranium was indeed the cause of the veterans'
health problems.

Pat has contributed to the evolution of a complex university lab facility into one of the
most productive radiogenic isotope laboratories in North America; in turn this lab has
enhanced the national and international reputation of Memorial University. And all this
was done while continuing her work and commitment to Memorial."
_____________________________________________________________
*This work has been written up in newspapers, the subject of many TV interviews
and documentaries as well as having been presented at many international scientific
and medical conferences. See attachments

http://www.esd.mun.ca/~cerr/newsletters/jan-feb.shtml

Atlantic Universities Radiogenic Isotope Facility Research continues in the search for the presence of depleted uranium in a variety  of samples from all over the world. Initially, AURIF found the presence of depleted uranium in dust samples. These samples came from an aircraft hanger where wreckage from an El-Al cargo plane crash had been stored. The plane had crashed into an Amsterdam suburb apartment complex. AURIF was  asked to determine if any trace amounts of depleted uranium were present in soil and dust samples. This would assist in showing that emergency response crews and the people living in the apartment complex could have been exposed to DU. This could be a potential cause of their "gulf war like" illnesses. After the ground breaking results had been released to the public, AURIF was then asked to look for depleted uranium in gulf war veterans urine samples. We are hoping that this current work will be finished in the next few months. Along with the gulf war research, AURIF is also working on interesting projects for NASA. For further information, please contact Pat Horan.

link to the AURIF newsletter from Jan/Febr 2000 where the research of Pat Horan is
mentioned as very important
____________________________________________________________
Measurements done by Pat Horan started in 1998 on samples from the remains of
the El-Al Boeing which crashed on Oktober 4 1992 in Amsterdam

Measurement done in 2000 by Pat Horan

Thermal Ionization Mass Spectrometer

More about depleted uranium

Vision Foundation

Stichting Visie
 

To: du-list@egroups.com  Sent: Thursday, July 18, 2002 8:43 PM Subject: [du-list] Reaction from the SOVB to Mr. Ed Ough / Research and investigation to determine exposure to DU by Philip Fine 1. Reaction to the "Memorial saga" from the SOVB to Mr. Ed Ough 2. Research and investigation to determine exposure to Depleted Uranium by Philip Fine   Pat Horan has been working on the analysis of depleted Uranium in human samples since 1999. The story came to media attention in 2000. (New York Times and London Times) See also DU-list digest Number 661: 1. The DU work at Memorial University Newfoundland has been stopped! 1. Why did Jim Wright who also praised and defended her work suddenly turn and eliminate both Pat, her assistant and the DU work? Was it just coincidence that this change in attitude happened after he was approached by Ed Ough of the Royal Military College and the Department of National Defense and accepted work form them. Although Pat saw no validity or scientific reason to carry out these useless and time consuming tests she was obligated to spend four months on them. Four months of laboratory work proved what she and all her scientific peers already knew, that her data was accurate and reliable, she could in fact detect levels of U234, U235 and U236 the levels of Uranium isotopes that distinguish DU from natural Uranium. Ed Ough from the Royal Military college that works for the DND had originally called Pat's work laughable. The pity is that some of the real work was held up, never got analyzed and has now been returned. This work that Ed Ough commissioned has never been mentioned and is not worthy of mention. What happened to Jim Wright that he moved from absolutely sticking behind her to months of harassment and locking her out of her office? Was it that after wasting four months of valuable time and holding up the real research on sick veterans, she refused to do more work for the DND? This answer may be a long time in coming as Pat Horan has moved on. She did admirable ground breaking research for as long as she could. Dr. Durakovic said to the SOVB: "We are talking about measurable contamination with depleted uranium in the biological specimens, findings which so far nobody has an interest to repeat, to proof or to disproof. Question is: why?" 2. This story appeared in the Times Higher Education Supplement on February 2, 2001 Philip Fine, their science reporter spent a day and a half at AURIF Atlantic University Radiogenic Isotope Facility at Memorial University in St John's  Newfoundland. Here he describes  the work Pat Horan carried out to discover depleted Uranium in the urine of Gulfwar veterans and the bones of deceased Canadian veteran, Captain Terry Riordon. Added remarks on UMRC Uranium Medical Research Center that initiated the study and contracted Pat Horan to analyze the samples at AURIF and is responsible for interpreting and publishing the research. Research and investigation to determine exposure to Depleted Uranium By Phillip Fine It was 3am when Pat Horan e-mailed her colleagues to let them know the final test results. She had been in her laboratory since nine the previous morning but had refused to quit until she found the chemical signature she suspected might be there. The material she was looking for had been extracted, isolated and measured and now, through a reading of isotope ratios, the geochemist could see she had successfully detected depleted uranium in the bone sample of a dead Canadian soldier. It was not the first time she had found traces of DU but this time it was from one of those who had gone from decorated patriot to forgotten, dying veteran in just a few post-Gulf War years. This was significant. Ms Horan is the first scientist to discover DU in samples of sick soldiers who fought in the Persian Gulf and Kosovo. Long before that 3am discovery, NATO countries were denying DU from the tips of tank-incinerating weapons had found its way inside the bodies of military personnel not otherwise hit by shrapnel. That official position has not changed. Sick veterans, who breathed in toxic and radioactive dust - particles capable of free-falling as far as 26 miles - have been told either their tests were negative or their despair was unfounded. Despite firing off 300 tonnes of DU during the Gulf War alone, the United States, British and Canadian militaries say they cannot detect it in urine samples. They then conclude that there is no link between the depleted uranium and the deaths felling veterans - notwithstanding early epidemiological reports in the former Yugoslavia and Iraq that point to high incidence of cancer. The war-room spin has even reached this laboratory in Newfoundland. The Canadian Department of National Defense (DND) publicly discredited Memorial's findings, saying that since other labs had not detected DU, there must be something wrong with their work. But Memorial's lab tests are simply better than the government's, finding traces of depleted uranium in more than half of the first 16 urine samples sent in by mostly British veterans who had fallen ill. While this island off the east coast of Canada may be better known for its troubled fisheries than its chemical testing prowess, the earth sciences department at Memorial University Newfoundland is no fisherman's out port. Its scientists use a mass spectrometer more sensitive than those found in the labs upon which this country's military brass has depended. And they have dedicated many months to proven isotopic procedures that extracts depleted uranium from urine, a method that one of the DND's science consultants at the Royal Military College did not seem to understand when quizzed by one academic. Throughout, Horan has shown grace under fire. "I'm just proud of the scientific work," she says, standing in front of the mass spectrometer that has helped reveal the contamination. The million dollar, stainless steel machine handles the final process of a 40-step two-day procedure to find DU. Horan deposits a deadly sample that looks not unlike a blood blister into the spectrometer. A stream of minuscule, charged particles or ions are drawn off the sample, pass through the machine at high speed and then get pulled to one side by a 3/4 tonne magnet. Ions of different weights get deflected by different amounts, flying off separately. A powerful vacuum then gives them a quick trip to the detector. The ion charges are then measured against lead and uranium standards. The ratio of isotopes betrays the presence of DU. Horan's senior colleague, Professor Greg Dunning worries little about the military's criticism. He is confident in his peers' acknowledgement that Memorial's geological work emerges from one of the country's foremost laboratories with the most sensitive techniques currently available. "You won't hear uranium isotope analysts question our results," he says. Jim Wright, head of the earth sciences department, goes further with two rhetorical questions: "What would Memorial have to gain by fudging its numbers? What would the DND have to gain by discrediting us?" Horan refuses to make any medical statements based on her results, saying she is just testing for the presence of DU. She explains how foolhardy it would be to comment, how she is not qualified to make such statements, and how it is outside her area of expertise. But the samples in her laboratory do seem to say much more. White hospital jugs, the size of windscreen washer fluid containers, line up along the length of a long counter. Filled with daily samples from several veterans, it is striking how little most actually resemble urine. The liquid is the colour of strong tea, possibly due to the increased sediment and tissue excreted by a person with damaged kidneys. Written in black marker on one jug: "Please test for depleted uranium". There are other laboratories that can do this work and Dunning and Horan are willing to share their techniques. But they know that most labs of this type are busy enough with just dating rocks for geological surveys, let alone having the time and the patience to deal with such a political hot potato. One Spanish university with a mass spectrometer has, however, now expressed interest in replicating the Memorial experiments. The despair felt by the veterans who call the lab to ask if Horan's arduous process has been applied to their sample yet, may be softened by some good news. The researchers at Memorial do not feel like threatened whistle blowers. They are in a university that supports their work and that allows them the independence and time to carry out this challenging science. _______________________________________________________________ Pat Horan's work at Memorial began in 1999 when the Uranium Medical Research Center contracted  Memorial University to carry out the radio isotopic analysis on a group of mostly British Gulf War veterans and the bones of deceased Canadian veteran Captain Terry Riordon. See www.umrc.net for a list of the publications and international scientific conference presentations on  the DU research. One hundred years of scientific and medical literature indicate that there are serious and multiple effect from internal contamination with Uranium .All of the DU positive patients have multiple somatic illnesses. See the UMRC website for  the paper on the " Medical Effects of Uranium Contamination"

Measurements done by Pat Horan started in 1998 samples from the remains of
the El-Al Boeing which crashed on Oktober 4 1992 in Amsterdam
Thermal Ionization Mass Spectrometer
More about depleted uranium
Vision Foundation
Stichting Visie

Correspondence about the resigning/removal of Pat Horan

Hi Hans,

I have moved on to a new position not connected with Memorial University.
I will fill in the details as to what happened as soon as I get settled in
next week.

Cheers,
Pat

----- Original Message -----
From: "Hans de Jonge" <hansdejonge@xs4all.nl>
To: <horan@sparky2.esd.mun.ca>
Sent: Saturday, August 10, 2002 8:31 AM
Subject: hello Pat!

> Dear Patricia,
>
> I heard from the DU - list you are not in function anymore. I also can't
> find your home page.
> What is the matter?
>
> With regards,
> hans de jonge

Subject:  atlanticlab Pat Horan Depleted Uranium analysis measurement
AURIF radiogenic isotope facility TIMS Thermal Ionization Mass Spectrometry
   Date:  Mon, 12 Aug 2002 01:26:54 +0200
   From: Hans de Jonge <hansdejonge@xs4all.nl>
     To:   Pat Horan <pkhoran@hotmail.com>

Dear Pat,
I'm very sad about what has happened with you
I hope you can find a way out.
With regards,
Hans de Jonge

http://www.xs4all.nl/~stgvisie/VISIE/atlanticlab-1.html

Dear dr.  Jim Wright,

Please comment the story about the removal of Patricia Horan:

http://www.xs4all.nl/~stgvisie/VISIE/atlanticlab-1.html

If this story is right I will send it to the Dutch Press Association
(of course with your comments)

With regards,
Ing Hans de Jonge
Visie Foundation
Amsterdam

Subject: Re: Removal of Pat Horan
       Date:     Tue, 13 Aug 2002 14:28:23 -0230
      From:   "Jim Wright" <jim.wright@mun.ca>
        To:     "Hans de Jonge" <hansdejonge@xs4all.nl>
 References: 1

Mr. de Jong:

This is a highly editorialised story that is full of errors.
You need to check your source.  Many of the statements
can be proven to be false and are indeed even different
from the Times story of July 19- which apparently had the
same source (i.e Dunning being removed
versus Dunning resigning as Chair of the User Group).

Jim Wright

James A. Wright, PhD, P. Geo.
Professor
Head, Department of Earth Sciences
Director, Centre for Earth Resources Research
Memorial University of Newfoundland
St. John's, NF, Canada  A1B  3X5
Tel: 709-737-2334  Fax: 709-737-4851

Subject: Re: [du-list] Pat Horan
   Date:  Tue, 13 Aug 2002 02:09:10 +0100 (BST)
   From: Michael Kerjman <mskn23@yahoo.com>
     To:   Hans de Jonge <hansdejonge@xs4all.nl>

Dear Mr Hans de Jonge,

Support and help to Mrs P. Horan, a specialist whose
work achievements understood to be at least a step
ahead of her bosses' suggestions, are very much
appreciated.

Would anyone help another specialist whose meticulous
performance was hated by the UN mafia and whose
non-Anglo-Saxon origin does not allow him to be
employed in own country?

Regards,
M. Kerjman

I would very much appreciate it

The quantitative analysis of depleted uranium isotopes in British, Canadian,
and U.S. Gulf War veterans.

Horan P, Dietz L, Durakovic A.

Department of Earth Sciences, Memorial University of Newfoundland,
St. Johns, Canada. horan@morgan.ucs.mun.ca

The purpose of this work was to determine the concentration and ratio of
uranium isotopes in allied forces Gulf War veterans. The 27 patients had
their 24-hour urine samples analyzed for 234U, 235U, 236U, and 238U
by mass spectrometry. The urine samples were evaporated and separated
into isotopic dilution and concentration fraction by the chromatographic
technique.

The isotopic composition was measured by a thermal ionization
mass spectrometer using a secondary electron multiplier detector and ion-counting
system. The uranium blank control and SRM960 U isotopic standard were
analyzed by the same procedure.

Statistical analysis was done by an unpaired t test.
The results confirm the presence of depleted uranium (DU) in 14 of 27 samples,
with the 238U:235U ratio > 207.15. This is significantly different from natural
uranium (p < 0.008) as well as from the DU shrapnel analysis,
with 22.22% average value of DU fraction, and warrants further investigation.

                       PMID: 12188230 [PubMed - in process]