Depleted
Uranium Arms May Pose Risks
June 14, 2003
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Depleted-Uranium.html
NEW YORK (AP) -- The widespread use of depleted uranium weapons by U.S.
and British forces in Iraq could pose serious health and environmental
risks to troops and residents, nuclear and medical experts warned Saturday.
Dr. Helen Caldicott, president of the Nuclear Policy Research Institute,
which organized the gathering, said the hazards of using the radioactive
material included severe consequences for kidney function and
environmental pollution.
Some experts on the health risks of depleted uranium weapons called
for
them to be banned. Others came close to the Pentagon's assurances that
so-called DU weapons do not pose an ``unacceptable health risk'' to
U.S.
troops.
Depleted uranium, which is left over from the process of enriching
uranium for use as nuclear fuel, is an extremely dense material that
the
U.S. and British militaries use for tank armor and armor-piercing
weapons. It is far less radioactive than natural uranium.
Most of the scientists, physicians and specialists in the field called
for more study about the radioactive and chemical impacts of the
material on the lungs, kidneys, lymph systems and other organs. They
also demanded a full accounting of its use, not only in the recent
war
in Iraq but also in the 1991 Gulf War and in the NATO bombing of the
former Yugoslavia in the 1990s.
Hari Sharma, a retired chemistry professor from the University of
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, said ``as long as something is radioactive,
you are going to do harm to human health.''
The Pentagon has said the use of depleted uranium weapons gives American
forces a tremendous advantage on the battlefield. The Pentagon and
many
experts also contend that the material, because of its low
radioactivity, poses no risk to the health of soldiers handling
munitions made from it or to civilians living in areas where those
shells were used.
The anti-nuclear institute, based in Washington and San Francisco,
invited the Pentagon to send a speaker to the symposium but the Defense
Department declined, Caldicott said.
Daniel Fahey, a former member of the Navy who has produced several
reports on depleted uranium weapons, said the Pentagon exaggerates
the
need for them, especially in wars against armies with antiquated equipment.
He called for immediate disclosure of the amounts and locations of the
weapons use in Iraq, a post-conflict assessment by the U.N. Environment
Program, and cleanup of affected sites.
Experts at the Pentagon and the United Nations have estimated that
1,100-2,200 tons of depleted uranium were used by U.S.-led coalition
forces during their attack on Iraq in March and April.
This contrasts with about 375 tons used in the 1991 Gulf War, 11 tons
fired during the 1999 war against Serbia over Kosovo and a much smaller
quantity used against rebel Serb positions in Bosnia in 1995.
Sharma studied urine specimens from soldiers of several countries that
fought in the 1991 Gulf War and later studied tissues samples from
people in southern Iraq. All showed evidence that depleted uranium
had
lodged in the human body, he said.
However, scientists will not be able to say precisely what impact
depleted uranium had in the recent war until more tests are done, he
said. |