[Peace-discuss] Royal Society contradicts pentagon jerks

[Dlind49 at aol.com]

Published on Thursday, April 17, 2003 by the Guardian/UK
              Scientists Urge Shell Clear-Up to Protect
              Civilians
              Royal Society spells out dangers of depleted uranium
              by Paul Brown

              Hundreds of tons of depleted uranium used by Britain and the 
United States in Iraq
              should be removed to protect the civilian population, the 
Royal Society said yesterday,
              contradicting Pentagon claims it was not necessary.

              The society's statement fuels the controversy over the use of 
depleted uranium (DU),
              which is an effective tank destroyer and bunker buster but is 
believed by many scientists
              to cause cancers and other severe illnesses.

              The society, Britain's premier scientific institution, was 
incensed because the Pentagon
              had claimed it had the backing of the society in saying DU was 
not dangerous.

              In fact, the society said, both soldiers and civilians were in 
short and long term danger.
              Children playing at contaminated sites were particularly at 
risk.

              DU is left over after uranium is enriched for use in nuclear 
reactors and is also recovered
              after reprocessing spent nuclear fuel. There are thousands of 
tonnes of it in stores in the
              US and UK.

              Because it is effectively free and 20% heavier than steel, the 
military experimented with it
              and discovered it could penetrate steel and concrete much more 
easily than conventional
              weapons. It burns at 10,000C, incinerating everything as it 
turns to dust.

              As it proved so effective, it was adopted as a standard weapon 
in the first Gulf war
              despite its slight radioactive content and toxic effects. It 
was used again in the Balkans
              and Afghanistan by the US.

              DU has been suspected by many campaigners of causing the 
unexplained cancers
              among Iraqi civilians, particularly children, since the 
previous Gulf war. Chemicals
              released in the atmosphere during bombing could equally be to 
blame.

              Among those against the use of DU is Professor Doug Rokke, a 
one time US army
              colonel who is also a former director of the Pentagon's 
depleted uranium project, and a
              former professor of environmental science at Jacksonville 
University. He has said a
              nation's military personnel cannot wilfully contaminate any 
other nation, cause harm to
              persons and the environment and then ignore the consequences 
of their actions. He has
              called on the US and UK to "recognize the immoral consequences 
of their actions and
              assume responsibility for medical care and thorough 
environmental remediation".

              The UN Environment Programme has been tracking the use of DU 
in the Balkans and
              found it leaching into the water table. Seven years after the 
conflict it has recommended
              the decontamination of buildings where DU dust is present to 
protect the civilian
              population against cancer.

              Up to 2,000 tonnes of DU has been used in the Gulf, a large 
part of it in cities like
              Baghdad, far more than in the Balkans. UNEP has offered to go 
to Iraq and check on the
              quantities of DU still present and the danger it poses to 
civilians.

              Professor Brian Spratt, chairman of the Royal Society working 
group on depleted
              uranium, said that a recent study by the society had found 
that the majority of soldiers
              were unlikely to be exposed to dangerous levels of depleted 
uranium during and after its
              use on the battlefield.

              "However, a small number of soldiers might suffer kidney 
damage and an increased risk
              of lung cancer if substantial amounts of depleted uranium are 
breathed in, for instance
              inside an armored vehicle hit by a depleted uranium 
penetrator."

              He said the study also concluded that the soil around the 
impact sites of depleted
              uranium penetrators may be heavily contaminated, and could be 
harmful if swallowed by
              children for example.

              "In addition, large numbers of corroding depleted uranium 
penetrators embedded in the
              ground might pose a long-term threat if the uranium leaches 
into water supplies.

              "We recommend that fragments of depleted uranium penetrators 
should be removed, and
              areas of contamination should be identified and, where 
necessary, made safe."

              He added: "We also recommend long-term sampling, particularly 
of water and milk, to
              detect any increase in uranium levels in areas where depleted 
uranium has been used.
              This provides a cost-effective method of monitoring sensitive 
components in the
              environment, and of providing information about uranium levels 
to concerned local
              populations."

                                 © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2003