[Peace-discuss] Fwd: Pentagon Officials Say Depleted Uranium Powerful, Safe

[Joseph T. Miller]

Folks,

        This from DoD....See note below regarding new report by Gulf War vet on DU which
totally rejects this DoD fantasy.

Joe Miller
National Co-Coordinator, VVAW, Inc.

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Sgt. 1st Class Doug Sample, USA
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, March 14, 2003 ­ Pentagon officials showed
pictures today from the 1991 Gulf War of an Iraqi tank
completely destroyed by a 105 mm round made of depleted
uranium. The round had pierced the tank's thick armor,
leaving only a burned out shell.

Even more impressive, they told of how a DU round had
penetrated directly through a sand dune to demolish a tank
hiding behind it.

"That's how much of an edge it gives us, and we don't want
to give that up," Col. James Naughton of the Army Materiel
Command said today at a Pentagon briefing to explain the
uses and health effects of DU on the battlefield.

Naughton, flanked by Dr. Michael Kilpatrick, attempted to
dispel myths about the material the military has used for
the past two decades, most extensively during the Gulf War.
Kilpatrick is deputy director, Deployment Health Support
Directorate, Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of
Defense for Force Health Protection and Readiness.

During that war, U.S. forces used about 320 tons of the
substance, fired primarily from Abrams tanks that carried
105 mm rounds and A-10 close-air support aircraft with its
30 mm cannon aircraft.

However, health concerns about the use of DU have caused
many to ask for a ban on its use, claiming that the
material's radioactive toxicity can cause lung cancer,
leukemia, kidney disorders and damage to the environment.

But, Kilpatrick, said there is no substantial evidence to
suggest that DU is the source of any particular illness
from the Gulf War or that it carries any environmental
hazard. He cited studies by DoD, the World Health
Organization, the U.N. Environmental Programme and the
Agency for Toxic Substances.

Kilpatrick said that recent UNEP environmental assessments
done on soil samples in Kosovo, where 13 tons of DU was
used, revealed no environmental effect.

"They checked the food, water, vegetables, meat, and
essentially were not able to find any evidence of depleted
uranium in any of the samples . . . the bottom line is that
is going to be no impact on the health of people and the
environment," he said.

Kilpatrick said the Army has been studying 90 soldiers over
the past 10 years who were exposed to DU, 20 of whom have
small fragments containing the substance in their bodies.
He noted their study has found no cancer of bone or lungs
and no leukemia.

"They've no medical consequences of that depleted uranium
exposure," Kilpatrick said. "Some of them, of course, do
have medical problems. But as far as the consequence of the
DU exposure, we are not seeing anything related to either a
chemical or radiological effect."

>From an environmental standpoint, Kilpatrick explained that
DU is found in low levels throughout the United States,
with higher concentrations in states like Florida and
Colorado. He also said that DU is used in industrial
settings such as ships and airplanes and that it has some
medical uses.

"It's something that we eat, and drink and breathe
everyday," he said.

Defense officials will continue to study the physiological
and environmental effects of depleted uranium, Kilpatrick
said. Data suggests the substance in other than extreme
cases is rather harmless, and the military will continue
using DU munitions in its arsenal.

"It is a superior armor, it a superior munitions that we
will continue to use if the need is there to attack armor,"
he said.

Asked if DU will be used if the United States goes to war
with Iraq, Naughton said, "If we use Abrams tanks, we don't
have much choice."

====================================================
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====================================================

NEW DU REPORT BY DAN FAHEY

This from VVAWNET, the news/discussion list of Vietnam Veterans Against the War, Inc.


-------- Original Message -------- 
Subject: New DU report by Dan Fahey 
Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 21:57:09 -0800 

Dan Fahey has just published his newest tome on depleted 
uranium weaponry, which is available at the link below. 
Well spent will be time reading this (or words to that 
effect). Paul 
_______________ 
From: Dan Fahey
Hi, 
I've just finished a new DU report, "Science or Science 
Fiction? Facts, 
Myths and Propaganda in the Debate Over Depleted Uranium 
Weapons." 
It is posted at 

http://www.antenna.nl/wise/uranium/diss.html#DUMYTHS. 

Please let other interested parties know about it. 
Regards, 
Dan

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