[Peace-discuss] ABC News on DU

[Dlind49 at aol.com]

When the Dust Settles 
Do Armor-Piercing Munitions Pose Threat Long After War?
By Karsten Strauss
Special to ABCNEWS.com

May 5 
- Now that the major combat portion of the war is over, concerns are mounting 
that the use of depleted uranium in allied munitions could pose long-term 
health hazards for Iraqis and coalition troops who served in the conflict. 

"The United States took its nuclear waste and threw it at Iraq," says 
physicist Doug Rokke, who was a member of the U.S. military's command staff 
on the team sent to clean up depleted uranium following the 1991 Persian Gulf 
War. 
"You take solid radioactive waste, throw it in somebody's backyard and refuse 
to clean it up. That's what we've done." 
Known in the military as a "wonder metal," depleted uranium was first used in 
combat in 1991 during the Gulf War, where some 300 tons of "DU munitions" 
were fired by strafing planes, helicopters and tanks. It was used again by 
U.S. forces in the Balkans and Afghanistan. 
DU munitions are fired by Abrams tanks, Apache attack helicopters and A-10 
tank-killer planes. Depleted uranium's extreme density - it is 1.7 times as 
dense as lead - hardens the tips of bullets and artillery shells, allowing 
them to pierce the toughest enemy armor. 
Munitions' Dangerous Residue 
The radiation emitted by a typical DU round is relatively slight. However, 
once a DU round is fired, it travels at high velocity and begins to burn in 
midair. Upon impact with a target, its outer layer is shed, releasing a dusty 
residue of radioactive particles. 
Paul Walker, a weapons specialist for the nonprofit environmental 
organization Global Green, said an intact DU round poses little, if any, 
health threat. 
"The only problem with it is that when it's vaporized, when it hits a target, 
it becomes a cloud of microscopic particles and vapors that spread all over 
the battlefield and can be inhaled," he said. 
Rokke said he and many other members of his team have suffered serious health 
consequences from their exposure to DU munitions during the cleanup after the 
first Gulf War. Rokke said 30 members of his cleanup team have died. He also 
said he has 5,000 times the acceptable level of radiation in his body, and 
suffers from reactive airway disease due to uranium poisoning. 
Rokke contends that troops' exposure to depleted uranium is tied to the 
little-understood Gulf War syndrome. 
"As of May 2002," according to Rokke, "over 221,000 Gulf War vets were listed 
as permanently disabled. When I spoke out within the military about how bad 
this stuff was, my life ended, my career ended. I received threats, warnings, 
sent to the reserve from full active duty." 
Collateral Damage 
Few might feel concern about firing radioactive material at an enemy on the 
battlefield, but nearby communities may be made to suffer when the fighting 
ends. In the 1991 Gulf War, allied forces were striking largely unpopulated 
desert areas. The most recent conflict took place in and around urban 
centers. 
The U.N. Environmental Program is seeking access to Iraq to conduct field 
tests in areas where DU munitions were used and determine whether there are 
any lingering health hazards. 
A study by UNEP following the use of DU munitions in the Balkans suggested 
the risk to civilians from DU is low. Individuals in the immediate vicinity 
of a DU attack who might inhale radioactive dust faced the greatest risk, 
according to the study. 
In a report released April 23, UNEP said the heavy use of DU munitions in 
Iraq "has likely caused environmental contamination of as-yet unknown levels 
or consequences" and recommended that guidelines be distributed immediately 
on how to minimize the risk of accidental exposure. 
Walker said there is a possibility of environmental contamination from the 
munitions. "It can spread to agricultural fields and cattle," he said. "Then, 
of course, this creates the possibility of radioactivity in the milk." 
Link to Gulf War Syndrome Disputed 
At a March 14 Pentagon briefing on depleted uranium, officials disputed 
suggestions that DU munitions pose any long-term health threats. Dr. Michael 
Kilpatrick of the Army's Deployment Health Support Directorate said the 
military has tracked 90 Gulf War veterans for the past 12 years and found no 
causal relationship between their exposure to DU and any ailments. 
Regarding the possibility of environmental contamination, Kilpatrick said 
there is little chance that DU-laden dust would become airborne or leech into 
ground water supplies because of its weight. "Even if it's a small dust 
particle, it's still heavy and it stays on the ground," he said. 
Kilpatrick prescribed a fairly minimal amount of protection for troops who 
might have direct contact with spent DU munitions. 
"If somebody needs to go into a tank that's been hit with depleted uranium, a 
dust mask, a handkerchief is adequate to protect them - washing their hands 
afterward," he said. 
Iraqi officials have said depleted uranium exposure is behind an alleged rise 
of cancer cases and birth defects in and around the southern city of Basra 
since the Gulf War. But Kilpatrick said there were no tank battles involving 
DU munitions near population areas in the Gulf War. He said there was no 
basis to tie any purported rise in cancers or birth defects in Basra to DU 
munitions. 
Col. James Naughton of the Army Materiel Command told reporters at the 
Pentagon briefing that Iraqi complaints about depleted uranium had no medical 
basis. "They want it to go away because we kicked the crap out of them," he 
said. 
Returning Troops Will Be Tested for DU Exposure 
While the Pentagon contends it has seen no evidence linking DU munitions to 
serious health problems, officials on April 29 said that troops returning 
from Iraq will be screened for exposure to DU. The move is part of a broader 
effort to improve record-keeping on veterans' health. 
Returning troops will be required to give a blood sample and complete an 
extensive questionnaire detailing any symptoms they experienced during their 
deployment and whether they had been exposed to chemical weapons, pesticides, 
smoke, lasers, or depleted uranium. 
Rokke and other veterans who feel DU has contributed to their health problems 
want the Pentagon to take stronger action. 
"There's gotta be some accountability," said Rokke. "There's gotta be medical 
care and you have to clean this stuff up. You physically take all the pieces 
of broken buildings, then pick up all the spent rounds, then bulldoze the 
whole area and physically get rid of all that material." 
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