Depleted Uranium Kills Over & Over & Over Again

from abc news,
originally uploaded by mandler.

Who knew that when George Bush started a war in Iraq over "weapons of mass destruction", that those weapons could first and foremost be found in the hands of our own troops?

Back in January 2003, in a BBC forum called "Is the war on terror violating human rights?" (link), my concern was depleted uranium and what it was doing to the people of Iraq and our vets since the first Gulf War (see google search "what is gulf war syndrom"). The response I got from Kenneth Roth, of the group "Human Rights Watch", was that "studies had been done to show that there were no long term health risks from exposure to depleted uranium." In other words, it wasn't anything to be concerned about.

Oh, but it is something to be very concerned about. The nature of depleted uranium is that it kills over and over again. It kills our troops with they handle ammunition, it kills again when we shoot people with it, and it continues to kill by the radiated dust particles and heavy waste it leaves behind spreading into the air and soil for years to come (it has a 4.4 billion year half life.) Yes, even after 100's of thousands of people have already been effected by this stuff from the first Gulf War, we are still using it in this, the second confrontation in Iraq.

Finally, there is some official acknowledgement about the dangers--Australia is demanding that their troops be protected from the US' use of depleted uranium ammunition. (link) If Australia is demanding this, then that leaves me with a question: what about our troops, will they be given the option of being protected from this ammunition? Are we then going to watch our troops coming home from Iraq sick from exposure to the stuff? Talk about a weapon of mass destruction, this weapon doesn't just kill the target, it kills everyone. And now its in the soil in Iraq, everyone is breathing its lethal dust. Think of this, how are the people of Iraq to live in their new toxic reality? Ughhh, what a mess!

Exerpt from website regarding the consequences of using depleted uranium in the first Gulf War (link): During Desert Storm, the U.S. used Depleted Uranium (DU) on the tips of many warheads. It is an extremely hard metal and the most effective weapon to pierce amour. But DU is also a heavy, radioactive material with a 4.4 billion-year half-life. Upon impact, approximately 60-80% of DU becomes sub-aerosol particles. It can enter the body through inhalation, ingestion, or an open wound. It can also be transmitted from the father, and is able to pass through the placenta to a child. More than 400,000 vets were exposed to over 315 tons of DU dust, much of it contained trace elements of plutonium, the most toxic element known to humankind. The Veterans Administration cites over 164,000 Gulf War veterans on disability status, and nearly 15,000 have died since Desert Storm.