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[ Presenting plain-text part of multi-format email ] joanne baker <wildsandcat@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:Date: Mon, 14 Apr 2003 23:13:11 +0100 (BST) From: joanne baker Subject: Fwd: [du-list] DU info bulletin no 70 To: jobak17@yahoo.co.uk --- davey garland wrote: > To: pandora-project@yahoogroups.com, > du-list@yahoogroups.com, > du-watch@yahoogroups.com > From: davey garland > Date: Mon, 14 Apr 2003 14:06:11 +0100 (BST) > Subject: [du-list] DU info bulletin no 70 > > DU INFO BULLETIN NO 70 > DU New > 1) Depleted uranium will affect Iraq > 2) Risks from DU insignificant > 3) UNEP Recommends Studies of Depleted Uranium in > Iraq > 4) Mcdermott Introduces DU Bill > Veteran News > 5) Gulf War Syndrome, The Sequel > 6) On the lookout for Gulf War Illness > > 7) Battling Gulf War Syndrome > Other News > 8) The U.S. Military's War On The Earth, > > > > DU NEWS > Depleted uranium will affect Iraq for generations to > come – > Al-Jazeera April 14, 2003 > When you deliberately and wilfully spread > radioactive > waste, ignore the health effects and refuse to clean > it up, that is a crime against God and a crime > against > humanity. The Presenter (Ahmed Mansour): Despite > research by a large number of scientists and experts > on the enormous damage inflicted by depleted uranium > … > and the use by the US in the Gulf War in 1991, and > wars in the Balkans and Afghanistan in 1994, 1995, > 1999 and 2000…The US use of depleted uranium is not > confined to the total destruction of targets but > extends to the destruction of the environment and > human life in general in the affected regions. Such > areas will be unfit for habitation for millions of > years. Our guest is professor Major Doug Rokke, > former > chief of Depleted Uranium Project at the Pentagon. > Born in Illinois 1949, professor Doug Rokke joined > the > US Air Force in 1967, took part in the Vietnam War > from 1969 to 1971 as a B52 pilot. He obtained his > PhD > in nuclear physics. He worked until 1996 as a field > doctor and specialist in nuclear physics in the US > Army. He took part in the 1991 Gulf War, tasked with > depleted uranium clean up in Saudi Arabia and > Kuwait. > http://english.aljazeera.net/topics/article.asp?cu_no=1&item_no=2565&version=1&template_id=273&parent_id=258 > > > Risks from DU 'insignificant' > Peter Capella in Geneva > Wednesday March 14, 2001 > The Guardian > > The environmental risks from contamination by > depleted > uranium ammunition used in the war in Kosovo are > insignificant, a United Nations report concluded > yesterday, but its authors also said that they > remained unsure about the long-term health > consequences of DU. > The UN Environment Programme's (UNEP) final report > on > the environmental impact of DU after the Kosovo > conflict in 1999 recommended a clean-up of the 112 > exposed sites there, which still appears not to have > been carried out despite preliminary warnings issued > two months ago. > http://www.guardian.co.uk/uranium/story/0,7369,451400,00.html > > > > > UNEP Recommends Studies of Depleted Uranium in Iraq > > Amman/Nairobi, 6 April 2003 ? The United Nations > Environment > Programme (UNEP) is recommending that a scientific > assessment of sites > targeted with weapons containing depleted uranium > (DU) > be conducted in Iraq > as soon as conditions permit. > > UNEP-led field studies of sites struck by DU > ordnance > in the Balkans > during the conflicts in Bosnia and Kosovo in the > 1990s > were the first > international field assessments of how DU behaves in > the environment. > > "Although our assessments to date, under conditions > prevailing in the > Balkans, have concluded that DU contamination does > not > pose any immediate > risks to human health or the environment, the fact > remains that depleted > uranium is still an issue of great concern for the > general public," said > UNEP Executive Director Klaus Toepfer. > > "An early study in Iraq could either lay these fears > to rest or > confirm that there are indeed potential risks, which > could then be > addressed through immediate action > See also www.unep.org for an extensive collection of > environmental data and > documents on conflict and environment in the region, > and > postconflict.unep.ch for UNEP's DU and other > post-conflict assessment > report. > > McDERMOTT INTRODUCES DEPLETED URANIUM BILL > HR 1483 > > Washington, DC-Congressman Jim McDermott (D-WA) > today > introduced legislation > requiring studies on the health and environmental > impact of depleted uranium > (DU) munitions, as well as cleanup and mitigation of > depleted uranium > contamination at sites within the United States > where > DU has been used or > produced. > > McDermott, a medical doctor, has been concerned > about > this issue since > veterans of the Gulf War started experiencing > unexplained illnesses. His > concern deepened, he said, after visiting Iraq, > where > Iraqi pediatricians > told him that the incidence of severely deformed > infants and childhood > cancers has skyrocketed. > > Depleted uranium is toxic and carcinogenic and it > may > well be associated > with elevated rates of birth defects in babies born > to > those exposed to it, > said McDermott. We had troops coming home sick after > the Gulf War, and > depleted uranium may be one of the factors > responsible > for that. > > > > > VETERAN NEWS > Gulf War Syndrome, The Sequel 'People Are Sick Over > There Already' > Steven Rosenfeld. > Soldiers now fighting in Iraq are being exposed to > battlefield hazards that have been associated with > the > 'Gulf War Syndrome' that afflicts a quarter-million > veterans of the 1991 war, said a former Central > Command Army officer in Operation Desert Storm. Part > of the threat today includes greater exposure to > battlefield byproducts of 'depleted uranium' > munitions > used in combat, said the former officer and other > Desert Storm veterans trained in battlefield health > and safety. Their concern comes as troops are > engaged > in the most intensive fighting of the Iraq War. > Complicating efforts to understand any potential > health impacts is the Pentagon's failure, > acknowleged > in House hearings on March 25, to follow a 1997 law > requiring baseline medical screening of troops > before > and after deployment. "People are sick over there > already," said Dr. Doug Rokke, former director of > the > Army's depleted uranium (DU)project. "It's not just > uranium. You've got all the complex organics and > inorganics [compounds] that are released in those > fires and detonations. And they're sucking this > in.... > You've got the whole toxic wasteland." > http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm/ID/7570 > > On the lookout for Gulf War Illness > April 7, 2003 > By Benedict Carey, > LA Times Staff Writer > > The wells are burning again, the air is a witch's > brew > of sand and dust and smoke, and tens of thousands of > veterans watching at home can practically feel the > acrid gas in their lungs and on their skin. > > "I can't even look anymore," said Larry Stewart Jr., > 32, of Sacramento, who served in an armored tank > division in southern Iraq during Operation Desert > Storm in 1991. "We're in the same place, against the > same enemy; I only hope those young guys who make it > back aren't affected the same way I was." > > Stewart is among about 100,000 men and women who in > the early 1990s reported fatigue, rashes, joint pain > and memory loss, among other torments, after the > 1991 > Persian Gulf War. For years, government officials > dismissed the complaints -- first described, > collectively, as Gulf War syndrome -- even as 1 in 7 > Gulf War veterans came forward reporting similar > problems. After scores of studies and reams of > congressional testimony, there's still no agreement > about what might cause these symptoms, and the > government does not recognize them as part of a > unique > syndrome, limiting the amount of free health care > and > disability benefits that veterans can claim. > http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-gwsyndrome7apr07.story > > > > Battling Gulf War Syndrome > April 9, 2003 > CBS) One of the enduring mysteries of the last Gulf > War has driven 48-year-old Navy veteran Bill > Finnegan > to the far eastern tip of Long Island. Correspondent > Susan Spencer reports. > > "I live out here in the boonies, and I pretty much > stay to myself all the time," says Finnegan, who > mostly keeps company with his horses and dogs. "It’s > my choice, because I just don’t feel right." > It's easier, he says, than trying to explain the > ravages of Gulf War Syndrome to his friends. > "Sometimes, when I get up in the morning, I feel > like > I'm 80 years old. I can hardly get out of bed. I’m > hurting so bad." > Being sick was not something he worried about in > 1972, > when he first enlisted as a 17-year-old soldier. By > the first Gulf War, nearly 20 years later, he’d > risen > to senior chief petty officer on the USS Okinawa. > He says he went through hell, several times. He > breathed the smoky air from burning oil fields and > navigated mine-infested waters to help downed > pilots. > He brought home more than a few medals. And he > brought > home unexplained health problems as well. > http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/04/09/48hours/main548508.shtml > > ASSOCIATED ARTICLES > The U.S. Military's War On The Earth, > by Bob Feldman > > 2003-04-08 | In this era of "permanent war," the > U.S. > war machine bombards civilians in places like > Serbia, > Afghanistan, and Iraq. It also makes "war on the > Earth," both at home and abroad. The U.S. Department > of Defense is, in fact, the world's largest > polluter, > producing more hazardous waste per year than the > five > largest U.S. chemical companies combined. > Washington's > Fairchild Air Force Base, the number one producer of > hazardous waste among domestic military bases, > generated over 13 million pounds of waste in > 1997(more > than the weight of the Eiffel Tower's iron > structure). > Oklahoma's Tinker Air Force Base, the top toxic > waste > emitter, released over 600,000 pounds in the same > year > (the same amount of water would cover an entire > football field about two inches deep). > > Just about every U.S. military base and nuclear arms > facility emits toxics into the environment. At many > U.S. military target ranges, petroleum products and > heavy metals used in bombs and bullets contaminate > the > soi land groundwater. And since the Pentagon > operates > its bases as "federal reservations," they are > usually > beyond the reach of local and state environmental > regulations. Local and state authorities often do > not > find out the extent of the toxic contamination until > after a base is closed down. > > http://www.unobserver.com/index.php?pagina=layout5.php&id=825&blz=1 > > > Disclaimer****************************************************Web > site: www.pandoraproject.org Send info to DU > Information List pduproject@yahoo.co.uk > > . How to subscribe and unsubscribe to this letter To > subscribe: Everyone is welcome to subscribe to this > free newsletter. Send an email to > pandora-project-subscribe@yahoogroups.com > > To unsubscribe: Send an email > toUnsubscribe:pandora-project-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > > Disclaimer: While The Pandora DU Information List > and > its members and associates use their best efforts in > collecting and preparing the information published > herein. 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