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Dear all,
some members of this list have created a working group that needs funds. Perhaps CASI could help,
because I think this is an excellent initiative, and an extremely important issue, and independent
from political and military pressure. Thanks for the efforts, Jo & Felicity.
This message has been sent to me by Davey Garland of the Pandoraproject. This organisation has been
acting against the use of DU for a long time.
Greetings.
Dirk Adriaensens.
www.irak.be
CHILD RADIATION VICTIMS OF WAR.
Aims to give grassroots support to communities suffering from the radiological and toxicological
effects of war.
Constitution:
Working group:
Joanne Baker
Mabel Sumner
Sanaa Al-Khayyat
Abdul-Haq Al-Ani
Beatrice Boctor
Felicity Arbuthnot
Overview:
The Environment and War.
Modern warfare leaves a serious radiological and toxic
legacy. This is due mainly to the deliberate targeting
of nuclear and chemical sites and the use of uranium
or depleted uranium metal in conventional weaponry. No
clean up of target areas is offered and vital
information regarding the location of sites and the
nature of the weapons used in generally withheld. This
has resulted in health crises in Iraq and surrounding
countries, the Balkans and Afghanistan.
Why Children?
Children are most susceptible to radiological and
toxic assault at a cellular level because of their
fast cell growth. Many are also affected within the
womb. Pre and post natal screening and support would
be offered to women in exposed areas.
Project Iraq
During the 1991 Gulf War around 350 tons of depleted
uranium was used in southern Iraq and many chemical
facilities were bombed. Shortly after the war a German
professor noted disturbing health trends amongst the
Iraqi population. These included :
1. A considerable increase in infectious diseases
caused by most severe immunodeficiences in a great
part of the population.
2. Frequent occurrence of massive herpes and zoster
afflictions, also in children;
AIDS-like syndromes.
3. A hitherto unknown syndrome caused by renal and
hepatic dysfunctions.
4. Leukaemia, aplastic anaemia and malignant
neoplasms.
5. Congenital deformities caused by genetic defects,
which are also found in animals and plants.
6. Cancer rates in Iraq have now increased 10 fold,
with the incidence of cancers and leukaemia among
children in Basra rising 384.2% and 300%. respectively
There has also been a substantial increase in genetic
disorders including neural tube defects which have had
a notable 55% rise between 1998 and 2000; a
staggering
250 000 increase in eye deformity and a 4.5 increase
in Down's Syndrome births.
The ammount of uranium or depleted uranium used by
U.S.-led coalition forces during their attack on Iraq
in March and April is unknown but may have been
between 1000 and 2000 tons. The looting of nuclear
sites and chemical sites is also posing a longterm
health crisis.
Aims of the Project:
1. Aim to support doctors and health workers on the
ground in Iraq.
Learning from the Chernobyl experience!
Scientists at the Research Institute of Radiation
Medicine and Endocrinology in Minsk, Belarus, have
looked at many ways of treating children exposed to
radionucleides.
One such study has been on the use of Spirulina.
Spirulina is a blue-green algae. It is a 60%
all-vegetable protein, rich in beta carotene,
iron,vitamin B-12 and the rare essential fatty
acid,GLA. It offers a striking profile of vitamins,
minerals and phytonutrients. It is potentially a
valuable means of
self-help for Iraqi people.
The following studies have been made:
a. Spirulina- natural sorbent of radionucleides. By
L.P. Loseva and I.V. Dardynskaya. Sep 1993. Research
Institute of Radiation Medicine, Minsk,Belarus. 6th
Int'l Congress of Applied Algology, Czech Republic.
Belarus
.
Spirulina, a natural food supplement, reduced urine
radioactivity levels by 50% in only 20 days. This
result was achieved after giving 5 grams a day to
children at the Institute of Radiation Medicine in
Minsk, Belarus. The Institute has developed a program
to treat 100 children every 20 days. This 1993 report
confirms 1990-91 research on the beneficial health
effects of spirulina on children with radiation
sickness. It concludes: "Use of spirulina decreases
radioaction dose load received from food contaminated
with radionuclides, Cesium-137 and Strontium-90.
Spirulina is favorable for normalizing the adaptative
potential of children's bodies in conditions of
long-lived low dose radiation."
b. Means to normalize the levels of immunoglobulin E,
using the food supplement Spirulina. by L. Evets, et
al. 1994. Grodenski State Medical Univ. Russian
Federation Committee of Patents and Trade. Patent
(19)RU (11)2005486. Jan. 15, 1994. Russia.
Immunoglobulin E (IgE) of children living in highly
radioactive areas is greatly above normal. Studies
with 270 children show that consuming about 5 grams
per day of spirulina tablets normalized IgE within 6
weeks. Children not consuming spirulina did not change
IgE levels. No side effects were observed. Spirulina
lowers the amount of IgE in the blood, which in turn
normalizes and reduces allergies in the body.
c. Spirulina platensis and specialties to support
detoxifying pollutants and to strengthen the immune
system. by L.P. Loseva. Sep 1999. Research Institute
of Radiation Medicine, Minsk, Belarus. 8th Int'l
Congress of Applied Algology, Italy. Belarus.
Main purpose of the study is researching the influence
of spirulina platensis on the immune system on
normalization of peroxide lipid oxidation and
anti-oxidant activity, also on the content of
long-life radionucleides. In the studies were involved
children and teenagers residing in the areas with
radiant pollution and people injured by the Chernobyl
catastrophe. To achieve desirable results with
spirulina it is recommended to take it during 3 months
and if not continued, this course should be repeated
in half a year again.
Possible therapeutic mechanisms:
(i) The natural combination of nutrients supports the
formation of non-absorbable complexes of
radionucleides through analogues such as calcium,
potassium, etc., and promotes their excretion.
(ii) the general intake of easily digestible micro and
macro elements of spirulina has a positive influence
on many functions of the immune system.
2. Spirulina Farming
Aim to establish sustainable production and
distribution routes within Iraq.
3. Try to send self-help structures for small
communities to co-operate to produce clean water.
4. Educational support at a grassroots level. People
are seriously at risk because they are not aware of
the dangers of internal radiation. Children play on
the burnt out tanks and bomb craters. They play with
DU penetrators and other scraps of metal.
These they may collect and take back to their homes.
During the recent looting of nuclear sites, containers
of uranium hexafloride were emptied and used by
families to collect and store water in. This water is
being used to drink and bathe in.
4. Testing for anthropogenic uranium within the body.
5. Support to pay for both emergency treatment and
long term medication.
6. Study and research new ways to combat ecological
pollution, especially radioactive pollution.
If the Iraq project is successful, it could be
extended to countries such as Afghanistan and the
Balkans.
For more details contact: Beatrice Boctor at:
baraka379@yahoo.co.uk
Web address: www.desertconcerns.org
For those who want to send donations:
BANK DETAILS: Child Radiation Victims of War
Sort Code: 40-16-07
Account No: 61164643
HSBC
58 Chesterton Road
Cambridge CB4 1EW
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