Intbel

DEPLETED URANIUM - FAR WORSE THAN 9/11

Written by Douglas Westerman, May 1, 2006

In 1979, depleted uranium (DU) particles escaped from the National Lead Industries factory near Albany, N.Y.,which was manufacturing DU weapons for the U.S military. The particles traveled 26 miles and were discovered in a laboratory filter by Dr. Leonard Dietz, a nuclear physicist. This discovery led to a shut down of the factory in 1980, for releasing morethan 0.85 pounds of DU dust into the atmosphere every month, and involved a cleanup of contaminated properties costing over 100 million dollars.

Imagine a far worse scenario. Terrorists acquire a million pounds of the deadly dust and scatter it in populated areas throughout the U.S. Hundreds of children report symptoms. Many acquire cancer and leukemia, suffering an early and painful death. Huge increases in severe birth defects are reported. Oncologists are overwhelmed. Soccer fields, sand lots and parks, traditional play areas for kids, are no longer safe. People lose their most basic freedom, the ability to go outside and safely breathe. Sounds worse than 9/11? Welcome to Iraq and Afghanistan.


"In an act of stark cruelty, the US dominated Sanctions Committee refuses to permit Iraq to import the clean-up equipment that they desperately need to decontaminate their country of the Depleted Uranium ammunition that the US fired at them. Approximately 315 tons of DU dust was left by the use of this ammunition.The Sanctions Committee also refuses to allow the mass importation of anti-cancer treatments, which contain trace amounts of radio-isotopes, on the grounds that these constitute '...nuclear materials..'"

Both the Pentagon and the British Ministry of Defence officially deny that there is any significant danger from exposure to DU ammunition.

The rising number of cases in Iraq, particularly in the South where the greatest concentration of DU was fired, is simply staggering. Iraqi physicians have never encountered anything like it, and have made the perfectly reasonable point that similar increases in cancer and deformities were experienced in Japan after the two US atomic bomb attacks. Cancer has increased between 7 and 10 fold; deformities between 4 and 6 fold.

Yet the US was well aware of the potential effects on civilians and military personnel of the chemical toxicity and radiological properties of DU ammunition long before the Gulf war began, as the following excerpts of a US Army document categorically state:

"Aerosol DU (Depleted Uranium) exposures to soldiers on the battlefield could be significant with potential radiological and toxicological effects. [...] Under combat conditions, the most exposed individuals are probably ground troops that re-enter a battlefield following the exchange of armour-piercing munitions. [...] We are simply highlighting the potential for levels of DU exposure to military personnel during combat that would be unacceptable during peacetime operations. [...DU is..]... a low level alpha radiation emitter which is linked to cancer when exposures are internal, [and] chemical toxicity causing kidney damage. [...] Short term effects of high doses can result in death, while long term effects of low doses have been linked to cancer. [...] Our conclusion regarding the health and environmental acceptability of DU penetrators assume both controlled use and the presence of excellent health physics management practices. Combat conditions will lead to the uncontrolled release of DU. [...] The conditions of the battlefield, and the long term health risks to natives and combat veterans may become issues in the acceptability of the continued use of DU kinetic penetrators for military applications."

Doctors in southern Iraq are making comparisons to the birth defects that followed the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in WWII. They have numerous photos of infants born without brains, with their internal organs outside their bodies, without sexual organs, without spines, and the list of deformities goes on an on. Such birth defects were extremely rare in Iraq prior to the large scale use of DU. Weapons. Now they are commonplace. In hospitals across Iraq, the mothers are no longer asking, "Doctor, is it a boy or girl?" but rather, "Doctor, is it normal?"

Intbel

<intbel - after consideration I have deleted the refs to the photographs - they are extremely graphic and on this occasion agree with Mike.

However, by all means post a weblink for those who really want to see such grotesqe images. In the interests of fairness, one such URL where some of the images posted and more besides, may be found on http://www.xs4all.nl/~stgvisie/VISIE...formities.html - but it is not pleasant.> C_S.

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We are all free to choose - every step of the way - no exceptions.

Intbel

blondy

Ok. I'm convinced.

Now send this info to the jihadists and that should guarantee they will stop their terrorism and global expansion efforts and we'll have peace from now on.

Whenever an ethically superior nation engages in war with an ethically inferior nation the forces of the ethically superior nation WILL ALWAYS stoop to the level of the ethically inferior lest it succumb to their underhandedness.

It never works the other way.

By the way, your use of these photos is a form of emotional intimidation or 'terrorism.'

Intbel

blondy

No. You talk to the mullahs and imams and sheiks and others who follow the Koran's instructions to attack infidels all over the world and inflict terror.

You get them to stop and the US will gladly stop.

Good luck, boyo!

BTW, I'll remind you we had looked the other way after the 1993 WTC bombing, the bombing of the Khobar Towers (today is the anniversary of it!), two embassies and the USS Cole.

But looking away didn't stop the attacks.

Then, after 9/11 it was too late.

Your boys went too far.

YOU started it. You get the Muslims to stop and we'll stop, too.

Until then you'll really make an ass of yourself by posting those kinds of photos and no one will support your point of view. (As if they would, anyway? Hahaha!)

Mikeuk

Well Intbel, you have absolutely excelled yourself by posting those gut-wrenching photographs.

In my opinion they should be removed without delay.

There are a number of websites which cater for the kind of freak who enjoys collecting pictures of maimed and deformed human beings.

This is not one of them.

David Holland

The problem is Bush, Blair etc are scientific illiterates - like the person who posted that rubbish about microwaves -and so believe their advisers who tell them that DU is safe when obviously anything that creates an alpha emitter dust is toxic.

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More people + no new homes = housing shortage.

blondy

'Illiterance is bliss.'

Intbel

__________________
We are all free to choose - every step of the way - no exceptions.