Depleated Uranium Info Bulletin NO 82

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DU (Depleted Uranium) Info bulletin no 82

>

> New Papers

> 1) Resolution papers from Uranium Weapons Conference

> 2) Undiagnosed Illnesses and Radioactive Warfare Links

> 3) New DU Groups Index Site Veterans News

> 4) Australia: DVA considers Gulf War contamination tests

> 5) Something was wrong with me " DU X-Files

> 6) " Uranium Weapons Cover-ups in Our Midst Name and Shame

> 7) Clark Responds to Kosovo Questions Other DU and Radiological New

> 8) Panel backs 'battlefield' nukes

> 9) Protesters cleared of trespassing charges

> 10) Papers Raise Uranium Worries at Nev. Mine

> 11) Russian Scientist to conduct Environmental Monitoring with Local

> Citizens

> 12) The Seeds of Iraq's Future Terror Vieques Update

>

>

> New Papers

>

> 1)Resolution and papers from the World Uranium Weapons

> Conference

>

> http://www.uraniumweaponsconference.de/

>

> Press Release and Statement of Conference Conclusions

> (PDF)

>

> Conference Resolution 1:

> Conference Statement - ICRP Risk Model (PDF)

> Conference Resolution 2:

> Scientist's Communiqué (PDF)

> Conference Resolution 3:

> Need for Comprehensive Screening in Contaminated Areas (PDF)

> Kurzinfo und Spendenaufruf zur Konferenz (PDF)

> Conference short (PDF)

>

> For more information, contact:

> Gewaltfreie Aktion Atomwaffen Abschaffen

> www.uraniumweaponsconference.de -

> www.uranwaffenkonferenz.de

> Co-Coordinator: Marion Küpker, Beckstraße 14, 20357

> Hamburg, Germany

>

> 2) Undiagnosed Illnesses and Radioactive Warfare

>

> Asaf Durakoviæ Uranium Medical Research Center, Washington D.C., USA

>

> The internal contamination with depleted uranium (DU) isotopes was

detected

> in British, Canadian, and United States Gulf War veterans as late as nine

> years after inhalational exposure to radioactive dust in the Persian Gulf

> War I. DU isotopes were also identified in a Canadian veteran's autopsy

> samples of lung, liver, kidney, and bone. In soil samples from Kosovo,

> hundreds of particles, mostly less than 5 mm in size, were found in

> milligram quantities. Gulf War I in 1991 resulted in 350 metric tons of

DU

> deposited in the environment and 3- 6 million grams of DU aerosol released

> into the atmosphere. Its legacy, Gulf War disease, is a complex,

> progressive, incapacitating multiorgan system disorder. The symptoms

> include incapacitating fatigue, musculoskeletel and joint pains,

headaches,

> neuropsychiatric disorders, affect changes, confusion, visual problems,

> changes of gait, loss of memory, lymphadenopathies, respiratory

impairment,

> impotence, and urinary tract morphological and functional alterations.

> Current understanding of its etiology seems far from being adequate.

After

> the Afghanistan Operation Anaconda (2002), our team studied the

population

> of Jalalabad, Spin Gar, Tora Bora, and Kabul areas, and identified

> civilians with the symptoms similar to those of Gulf War syndrome.

> Twenty-four-hour urine samples from 8 symptomatic subjects were collected

> by the following criteria: 1) the onset of symptoms relative to the

bombing

> raids; 2) physical presence in the area of the bombing; and 3) clinical

> manifestations. Control subjects were selected among the sympotom-free

> residents in non- targeted areas. All samples were analyzed for the

> concentration and ratio of four uranium isotopes, 234U, 235U, 236U and

> 238U, by using a multicollector, inductively coupled plasma ionization

mass

> spectrometry. The first results from the Jalalabad province revealed

> urinary excretion of total uranium in all subjects significantly

exceeding

> the values in the non-exposed population. Complete 13 page paper:

> http://www.cmj.hr/index.php?D=/44/5/520

>

> LINKS

>

> 3) This was sent in by activists. A great resource at your fingertips!!

>

> 500+ LINKS on DEPLETED URANIUM http://www.betterworldlinks.org/du.htm

> Better World Links http://www.betterworldlinks.org

>

>

>

>

>

> VETERANS NEWS

>

> 4) Australia: DVA considers Gulf War contamination tests

>

> Wednesday, November 5, 2003. 1:29pm (AEDT)

>

> The Australian Veterans Affairs Department says it will consider testing

> veterans of the first Gulf War to see if they were contaminated by

> depleted-uranium ammunition.The department's director of research, Keith

> Horsley, says veterans of the Gulf War in 1990 to 1991 would have to ask

for

> the test. " In effect, if a person wants to have their urine tested we will

> facilitate it, " Dr Horsley said.

>

> " But we do not have a formal testing program in place at the moment.

> " Department of Defence does for those serving personnel returning from

the

> current conflict in the Gulf region. " Dr Horsely told a Senate hearing in

> Canberra that contamination by depleted- uranium ammunition does not

> produce symptoms. But he says the vast majority of Australians in the

first

> Gulf War served on Navy ships so there was little chance of exposure to

the

> ammunition used by the United States.

> http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s982572.htm

>

> 5) " Something was wrong with me " The Salmon Valley Observer from Gulf War

> Veterans Association web site. [Carol Picou served 17 years in the U.S.

Army

> and was a U.S.Army nurse during the 1991 Gulf War]

>

> " Our unit was the foremost hospital going into Iraq. We would jump, set up

a

> hospital and move on.

>

> In Iraq as we drove on the back desert on a road created for us, there was

> ammunition laying everywhere. The seven women who went to the front got

> sick. Of 150 people who went to the front, 40 are sick. Six have died-from

> homicides, suicides and cancer.

>

> As we headed in to Basra, we pulled up a half-mile off the road and set up

> our hospitals. We saw to Iraqi civilians, babies playing with grenades,

> nomads tending sheep who stepped on land mines, POWs who came in

> malnourished. We stayed there for 15 days unprotected. I started noting

> black specks over my skin so I reported it. I couldn't control my bowels

and

> my bladder anymore. I went on sick call.

>

> Back home I told my husband my brain didn't feel well. My body didn't feel

> well. Something was wrong with me and I knew it wasn't combat stress. So I

> started seeking answers. I joined up out of patriotism. I was threatened

> with losing my military career. And that happened. Someone called me and

> suggested that I had depleted-uranium poisoning. After Washington told me

I

> couldn't get tested, I called my Congressman and finally got tested. My

> results came back positive on Sept. 10, 1994.

>

> I have long-term and short-term memory deficits, and toxic encephalopathy

of

> the brain. I have developed thyroid deterioration. Our (Gulf War vet's)

> babies are born without thyroids. I am on synthroid for the rest of my

life.

> I have suspicious squamous cancer cells of the uterus. The army issued me

> diapers and said I could catheterize myself for the rest of my life. I was

> afraid I would have a child born with birth defects and had my tubes tied.

>

> Deformed babies born in San Antonio in our support group of 125 veterans

> look like the babies born in Iraq. The Iraqi children play with the rounds

> of ammunition left in the sand. What happened over there? Were we exposed?

> Come together and fight for your sons, daughters, your mothers and

fathers,

> for the people over there now, and for the people of Iraq that are

suffering

> from the contaminants left behind in their land. " ~ Carol Picou

>

> http://www.gulfwarvets.com/du5.htm

>

> ALSO: http://www.iacenter.org/depleted/du_colloneng.htm

>

> THE DU X-FILES

>

> 6) Piotr Beins research and speech from the Hamburg Conference upon the

> concerted cover-up over DU, entitled " Uranium Weapons Cover-ups in Our

> Midst " is now available on-line, and definitely a great read for those who

> believe that some folk in the movement are behaving very short sightedly

and

> naïvely in face of a very organised and sofisicated opponent.

> www.stopnato.org.uk/du-watch/bein/hamburg.htm

>

>

>

> NAME AND SHAME

>

> 7) Clark Responds to Kosovo Questions

>

> October 27th -- Matthew Rothschild

>

> After his speech at the press conference in Madison, Wisconsin, on

October

> 27, Clark took a few questions. I asked him a three-parter on the war in

> Kosovo, which he led.

>

> One part dealt with the use of depleted uranium. He said there have been

a

> lot of studies on depleted uranium, and " there is no indication it causes

> any trouble, " except perhaps if you put something in your mouth that is

> covered with it.

>

> Another part of the question dealt with a comment by British General

> Michael Jackson, who defied Clark's order to attack Russian troops who

were

> beating the allies to an airport in Kosovo. General Jackson reportedly

told

> Clark back then: " No, I'm not going to do that. I'm not going to start

> World War III for you. "

>

> At the press conference, Clark responded, " That comment was way out line.

I

> did what any commander would do. "

> http://www.progressive.org/webex03/wx1027b03.html (Its worth noting that

the

> only Candidate in for the Democrats so far to publically make any real

> mention of being against DU in Dennis Kucinich. )

>

> DU AND OTHER RADIOLOGICAL WEAPONS/INDUSTRY NEWS

>

> 8) Panel backs 'battlefield' nukes

>

> Bill would remove prohibition on smaller low-yield Warheads

>

> James Sterngold, Chronicle Staff Writer Friday, November 7, 2003 ©2003 San

> Francisco Chronicle | Feedback

>

> A House-Senate conference committee finalized an agreement Thursday

> thatwill reverse a decade of self-imposed restraint on the development of

> so-called battlefield nuclear weapons, repealing a law that had prohibited

> theproduction of smaller, more usable warheads.

>

> Although the repeal has not been announced officially yet, lawmakers

> hammering out a final defense authorization bill said that it had

completed

> language that will remove the limits on the development of the low-yield

> weapons. Republicans tried but failed to repeal the law last year.

>

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/11/07

> /MNGO12SD981.DTL

>

> (9) Protesters cleared of trespassing charges

>

> Minneapolis [Minnesota, USA] Star Tribune, Published October 21, 2003

> Nineteen protesters arrested after walking onto the property of Alliant

> Techsystems' headquarters during a rally in April have been cleared of

> trespassing charges by a Hennepin County jury.The protesters were found

not

> guilty of the misdemeanor charges on Friday. They focused on the defense

> contractors' manufacture of munitions that contain depleted uranium,

> alleging it has been responsible for illnesses and deaths of U.S. soldiers

> in the Gulf War and Iraqi civilians. Protesters said they argued that

they

> had a right to protest on the property because the munitions violate

> international law. Alliant said in a statement last spring that munitions

> incorporating depleted uranium are effective because they can penetrate

> armor. The major health concern of depleted uranium is not radioactivity,

> the company's statement said, but its property as a heavy metal, which can

> cause damage if ingested or inhaled as vapor or dust in very large

> quantities. A group protested outside the company again Saturday, and six

> were cited for misdemeanor trespassing, at least one of whom had been to

> trial last week. -- Pam Louwagie, Minneapolis Star-Tribune

> www.nukewatch.com

>

> 10) Papers Raise Uranium Worries at Nev. Mine .c The Associated Press

>

> RENO, Nev. (AP) - More than a dozen wells at an old open pit copper mine

in

> northern Nevada tested positive in 1984 for what conservationists say are

> ``very high'' levels of uranium, according to newly revealed documents

that

> have raised pollution concerns.

>

> Uranium levels were up to 40 times higher than current legal limits,

> according to documents obtained by The Associated Press. The U.S.

> Environmental Protection Agency adopted regulations in 2000 limiting

uranium

> to 30 micrograms per liter of water.

>

> ``Nobody knows if that went into the groundwater,'' said Tom Myers,

> executive director of the Great Basin Mine Watch in Reno, who provided AP

> with the documents.

>

> The radioactivity was so great in one waste pond at the Anaconda Copper

> Co.'s mine 55 miles southeast of Reno that the company entered a venture

in

> the 1970s to attempt to extract and process uranium from the wastes for

> profit, the documents show. The venture never materialized.

>

> State environmental officials said Tuesday that they will test for uranium

> at the closed mine site on the outskirts of Yerington as a result of new

> concerns about potential pollution.

>

> But state officials said uranium occurs naturally in parts of Nevada and

> they have no reason to believe there is any public health threat. Some

5,000

> people live in the Mason Valley and on American Indian reservations in and

> around the community of Yerington bordering the mine. The Atlantic

Richfield

> Co., a former owner of the mine, is working with various government

agencies

> to develop a plan to clean up the site, which contains such hazardous

> materials as arsenic, beryllium, lead, mercury and selenium. www.gdr.org

>

> 11) Russian Scientist to conduct Environmental Monitoring with Local

> Citizens groups in Paducah, KY and Portsmouth ,

>

> PRESS RELEASE Contact: Lucy Henry, 202 387-3034

> Vina Colley (740) 259-4688

>

> Portsmouth/Piketon Residents for Environmental Safety and Security (PRESS)

> in conjunction with the Initiative for Social Action and Renewal in

Eurasia

> (ISAR), will host a Russian Scientist, Sergei Paschenko from November 13th

> through November 20th. During this time, Dr. Paschenko, the president of

> the Siberian Scientists for Global Responsibility, will conduct

> environmental monitoring with PRESS, ISAR, and any concerned citizens.

> Monitoring will focus on the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant. Dr.

> Paschenko has conducted environmental monitoring at nuclear sites in Los

> Alamos, New Mexico, Hanford, Washington, and across Russia.

>

> ISAR, PRESS, and Dr. Paschenko welcome the community to an information

> session on Thursday November 13th at 6:00 p.m. at Shawnee State University

> 940 Second St., Portsmouth, Ohio in the Clark Memorial Library in Room

#205

> in Portsmouth. During this session citizens will be able to learn more

> about SSGR's efforts to involve local communities in environmental

> monitoring. Dr. Paschenko will also explain the type of monitoring work

> that he will undertake in Portsmouth and the expected outcomes of this

> monitoring. Everyone is welcome to attend the event and citizens are also

> encouraged to join in some of the week's monitoring activities. A

schedule

> will be presented at the November13th session.

>

> 12) The seeds of Iraq's future terror

>

> Shirley Williams Tuesday October 28, 2003 The Guardian

>

> ... It claimed that it had no quarrel with the Iraqi people but fought a

war

> with cluster bombs and depleted uranium; now between 7,000 and 9,000 Iraqi

> civilians ... Kofi Annan declared earlier this month: " As long as there's

an

> occupation, the resistance will grow " . Yesterday's attacks in Iraq bear

out

> his solemn warning and are a cruel reminder of the problems at the heart

of

> the US and British occupation. This increasingly emerges as a war we

should

> never have started and now do not know how to end. Despite positive work

by

> British forces in southern Iraq, many of our current policies in the

country

> are creating further resentment among Iraqis, and providing stimulus for

the

> growing violence. There always was a contradiction at the core of this

> government's Iraq war. We were going to war " to uphold the authority of

the

> United Nations " , the government said, meanwhile rubbishing the objections

of

> other security council members and initiating military force without any

UN

> Resolution specifically to authorise it

> http://politics.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,9115,1072440,00.html

>

> VIEQUES UPDATE

>

> 13) Thursday December 4th, 2003 at 5.30 pm. Picket in Protest of the

> sentencing of the Vieques 12 at the United Nations. Ralph Bunche Park

E42nd

> St and 1st Avenue

>

> Join the ProLibertad Freedom Campaign on Thursday December 4th, 2003 as

> weprotest the unfair and unjust sentencing of the Vieques 12!! The Vieques

> 12 are activists, community members and residents of Vieques/mainland

Puerto

> Rico that have been targeted by the FBI for theiractivities in Vieques on

> May 1st, 2003. The arrests of ten of the Vieques 12in June is another

> attempt by the FBI and U.S. government to repress andpunish Vieques

> activists for participating in the struggle to remove theU.S. Navy from

> Vieques. Two of the twelve, Jose Perez went to trial in Sept. and Jose

> Velez turned himself in after the arrest. It is also an attempt to

> discourage activists from continuing the struggle to achieve the four

> demands of the People of Vieques

> (Decontamination-Devolution-Development-Demilitarization)!!

>

> We urge all people in solidarity with the Vieques cause to help us

Protest

> this unjust and unfair targeting of activists by the FBI in Puerto

Rico.We

> are calling on all organizations to endorse this activity and commit

> tomobilizing for this event!! To endorse please email

>

> ProLibertad, call 718-601-4751!!

>