Living In the Shadow of DU: about depleted uranium
Living In the Shadow of DU: about depleted uranium
Depleted uranium (DU) is a radioactive substance forged from the toxic waste produced by civilian nuclear power plants and military nuclear weapons programs. Due to its high density, it is commonly used in the exterior armor of certain tanks and fighting vehicles and in munitions called penetrators. When a DU penetrator strikes its target, it ignites, and up to 40% of its mass can be reduced into fine, radioactive particles which can be easily inhaled.
According to a 1998 report done by the US Agency for Toxic Substances the symptoms related to inhaling DU dust particles include: fatigue, shortness of breath, lymphatic problems, bronchial complaints, weight loss, bleeding, and unsteady gait. The British Royal Society has also stated that inhaling a substantial amount of DU could lead to kidney damage and lung cancer.
The U.N. reported that NATO
aircraft fired 31,000 rounds of toxic depleted uranium at Serbian tanks in Kosovo,
which has exposed local populations, aid workers, and K-For troops to a known
health hazard. Cases of cancer in peacekeeping troops stationed in the Balkans
were reported in Belgium, France, The Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, and Turkey
and at least six Italian peacekeepers, who were stationed in Kosovo, have since
died of leukemia. Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, the official
U.S. and British positions are still that depleted uranium munitions do not
pose serious health or environmental hazards and that there is no scientific
evidence which proves otherwise.
graphic credit: Campaign
Against Depleted Uranium (CADU)
http://www.cadu.org.uk/
More on DU:
For an excellent review
of depleted uranium, its history, how it has been used in a variety of weapons
and the multitude of health problems it causes, and further links see: "Depleted
Uranium: The Trojan Horse of Nuclear War"
Read the full article at: http://globalresearch.ca/articles/MOR407A.html
The 1 April 2004 (#788)
issue of Rachel's
Environment & Health News is a well-researched report on the origins and
dangers of depleted uranium:
Depleted Uranium Weapons of War:
"Uranium is a naturally-occurring element that is both weakly radioactive
and a toxic heavy metal. Naturally-occurring uranium contains two main radioactive
isotopes: U-238 (99.3%), and U-235 (0.7%). When uranium is "enriched" to make
an A-bomb (which requires lots of U-235), the leftover "depleted uranium" (DU)
is 99.8% U-238 and retains about 60% of the radioactivity that was present in
the original natural uranium..."
read the rull report at: http://www.rachel.org/bulletin/index.cfm?St=1