time for truth on depleted uranium

[Guest guest]

http://www.tompaine.com/feature2.cfm/ID/9652

A Time For Truth On DU 

Rosenfeld is a senior editor for TomPaine.com.

The health impacts of depleted uranium (DU) munitions on soldiers who served

in the Iraq and the Persian Gulf Wars will be studied by Congress' General

Accounting Office, according to two congressmen who have requested a new

investigation into whether the Pentagon has ignored the medical consequences of

the

armaments.

" We are requesting further investigation by the GAO of the study of veterans

exposed to DU during the 1991 Gulf War, and an assessment of current DoD

[Department of Defense] and DVA [Department of Veterans Affairs] policies to

identify and provide medical care for veterans exposed to DU during Operation

Iraqi

Freedom, " wrote Reps. Bob Filner, D-Calif., and Ciro , D-Texas, in a

Dec. 3 letter requesting the congressional inquiry.

" There are many uncertainties about depleted uranium, but one thing is clear:

the Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs have refused to

conduct an adequate study of veterans exposed to DU on the battlefield, " said

Dan Fahey, a former board member of the National Gulf War Resource Center, a

veterans organization, who helped the congressmen frame the GAO inquiry.

" Congressmen Filner and have once again demonstrated their concern

for the health of veterans by asking the GAO to investigate what appear to be

serious flaws in the VA's study of veterans exposed to DU, " Fahey said. " The

Pentagon has admitted that thousands of veterans may have been " unnecessarily "

exposed to DU during and after the 1991 war—including approximately 900

veterans with significant exposures—but this year the VA assessed the health

status

of just 32 veterans. "

The GAO study of DU's health impacts on soldiers is significant because the

very dense and slightly radioactive metal is used extensively in bullets and

shells fired by U.S. tanks and jets. It is a byproduct of making nuclear fuel

and is more effective than lead bullets, making DU bullets and warheads a key

component of the military's arsenal.

DU projectiles puncture almost all metal targets. Due to its m ass and

velocity, it breaks up and vaporizes into micron-sized particles upon impact.

The

Pentagon says DU is safe, but veteran advocates are skeptical, saying the

military should scientifically study the most-exposed soldiers to see if they

develop illnesses tied to low-level radiation exposure. Such exposure would come

from either inhaling or ingesting airborne DU particles from destroyed Iraqi

targets or from friendly fire accidents, and the related emergency responses and

subsequent clean up.

The health impacts of DU have been a controversial issue. Some anti-nuclear

activists say there are traces of deadly nuclear isotopes in the metal, because

it is made from spent fuel rods from nuclear power plants. But leading

medical journals in the United States and England say more study is needed

before

definitive conclusions can be reached.

In Iraq, where the Christian Science Monitor last spring reported an

estimated 75 tons of the metal was used by the U.S. Air Force last winter and

remains

scattered on the ground, the military has posted signs in some places warning

people to stay away from destroyed targets. Subsequent statements by the

British and American militaries lead independent analysts to estimate that

100-to-150 metric tons of DU was used in the Iraq War.

The congressmen, drawing on research prepared by Fahey, have asked the GAO to

study whether DU can be linked to cancers and other diseases among Iraq and

Persian Gulf War veterans. Before the Iraq War, Fahey unsuccessfully tried to

persuade the VA to independently study these same issues.

" DoD's own laboratory studies confirm DU may cause cancer, tumors,

neurological damage, and reproductive effects, but the possible connection

between DU

and disease development in the vast majority of exposed veterans remains

unexamined, and therefore, unknown, " the congressmen’s letter said. " This is

of p

articular concern because it is now almost 13 years since the war, and the

latency

period for the development of many cancers possibly related to DU is 10 to 30

years. "

They cited Fahey's belief that the Pentagon officials have made " false

statements " about " the existence of a rare Hodgkin's lymphoma and a bone tumor

among

veterans in the DU Program, signaling a breakdown in the integrity of the

study. "

" On at least two occasions in 2001, DoD spokesmen falsely claimed that no

veterans in the DU Program had developed cancer, in an apparent attempt to

dampen

controversy in Europe about the use of DU munitions in the Balkans, " they

wrote. " In addition, in April 2003, an Army doctor was quoted in press stories

falsely claiming that no veterans in the DU Program had developed any tumors.

These prevarications beg the question of whether other health effects have been

observed among these veterans, but not reported. "

That " army doctor " was Dr. Kilpatrick of the Office of the Special

Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, who is among the top-raking

Pentagon officials who create military health policy. Those remarks were made

at a NATO briefing.

The congressman also noted that the Pentagon " previously misled " GAO

investigators and the Department of Veterans Affairs about " the extent of

veterans'

exposures to DU during the 1991 war " and said there was " cause for concern that

DoD is not providing complete and accurate information about DU exposures in

Iraq. "

Fahey said this pattern of repressing information continues to this day.

" The VA is failing in its duty to assist veterans exposed to a known

carcinogen on the battlefield, but sadly, it appears that the Pentagon is

calling the

shots when it comes to DU policy, " Fahey said. " Even now, as our troops

continue to fight and die in Iraq, the Pentagon refuses to disclose information

about its use of DU, or release information to the United Nations Environment

Programme about the quantities and locations of DU expenditure. "

He said a serious inquiry by the GAO could clear up these and other unknowns.

" There is a serious lack of transparency and accountability when it comes to

Pentagon and VA policy on DU, but this GAO investigation is a huge first step

in understanding what—if any—health effects DU has caused among U.S.

troops. "

Congressmen Filner and said the results of the GAO study could lead

to legislation reorganizing the military's DU health programs.

" Depending on the findings of this GAO investigation, we may wish to

introduce legislation requiring a restructuring of the DU Program and extending

service-connected benefits to veterans who develop health conditions, such as

certain types of cancer that can plausibly be caused by a significant DU

exposure, "

they wrote.

The GAO investigation would most likely be completed by next summer.