[ RadSafe ] "Teratogenicity of depleted uranium aerosols" review in Environmental Health

[bobcherry]

I invite RadSafers to view the entire paper at:

http://www.ehjournal.net/content/pdf/1476-069X-4-17.pdf

I direct your attention to the Acknowledgements, in which is explicitly
indicated a strong Traprock influence, and says, "We deeply appreciate the
reporters and activists who have managed, against great odds, to report bits
of information out of Iraq and who, as responsible, thoughtful citizens of
many countries, assert their dignity and demand appropriate response to the
challenges posed by DU aerosols."

I wonder who the peers were for this "peer-reviewed article."

I performed a personal critique of this paper that is surely questionable
since I am not an epidemiologist, only a lowly physicist. However, it
appears to me that the paper overly relies on what it calls "gray
literature" (?) and makes astounding leaps of faith with weak support. It
fails to quantify in any way the levels of DU in the subjects that are
causing the alleged effects, which seems important to me since uranium is
naturally occurring and present in all human beings to a measurable extent.

The paper does not convince me.

Bob C

-----Original Message-----
From: radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl [mailto:radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl] On Behalf
Of James Salsman
Sent: Thursday, September 08, 2005 5:04 PM
To: radsafe at radlab.nl
Subject: [ RadSafe ] "Teratogenicity of depleted uranium aerosols" review in
Environmental Health

New peer-reviewed article:

Rita Hindin, Doug Brugge and Bindu Panikkar, "Teratogenicity
of depleted uranium aerosols: A review from an epidemiological
perspective," Environmental Health, vol. 4 (26 August 2005),
pp. 17:  http://www.ehjournal.net/content/4/1/17

Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Depleted uranium is being used increasingly often as a 
component of munitions in military conflicts. Military personnel, 
civilians and the DU munitions producers are being exposed to the DU 
aerosols that are generated. METHODS: We reviewed toxicological data on 
both natural and depleted uranium. We included peer reviewed studies and 
gray literature on birth malformations due to natural and depleted 
uranium. Our approach was to assess the "weight of evidence" with 
respect to teratogenicity of depleted uranium. RESULTS: Animal studies 
firmly support the possibility that DU is a teratogen. While the 
detailed pathways by which environmental DU can be internalized and 
reach reproductive cells are not yet fully elucidated, again, the 
evidence supports plausibility. To date, human epidemiological data 
include case examples, disease registry records, a case-control study 
and prospective longitudinal studies. In aggregate the human 
epidemiological evidence is consistent with increased risk of birth 
defects in offspring of persons exposed to DU. DISCUSSION: The two most 
significant challenges to establishing a causal pathway between (human) 
parental DU exposure and the birth of offspring with defects are: i) 
distinguishing the role of DU from that of exposure to other potential 
teratogens; ii) documentation on the individual level of extent of 
parental DU exposure. Studies that use biomarkers, none yet reported, 
can help address the latter challenge. Thoughtful triangulation of the 
results of multiple studies (epidemiological and other) of DU 
teratogenicity contributes to disentangling the roles of various 
potentially teratogenic parental exposures. This paper is just such an 
endeavor. CONCLUSIONS: In aggregate the human epidemiological evidence 
is consistent with increased risk of birth defects in offspring of 
persons exposed to DU.

Full text:  http://www.bovik.org/du/du-teratogenicity.pdf

Sincerely,
James

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