[ RadSafe ] State of Washington Passes DU Bill for National Guard

[The Wilsons]

So Roger, what leads you to believe that the testing is not needed?  Is 
it a belief that all returning veterans are some how going to fit some 
statistical study or as long as they do not contract cancer or die there 
is no measurable affect from the DU exposure?

Roger Helbig wrote:
> Here is part of the Washington State Senate report in which it describes the testimony and who testified for this bill .. note that there were no opponents so fact was not well represented at the hearings.  This is the third state to pass a similar bill, with the others being Connecticut and Louisiana.  There is a concerted effort to get all states to require un-needed testing for their National Guard.  This bill will cost the taxpayers of Washington money that they could better spend elsewhere and sets up a task force that could be heavily weighted towards the anti-DU crusaders' input.
>
> SENATE BILL REPORT
> SB 6732
> As Reported By Senate Committee On:
> Health & Long-Term Care, February 2, 2006
>
> Staff: Sharon Swanson (786-7447)
>
> Background: Depleted uranium is what is left over when most of the highly radioactive
> isotopes of uranium are removed for use as nuclear fuel or nuclear fuel weapons. The depleted
> uranium is used in armor-piercing munitions and in enhanced armor protection for some
> Abrams tanks.
> Heavy metals such as uranium, tungsten, and lead have chemical toxicity properties that, in
> high doses, can cause adverse health effects.
> Depleted uranium was used extensively in place of tungsten for ammunition by the United
> States and United Kingdom in the first Gulf War. A report issued by the Hague Peace
> Conference, dated May, 1999, states that at least 320 tons of depleted uranium was "lost"
> during the first Gulf War and that much of that was converted at high temperature into an
> aerosol, creating a mist or fog.
> Once inhaled, very small particles of depleted uranium can reside in the lungs for years,
> slowly passing through the lung tissue into the blood. Uranium can be stored in bone, lymph,
> liver, kidney, or other tissues. Eventually, all uranium that gets into the bloodstream ends up
> in the kidneys prior to expulsion through urine.
>
> Effective Date: Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.
> Testimony For: The United States government and military has a history of lying to its
> veterans. In Vietnam, it was agent orange. Many veterans returned home to a life of cancer,
> children with birth defects, and eventually death. The military claimed to not know about
> agent orange. Our new veterans returning home from Iraq face similar challenges. We need
> to force the military to perform the proper tests to determine uranium poisoning. The current
> test only looks for uranium in urine. That test is only good for thirty days. The conclusive
> testing must look at blood results, tissue testing, and must be able to detect microscopic
> particles. Depleted uranium becomes microscopic. Troops breath it in and it settles in the
> lungs. In Mississippi, returning Persian Gulf male veterans are 1.7 times more likely to father
> children with birth defects. Female Persian Gulf veterans are 2.4 times more likely to give
> birth to a child with birth defects. This is only the beginning. England and Germany are
> conducting the proper tests. The United States needs to do the same for their veterans.
> Testimony Against: None.
> Who Testified: PRO: Terrence Zander, Veterans for Peace; Jerry Muchmore, Veteran;
> George Hill, M.D.; Peter Von Christierson, Depleted Uranium Study Team; Col. Ron
> Weaver, Washington Military Department; Harvey Brooks, National Association of Black
> Veterans.
>
> The entire 2 page Acrobat file, the bill, the corresponding Assembly bill, and corresponding report are all readily available from the following web page
> http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=3107&year=2006
>
>
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