DU scare story from Los Alamos

[Andrew Buchan <Andrew.Buchan@ehs.ucsb.edu>]

A friend of mine recieved this and forwarded it on to me.
I know this is all a load of hogwash, but if someone could 
tell me how it is a load of hogwash I would appreciate it.


Thanks
Andrew

____________________________________________________	

From: "Dave Mailen" <dmailen@elp.rr.com

Subject: Possible Contamination Of New Mexico & Texas 
         Water Supplies! 
Date: Wed, 7 Jun 2000 16:21:21 -0600

Dear Brother and Sister! Following is an article being put 
out by the New Mexico Green Party concerning possible 
leakage of nuclear waste byproducts into Texas and New 
Mexico water sources down stream! This event is not 
properly being covered by the national media! Please 
share this report and conduct further campaigning of the 
truth or investigation! People need to know!
 Sincerely,
 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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http://my.business.card.swifttouch.com/cards/users/UWZTRUMW7I02A.htm

---------- Forwarded message ---------- FOR IMMEDIATE 
RELEASE: June 5, 2000 Contacts: Damacio Lopez
(505) 867-0141 Maria Santelli (505) 247-9694
 
International Non Governmental Organization Demands 
Independent Monitoring of Los Alamos Fire Damage
 The International Depleted Uranium Study Team (IDUST) 
is calling for independent international monitoring of 
the ecological damage that may have occurred from the 
Cerro Grande Fire in Los Alamos, New Mexico home of the 
nuclear facility, Los Alamos National Laboratories (LANL). 
  We are concerned about the hazards of burning 
depleted uranium (DU), says Damacio Lopez, IDUST 
executive director who has been researching DU issues for 
the past 15 years.  We are demanding today that 
independent studies be done of the air, water and soil in 
down wind communities from Los Alamos to test for the 
presence of the highly toxic and radioactive material DU. 
 LANL studies confirm that 110 tons of DU and natural 
uranium have been expended at LANL since the 1940s. An 
unknown amount of this uranium has been released into the 
environment. LANL has open air tested DU in dynamic 
weapons tests, where DU has been explosively detonated, 
DU projectiles impacted against hard targets and used in 
the DARPA/ANTI-ARMOR PROGRAM. These tests result in the 
creation of DU particles which behave like dust and can 
travel in the same way dust particles travel eventually 
getting into soil and water. 
Dr. Sergei Pashchenko, a Russian nuclear and atmospheric 
physicist visiting New Mexico concerned about the 
possible radiation releases due to the fire said,  On the 
basis of the data from LANL, the fires that began on May 
8 increased the concentration of alpha radiation in the 
air up to 30 fold.  Dr. Pashchenko added,  The question 
is: what is the source of this increased radiation? 
 IDUST views the fires at Los Alamos as a potential DU 
health hazard necessitating precautionary measures by 
citizens and public officials: 1) firefighters and other 
emergency personnel should be tested for DU in their 
bodies; 2) air, water and soil should be tested for DU 
in communities downwind from Los Alamos, up to 60 miles;
3) agricultural products grown downwind of the fire 
should be washed before eating.
 Dr. Rosalie Bertell added, "My major concerns are: 
soon after the fire, there might be ingestions of DU, 
which would then be eliminated through feces; for the 
inhaled fraction, it might take some time before 
it dissolves enough to be present in the body fluid and 
urine. If it is very insoluble, it will take time for the 
lung to pulverize into particle small enough for the 
phagocytes to pull into the thoracic lymph nodes. At this 
early stage, lung counts might be possible. These 
should be available for uranium miners in the SW." Dr. 
Bertell a renowned epidemiologist is the President of the 
International Institute of Concerns for Public Health, 
based in Toronto, Canada. 
 PROBLEM STATEMENT
 DU is the bulk of the waste stream from the production 
of nuclear weapons and nuclear fuel. This radioactive 
waste is being used in military weapons and commercial 
products. Most notable the United States (U.S.), though 
several other countries have created huge amounts of DU 
as a result of their nuclear programs. 
DU has become internationally recognized as a health 
hazard. It is a suspected environmental contaminant in 
more than 50 sites across the U.S. and on battlefields 
and test sites throughout the world. Affected communities 
experience health problems similar to those of U.S. Gulf War
Veterans and Iraqi Soldiers and Civilians. 
DU is a highly toxic heavy metal with a radioactive 
half-life of four and one-half billion years. DU has 
accumulated in enormous quantities since the dawn of the 
nuclear age. Despite the name "Depleted" Uranium, DU has 
1/2 the radioactivity of Natural Uranium, which is pure 
uranium. 
The International Depleted Uranium Study Team is a 
non-profit, organization dedicated to stopping the use of 
DU in military weapons. 
 
 
- The Green Forum is not the Green Party.  Unless 
explicitly stated otherwise,
the views expressed above are those of Ted Cloak 
<tcloak@unm.edu, a private individual, or
are quotations of the views of previous senders, also 
private individuals. 
To stop/start getting mail from grnforum, send a message 
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--- End Forwarded Message ---


-----------------------------------
Andrew Buchan     tel: 805-893-7256
UC Santa Barbara  fax: 805-893-8659
email: Andrew.Buchan@ehs.ucsb.edu
The above are my opinions and not neccesarily those of UCSB. 

Check out Virus warnings and other urban legends at http://www.snopes.com

What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, 
yet forfeits his soul?....


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