DU legislation?

["Philip Egidi" <phil.egidi@state.co.us>]

4/7/03

RADSTERS,

I saw this today on another Listserv and thought I would pass it along.

 Don't shoot me, I'm just the messenger.



Phil Egidi

CDPHE

phil.egidi@state.co.us

*********

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 27, 2003

Contact: Eric Lutz



McDERMOTT INTRODUCES DEPLETED URANIUM BILL

HR 1483



Washington, DC—Congressman Jim McDermott (D-WA) today introduced

legislation requiring studies on the health and environmental impact

of

depleted uranium (DU) munitions, as well as cleanup and mitigation of

depleted uranium contamination at sites within the United States where

DU has been used or produced.



McDermott, a medical doctor, has been concerned about this issue since

veterans of the Gulf War started experiencing unexplained illnesses.

His concern deepened, he said, after visiting Iraq, where Iraqi

pediatricians told him that the incidence of severely deformed infants

and childhood cancers has skyrocketed.



“Depleted uranium is toxic and carcinogenic and it may well be

associated with elevated rates of birth defects in babies born to

those

exposed to it,” said McDermott.  “We had troops coming home sick

after

the Gulf War, and depleted uranium may be one of the factors

responsible

for that.”



Because of its density, the military uses depleted uranium as a

protective shield around tanks.  It is also part of munitions like

armor-piercing bullets.  Because it tends to spontaneously ignite upon

impact, it is used to cause explosions.



But depleted uranium, a by-product of the uranium enrichment process,

is

also linked to grave health concerns because of its chemical toxicity

and low-level radioactivity.  When depleted uranium explodes, soldiers

are exposed to DU in the form of alpha-emitting airborne particles

that

are inhaled and shrapnel that gets embedded in the body.  They are

also

exposed through unprotected contact with equipment.



About 300 metric tons of depleted uranium was used in the Iraq during

the Gulf War, and many citizens of Iraq as well as veterans of the

Gulf

War have experienced terrible health problems—many say as a

consequence

of depleted uranium.  Increased rates of cancers, leukemia, and birth

malformations are among the health problems that may be linked to DU.



The Pentagon has sent mixed signals about the effects of depleted

uranium, at times claiming DU is not a health hazard, and at other

times

acknowledging the need for sophisticated protective gear and safety

training regarding exposure to DU.



“The need for these studies is imperative and immediate,” said

McDermott.  “We cannot knowingly put the men and women of our armed

forces in harm’s way.”



The Depleted Uranium Munitions Study Act of 2003 has several original

co-sponsors, including Reps. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), Edward Markey

(D-Mass.), John Conyers (D-Mich.), Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-Ohio),

Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.).



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