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Re: DU legislation?
How about banning that very toxic material used in ammunition called lead
----- Original Message -----
From: "Philip Egidi" <phil.egidi@state.co.us>
To: <radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu>
Sent: Monday, April 07, 2003 3:18 PM
Subject: DU legislation?
> 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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