Letter to the Editor of the Columbus Dispatch

[bobcherry@cox.net]

Dear Editor:



Your Sunday article about depleted uranium, .Armor Toxic to Troops, Ex-Officer Says,. was good, balanced reporting. Mr. Williscroft.s comments about Dr. Rokke.s misinformed rants were colorful and correct, as I expect from a Navy officer.



DU cannot cause cataracts or rashes as Dr. Rokke claims. I am not a physician, but it seems to me that the more likely causes are aging for the cataracts and allergies for the rashes.



It also is highly unlikely DU is the cause of the .respiratory problems. to which Dr. Rokke vaguely alludes.



The effects of exposure to DU are well-documented: kidney disease, which has a threshold higher than anyone has been exposed to, and cancer, which has a theoretical probability of occurring proportional to dose. These effects have never appeared in humans as a result of DU exposure, including in soldiers who have DU particles remaining in their bodies as a result of friendly fire.



DU is a toxic heavy metal, much like other heavy metals in commercial and military use such as lead (car batteries) and tungsten (light bulb filaments). Its radioactivity is extremely low. Respect it, but don.t fear it.



Robert N. Cherry, Jr., Ph.D.

Certified Health Physicist

Colonel, U.S. Army (retired)



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