- Subject: Uranium risk 'for 400,000 Gulf troops'
- From: MichaelP <papadop@peak.org>
- Date: 3 Mar 1998 15:06:36 GMT
- Approved: map@pencil.math.missouri.edu
- Followup-To: alt.activism.d
- Newsgroups: misc.activism.progressive
- Organization: ?
- Resent-From: rich
- Xref: sws1.ctd.ornl.gov misc.activism.progressive:86323
London Times March 3 1998 IRAQ
A NEW controversy over Gulf War syndrome was raised yesterday by a
private report alleging that as many as 400,000 American and coalition
troops may have been exposed to hazardous particles of depleted
uranium.
Pentagon officials, while admitting there may have been thousands of
unnecessary exposures, insisted there had been no known health risk.
They said that 33 soldiers who were exposed to the ura-nium had been
closely monitored for the past seven years and none had health
problems.
Yesterday's report, which is considered alarmist by Pentagon
officials, was issued by the National Gulf War Resource Centre, a
coalition of veterans' groups. Its estimate of 400,000 is based on
surveys of the number of allied troops who reported having contact
with destroyed Iraqi equipment.
Depleted uranium is a metal residue left after natural uranium is
refined and all but a minuscule level of its radioactivity is removed.
The residue is used in artillery shells and bombs for its
effectiveness in piercing tank armour. When depleted uranium hits a
target it usually burns and oxidises into small particles. If inhaled,
they can be toxic.
Victor Suell, a radio operator with the US Marines when they swept
into Kuwait, says in the report that no one told them to stay away
from destroyed Iraqi tanks that might have been contaminated. He now
suffers from kidney problems and other ailments.
Until recently, the Pentagon office investigating links between the
mysterious ailments of Gulf War veterans and troop exposures to a
variety of toxins and chemical agents had insisted that only 27
soldiers may have been exposed to depleted uranium. It also contended
that the troops faced no health risks from their exposures.
But on January 8, in a report marking the first year of its
investigation, the Office of the Special Assistant for Gulf War
Illnesses made a sweeping - but little noted - admission that
thousands of troops may have been exposed.
It acknowledged "serious deficiencies" in what troops were told about
the dangers of depleted uranium. It said the hazards were well
documented, but unfortunately known only to technical specialists and
not relayed to troops.
The veterans' coalition claimed that the Pentagon deliberately kept
soldiers in the dark and failed to conduct immediate tests on those
who may have been exposed.
"They were aware that they had a problem on their hands and they were
looking to minimise the public relations fallout from it," said Dan
Fahey, the principal author of the study, who works for the Swords to
Ploughshares Veterans' Rights Organisation in San Francisco.
After initial foot-dragging, the Pentagon now has a Gulf War syndrome
department and is far more responsive to veterans' concerns about the
harmful effects from a variety of toxins, chemical agents and
inoculations. One reason for the Pentagon's change of heart is the
close interest taken by President Clinton, who set up an independent
panel to monitor the search for answers to the assortment of illnesses
and chronic conditions suffered by veterans.
As the facts emerge, much of the blame is placed on war-time
commanders who, through ignorance or oversight, did not warn their
troops of the hazards.
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