DU in the Gulf War

[Kim Merritt <Merritt9@llnl.gov>]

>
>
>I would say that the more likely cause of exposure to Chem/Bio weapons was
>actually the demolition of Iraqi weapons depots (Kamskaya?) by allied
>troops.  They were unaware of the presence of these "special" weapons.  You
>can look up extensive information on this on the web.
>
>As for the introduction of Uranium into the search for the cause; I would
>look no farther than the troops themselves.  Troops are not HP's or IH's
>and know little more about their DU rounds than that they are radioactive
>and are good for killing the enemy.  (I myself used chemicals in the
>military in manners that in retrospect were not smart.)  I knew they were
>bad for me but had little training to assess the level of bad.  I also
>believe that the reason that it has not been looked at before for combat
>troops is the nature of the war itself.  Desert Storm (during the ground
>assault phase) was largely a mechanized infantry (read tanks and stuff) war
>whereas Viet Nam was more of a person killing person war.  There is not
>much need for armour piercing ammo in the latter.
>
>I personally think that the Chem/Bio scenario is much more realistic since
>the military has had DU rounds for quite awhile and therefore has probably
>been practicing with them.  This would lead me to believe they there should
>have been some effect seen before the war if the DU was the cause.  But
>hey, I'm no epidemiologist...
>
>Anyway, my 2 cents.
>
>
>| | | |    Kim Merritt, RRPT
>| | | |__  Safety Support Officer, Physics & Space Technolgy
>| | \___/  Lawrence Livermore National Labs
>| \___/    merritt9@llnl.gov
>\___/      Voice: (925)423-9668   Fax: (925)422-7160
>	   "When the only tool you have is a hammer,
>	   every problem begins to resemble a nail."
>	   -Abraham Maslow
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Kim Merritt
Safety Support Officer
Physics & Space Technology
phone 3-9668
pager 01017
fax 2-7160
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