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IRAQ: New Fears from Depleted Uranium
By Sanjay Suri
LONDON, Apr 1, 2003 (IPS) - New fears have arisen over the long-term damage that
can result from use of depleted uranium in the coalition attacks on Iraq.
"We are particularly worried because the tactics have changed in this
war," Henk van der Keur from the Laka Foundation, an independent group based
in Amsterdam that researches nuclear energy told IPS. "The guerrilla tactics
employed by Iraqis mean more tanks and fighting vehicles are operating in
towns, and that means greater danger for people living there."
Depleted uranium, a form of low-grade uranium is used in shells and
rockets, usually alloyed with titanium to make them harder. These shells are
fired to pierce the armour of tanks and against heavy concrete
installations.
Depleted uranium is extremely dense material that remains when enriched
uranium is separated from natural uranium to produce fuel for nuclear
reactors. The fissionable isotope Uranium 235 is separated from uranium. The
remaining uranium is called depleted uranium.
The U.S. and British forces are firing these weapons hardened with
depleted uranium from the U.S. M1A1 and M1A2 Abrams tanks, from the Bradley
Fighting Vehicles and from the A10 ground attack aircraft known as the
tank-buster. The British Challenger tanks are also firing weapons using
depleted uranium, Keur says.
"The danger is that when these weapons hit their targets, microscopic
particles are liberated, and people inhale these particles," Keur says.
"Many soldiers who fought in the last Gulf War are reported to have fallen
ill from depleted uranium, but these reports have not been fully
investigated."
The Pentagon and the Ministry of Defence in London both deny vigorously
that depleted uranium can be harmful either to troops using those weapons or
to people living in areas where they are used. Keur acknowledges that fears
from depleted uranium have "not been backed by a full empirical study."
But the lack of a full investigation is itself cause for worry, he says.
A United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) study in the Balkans expressed
concern about long-term consequences and asked for more study of the effects
of depleted uranium. "But it is remarkable that there has been no major
study by the World Health Organisation in Iraq," Keur says.
The Pentagon has admitted using about 300 tonnes of depleted uranium in
the last Gulf War. Other independent estimates have suggested that about
1,000 tonnes may have been used.
"Depleted uranium is almost certainly an illegal weapon under a variety
of international agreements including the Geneva Convention," says Ian
Willmore from Friends of the Earth in London. "It sets off radiation, and
the consequences will inevitably be worse when such weapons are used in
large cities or in confined space."
Several of the battle tanks being used by the U.S. and British forces are
themselves strengthened with depleted uranium to toughen them against
anti-tank fire.
While there have been no definitive studies in Iraq, there are alarming
signs. Just one hospital in Baghdad has reported eight cases of babies born
without eyes, anophthalmos. "The normal incidence is about one case in 50
million," Willmore told IPS Tuesday.
"About half to 95 per cent of the particles released by the explosions
where depleted uranium is used are of respirable size," Willmore says. "The
body has no system of removing these radioactive particles that remain in
the system."
Clearing up an area where depleted uranium has been used is also very
difficult. "It can cost up to five billion dollars to fully clean up an area
of just 200 hectares," says Duncan McLaren, head of policy and research at
Friends of the Earth.
There is "scientific consensus" that high exposure causes damage to
kidneys, neurological disorders, and cancers of the lungs and bones,
Willmore says. Use of depleted uranium has been blamed for the 'Gulf War
syndrome' that brings fatigue, memory loss and joint pains.
There is evidence also that depleted uranium can get into the soil and
stay there a long time, Willmore says. "The longer this conflict goes on,
the greater the damage it will cause to people and to the environment,"
Willmore says. (END)
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