GRAP | Depleted Uranium Page
function protectmail(name, address, subject, link1) {
document.write('
Current Concerns
Hawaii County passed Resolution against Army's DU use on Pohakuloa
04 Jul 2008, Indybay.org
The Hawaii County Council--after prolonged debate with testimonies from dozens of Peace activists & expert medical Dr. Lorrin Pang--passed a Resolution yesterday urging the immediate cessation of bombing and live fire exercises by the U. S. military on the island's Pohakuloa Training Area. It was a small but significant symbolic victory by Peace citizens over the aggressive expansion plans by the Iron Fist of the American Empire.
See [ entire article ]
IRAQ: 'Special Weapons' Have a Fallout on Babies
12 Jun 2008, by Ali al-Fadhily and Dahr Jamail, Inter Press Service
Babies born in Fallujah are showing illnesses and deformities on a scale never seen before, doctors and residents say.
The new cases, and the number of deaths among children, have risen after "special weaponry" was used in the two massive bombing campaigns in Fallujah in 2004.
After denying it at first, the Pentagon admitted in November 2005 that white phosphorous, a restricted incendiary weapon, was used a year earlier in Fallujah.
In addition, depleted uranium (DU) munitions, which contain low-level radioactive waste, were used heavily in Fallujah. The Pentagon admits to having used 1,200 tonnes of DU in Iraq thus far.
Many doctors believe DU to be the cause of a severe increase in the incidence of cancer in Iraq, as well as among U.S. veterans who served in the 1991 Gulf War and through the current occupation.
See [ entire article ]
Global Nuclear Energy Partnership Should Be Named “Good for Nothing Energy Program"
22 May 2008, Congressman Ed Markey
GAO Report Concludes Program’s Technology “Unproven,” Could Cost More Than $44 Billion Per Plant
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Representative Edward J. Markey (D-MA), chairman of the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, welcomed the release of a report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) that calls into question the Bush administration’s plans to rush ahead with construction of commercial scale nuclear material reprocessing facilities and the spread of nuclear power around the world.
"This report brings a much-needed dose of reality to the Bush administration's eternally sunny outlook on this deeply troubled program," said Rep. Markey. "Given all the concerns over this administration's nuclear plans, GNEP ought to stand for Good for Nothing Energy Program. Congress has repeatedly refused, on a bi-partisan basis, to fully fund the president's requests for this dangerous and unnecessary program. Enough is enough, it's time to say goodbye to GNEP."
See [ entire article ]
Idaho Imports Radioactive Kuwaiti Waste
01 May 2008, Boise Guardian)
When a local company sells a product off shore it usually qualifies as “EXPORT” sales, but what is it when they are selling space for contaminated uranium waste that is IMPORTED?
Local media and the mainstreamers in Longview, Washington are all over a story about 6,700 tons of sand from Kuwait contaminated with depleted uranium and lead making a rail journey from Longview to Grandview, Idaho—a route that will cross both Canyon and Ada counties.
See [ entire article ]
EU: Parliament calls for a global ban on depleted uranium weapons
May 2008, noticias.info
In a resolution adopted on depleted uranium (DU) weapons, the House calls for a moratorium on their use, increased pressure for an international treaty to ban them, and more research on these weapons. The resolution "strongly reiterates its call on all EU Member States and NATO countries to impose a moratorium on the use of depleted uranium weapons and to redouble efforts towards a global ban." The resolution was adopted with 491 votes in favour, 18 against and 12 abstentions.
Depleted uranium is used in ammunition, to increase the strength of casings for penetrating armour. Upon impact, however, the depleted uranium can be dispersed in the form of DU dust, which can cover large areas of conflict zones, and have averse health effects both for soldiers and civilians, even long after the conflict is over.
See [ entire article ]
U.S. Company Seeks Permit to Import Nuclear Waste
02 Feb 2008, Environment News Service (ENS)
U.S. on a path to becoming "the world's nuclear garbage waste dump:
Bart Gordon, the Tennessee Democrat who chairs the House Committee on Science and Technology, does not want the United States to receive low-level radioactive waste from Italy for processing in Tennessee and disposal in a Utah waste site.
See [ entire article ]
DISCRIMINATION AGAINST INDIGENOUS POPULATIONS
by COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS, 12 Aug 1987 (yup, these things take time), United Nations
THE URANIUM INDUSTRY AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLES OF NORTH AMERICA:
...
The most common health risk associated with uranium
mining is breathing radon-222 gas, which continues to seep
from the crushed ore and mill tailings for hundreds of
thousands of years. It is therefore essential to contain
this material, and prevent it from either blowing away or
spilling into water supplies.
...
See [ entire article ]
Visual Chronology of Nuclear Events 1941 - Present
by Russell Hoffman and friends
Impressive timeline display of nuclear events from 1941 to 2004
view presentation ]
DU News Articles
After 40 years of inaction, agencies create plan for uranium contamination in Navajo Nation
by Amy Weiss, 18 Jun 2008, BuzzFlash.com
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in conjunction with four other government agencies, released a Five-Year Plan to deal with uranium contamination in the Navajo Nation on Monday, after urging from the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
The contamination is a result of uranium mining in the region from 1944 to 1986 that was conducted under lease agreements with the Navajo Nation. According to the report, the mining has left the Nation with "over 500 abandoned uranium mines (AUMs), four inactive uranium milling sites, a former dump site, contaminated groundwater, structures that may contain elevated levels of radiation, and environmental and public health concerns."
See [ entire article ]
AP Exclusive: US removes uranium from Iraq
06 Jul 2008 By BRIAN MURPHY
The last major remnant of Saddam Hussein's nuclear program - a huge stockpile of concentrated natural uranium - reached a Canadian port Saturday to complete a secret U.S. operation that included a two-week airlift from Baghdad and a ship voyage crossing two oceans.
The removal of 550 metric tons of "yellowcake" - the seed material for higher-grade nuclear enrichment - was a significant step toward closing the books on Saddam's nuclear legacy. It also brought relief to U.S. and Iraqi authorities who had worried the cache would reach insurgents or smugglers crossing to Iran to aid its nuclear ambitions.
See [ entire article ]
McCain: Make combat-disabled top VA priority
By Rick Maze - Staff writer, Army Times
Republican presidential candidate John McCain’s call to “concentrate” veterans’ health care on those with combat injuries is raising questions about the Arizona senator’s commitment to funding the ailing VA system.
Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif., said a system that treats combat veterans and non-combat veterans differently is inherently unfair. “We can care for both combat veterans and non-combat veterans if we just decide it is an important thing to do,” Filner said Thursday, one day after McCain talked at a Dover, N.H., town hall meeting about the need to concentrate veterans’ health care on people with injuries that “are a direct result of combat
See [ entire article ] "** Please note that my virus scan shows that the Army Times site has a virus, and that our link is free of viruses. **"
Afghan ministry denies evidence of depleted uranium
20 April 2008, Reuters India
KABUL, April 20 (Reuters) - The Afghan Public Health Ministry denied on Sunday a media report that there was evidence of nuclear contamination in the Tora Bora mountains of eastern Afghanistan.
The radio report said the ministry was investigating claims the Tora Bora mountains had been contaminated with radioactive material, the ministry said in a statement.
See [ entire article ]
Old uranium may be worth billions if sold
by JAMES R. CARROLL, 8 Apr 2008, Gannett News Service
GAO study says market price is right:
WASHINGTON - About 40,000 canisters of depleted uranium are spread out in rows at the Paducah, Ky., Gaseous Diffusion Plant. An additional 20,000 are stored at a sister facility in Piketon.
For years, the canisters and their contents have been considered worthless waste.
Not anymore.
With worldwide uranium supplies tight and prices soaring, those canisters in Kentucky and Ohio are getting a new look as a potential moneymaker for the federal government.
See [ entire article ]
Italian nuclear waste has Utah, NRC fingerpointing at each other
by Judy Fahys, 23 Apr 2008, The Salt Lake Tribune
Plans to bury radioactive waste from Italy in Utah's West Desert have become a game of hot potato between federal regulators and the state government.
Both Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission deny they have the authority to stop the Italy waste.
While they point fingers at one another, saying only the other has the power to settle the issue, the plan has attracted an unprecedented interest among Americans, and even a few Europeans.
See [ entire article ]
Village near Prizren still pays price of war
15 Apr 2008, B92, Beta, Tanjug
PRIZREN, FRANKFURT -- The villagers in Planeja, an ethnic Albanian settlement near Prizren, are increasingly dying of cancer, Beta reports:
The news agency's Refki Alija says that the village, on the slopes of Mt. Paštrik in southern Kosovo, has some 1,000 inhabitants, many of them sought-after bakers who worked all over the former Yugoslavia, to spend their earnings building huge houses in their native village.
But the village, only kilometers away from the border with neighboring Albania, suffered greatly as NATO air strikes targeted nearby Yugoslav Army, VJ, forces during the 1999 war.
In early June that year, shortly before the end of the war, U.S. bombers targeted military structures when they dropped depleted uranium bombs. But what they hit were the civilian homes of Planeja, razing almost all of the buildings to the ground. See [ entire article ]
The World Health Organisation And Nuclear Power
by By Alison Katz, 11 Apr 2008, Le Monde diplomatique
In June 2007 Gregory Hartl, World Health Organisation (WHO) spokesman for Sustainable Development and Healthy Environments, claimed that the proceedings of the international conference held in Geneva in 1995 on the health consequences of the Chernobyl disaster had been duly published (1). This was not so. And the proceedings of the Kiev conference in 2001 have never been published either. Challenged by journalists a few months later, the WHO repeated the claim, providing references to a collection of abstracts for the Kiev conference and just 12 articles (out of hundreds) submitted to the Geneva conference.
Since 26 April 2007 (the 21st anniversary of Chernobyl), a large placard has informed WHO employees each day that one million children in the area around Chernobyl are irradiated and ill. Independent WHO, the group organising the action, accuses the WHO of a cover-up of the health consequences of the catastrophe, and of failing to assist populations in danger.
See [ entire article ]
University of Mass Destruction
by Will Parrish, 13 May 2007, ZNet
UC Students Demanding “No More Nukes In Our Name!:
For over six decades, the University of California has been the United States government’s primary nuclear weapons research and design contractor. It has managed the Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore nuclear weapons compounds since their inceptions. Scientists at these laboratories – UC employees, all – have designed every nuclear warhead in the US arsenal, of which there have been 65 designated types (1). UC nuclear weaponeers have also carried out close to every US nuclear weapons test detonation since the dawn of the Nuclear Age, of which the official tally is 1,054.(2)
See [ entire article ]
'Disposable' nuclear reactors raise security fears
by Phil McKenna, 13 Mar 2008, NewScientist.com news service
"Fourth generation" reactors could be built with a sealed load of fuel that lasts the lifetime of the reactor – like a disposable gadget with a non-replacable battery:
A US government-led plan to design small nuclear reactors for deployment in developing countries is continuing despite ongoing fears about security and proliferation risks.
The Bush administration has ear-marked $20 million in its 2009 budget toward the US Department of Energy's efforts to design nuclear power plants in the 250-to-500 megawatt range as part of its Global Nuclear Energy Program (GNEP).
See [ entire article ]
Depleted Uranium Issue:
01 Nov 2007, New Internationalist
The poisoned legacy:
Issue includes articles about the history of DU weapons, facts about the DU cycle, and an article on DU health effects in Iraq and problems at WHO by Doug Weir. There are articles also by Herbert Reed, an Iraq war veteran, one by John LaForge on Alliant Tech, the largest producer of DU munitions, and an interview with Belgian ICBUW activists about events leading to the passage of Belgian's domestic law banning DU weapons. There are statements as well by EUROMIL, the European Organization of Military Associations and by Luisa Morgantini, Vice President of the European Parliament.
See [ entire article ]
UK Resumes DU Testing at Dundrennan Firing Range, SW Scotland
10 March 2008, ICBUW
The UK Ministry of Defence has announced five days of test firing for its
CHARM3 Challenger tank ammunition, beginning today.
According to the BBC, the trials involving the DU shells will take place over the next five days in order to carry out safety checks needed for military operations. The MoD said that only a small amount of the ammunition would be used and full monitoring would take place. The tests in southern Scotland will be conducted by the defence research agency, QinetiQ.
See [ entire article ]
Depleted uranium kills Basra people
01 Mar 2008, Basra - Voices of Iraq
Basra, Feb 26, (VOI) - During a Basra-based conference on February 25, 2008 on cancer in southern Iraq, experts surmised that radioactive pollution, particularly in Basra, that was caused by the latest wars, engenders an increase in cancer cases there.
See [ entire article ]
Hawaiian Pacifists Demand An End to Island Bombings
by Cathy Garger, 27 January 2008, OpEdNews
In a recent press release, a Hawaiian peace group, Malu Aina (“Land of Peace”) issued a public statement on the bombings of a military training area on the Big Island of Hawaii. The monthly exercises involve United States Air Force B-2 stealth aircraft dropping bombs on the Pohakuloa Training Area (PTA).
See [ entire article ]
Removal of Hazardous Waste Begins at Concord, Mass. Superfund Site
Release date: 01/10/2008, U.S. EPA,
This week EPA began a “Time Critical Removal Action” at the Nuclear Metals, Inc. Superfund site, in Concord Mass., to remove containers of hazardous substances within the facility that pose a risk of fire or explosion.
EPA has undertaken the action at the request of the Concord Fire Department which expressed concern about the facility’s ability to adequately manage combustible and flammable hazardous materials following a June 2007 fire at the site. See [
entire document ]
Hanford (WA) workers prepare for high-risk excavation of waste
AP, 10 Jan 2008
Hanford workers are preparing to start next week digging up radioactive and chemical waste that could spontaneously catch fire when exposed to air.
"We're planning for the worst case," said John Darby, project manager for the Department of Energy's contractor, Washington Closure Hanford.
See [ entire article (link corrected) ]
Italy Agrees to €170m Veteran Compensation Package
by Francesco Iannuzzelli, 21 December 2007, ICBUW
Italy has agreed to the first ever widescale compensation package for DU contaminated veterans:
In early December, the Italian Ministry of Defence gave evidence to the Italian parliament for a second time over concerns about the level of cancers in Italian troops and peacekeepers. The Commission on DU, based in the Senate, heard that the latest estimate of cancer victims has risen to 77 dead and 312 ill.
There has been considerable disquiet in Italy recently over the number of young and otherwise healthy service personnel who have succumbed to
cancers after serving in Iraq and the Balkans between 1996 and 2006.
See [ entire article ]
Muslim Peacemaker Teams Reports Depleted Uranium Epidemic
by Cliff Kindy, 15 Dec 2007
Sami Rasouli, Dr. Najim Askouri and Dr. Assad Al-Janabi, members of Muslim Peacemaker Teams (MPT) in Najaf, visited with Christian Peacemaker Teams CPT) in Suleimaniya, Kurdish Iraq, on December 10 and 11. The visit was an opportunity to report the recent activities of the respective peacemaker groups and learn to know new people. But the primary activity was a forum on depleted uranium (DU) presented by Drs. Assad and Najim.
Dr. Assad is the director of the Pathology Department at the 400-bed public hospital in Najaf. Dr. Najim is a nuclear physicist, trained in Britain, and one of the leading nuclear researchers in Iraq until his departure in 1998. They have worked as an MPT team documenting information about the health impact on Najaf of depleted uranium weapons used during the 1991 and 2003 Gulf wars.
This was not an exhaustive study because of the limits of personnel, resources and equipment. But it did rely on accumulated public data, thorough research, and a major contribution of time and energy. The focus was Najaf, a city of over one million people, and the rural areas in the governate. The area is about 180 miles from where DU was used in the First Gulf War.
Starting in 2004 when the political situation and devastation of the health care infrastructure were at their worst, there were 251 reported cases of cancer. By 2006, when the numbers more accurately reflected the real situation, that figure had risen to 688. Already in 2007, 801 cancer cases have been reported. Those figures portray an incidence rate of 28.21 by 2006, even after screening out cases that came into the Najaf Hospital from outside the governate, a number which contrasts with the normal rate of 8-12 cases of cancer per 100,000 people.
Two observations are striking. One, there has been a dramatic increase in the cancers that are related to radiation exposure, especially the very rare soft tissue sarcoma and leukemia. Two, the age at which cancer begins in an individual has been dropping rapidly, with incidents of breast cancer at 16, colon cancer at 8, and liposarcoma at 1.5 years. Dr. Assad noted that 6% of the cancers reported occurred in the 11-20 age range and another 18% in ages 21-30. See [ entire article ]
Colonie area concerned about uranium
by WNYT, 05 Dec 2007, Albany, New York
"Every single worker we tested, people who actually worked in the plant for a number of years, all of them continue to excrete very high levels of depleted uranium in their urine," research study scientist Randall Parrish said.
Former National Lead Site
These people still have levels of uranium in their bodies, which could be capable of causing some sever illnesses. Those illnesses include decreased kidney and lung function, brain impairment and reproductive impairment.
See [ entire article ]
Also see '
Uranium found in residents and workers near former National Lead's Colonie plant'
NL Industries DU Contamination Press Conference Video Link
NL tests spur call for funding
Brussels Branch of Bank of New York Mellon Targeted in ICBUW Disinvestment Campaign
7 November 2007 - ICBUW
Activists from the Belgian and International Coalitions to Ban Uranium Weapons, Netwerk Vlaanderen and Friends of the Earth today organised a “radioactive buffet” for staff in the entrance hall of the Brussels offices of The Bank of New York Mellon:
The buffet was organised to oppose the involvement of the bank in funding the production of controversial depleted uranium weapons. These weapons are both chemically toxic and radioactive, and have caused serious health consequences for both military and civilians.
See [ entire article ]
Navajos seek funds to clear uranium contamination
by Judy Pasternak, 24 Oct 2007, LA Times
Tribal officials ask Congress for $500 million to deal with wastes left by mining for bombs, nuclear power plants.:
WASHINGTON -- Navajo tribal officials asked Congress on Tuesday for at least $500 million to finish cleaning up lingering contamination on the Navajo reservation in the American Southwest from Cold War-era uranium mining, an industry nurtured by its only customer until 1971: the United States government.
See [ entire article ]
Souvenir from Bosnia - Bladder Cancer
23 Oct 2007, By Olof van Joolen, Algemeen Dagblad, The Netherlands
Paul van Kester has bladder cancer, possibly as a result of depleted uranium
MAASSLUIS - Doctors removed 45 tumours from the bladder of Paul van Kester. They don't understand how it is possible. Bladder cancer occurs in the elderly, and Paul is only 26. Eventually a German doctor made a link "Is it possible that you served in the army?" she asked the Bosnia veteran.
When Italy recognised earlier this month that 255 Bosnia veterans had developed cancer as a result of exposure to depleted uranium the pieces of the puzzle fell into place for the Dutch soldier
See [ entire document ]
Brown Introduces Legislation To Clean Up Piketon Uranium Enrichment Plant
18 Oct 2007, Press Release
Bill Would Fund Cleanup Effort-Critical First Step To Redevelopment Of Region:
Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) today introduced new legislation to continue the clean up of Piketon’s uranium enrichment plant. The authority for the Uranium Enrichment Decommissioning and Decontamination (D & D) Fund of the Department of Energy (DOE), which currently funds clean up efforts, is set to expire this year. Brown’s legislation would continue funding for the cleanup program for ten more years.
See [ entire article ]
U.S. accused of failing ill 1991 Gulf War veterans
By Will Dunham, 25 Sep 2007, Reuters
Medical experts and U.S. senators accused the Pentagon and Veterans Affairs Department on Tuesday of failing to take seriously illnesses suffered by U.S. 1991 Gulf War veterans and doing too little to help them.
Expert witnesses called before the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee testified that Gulf War illnesses are real, serious and widespread among U.S. troops sent to expel Iraqi forces from Kuwait. The issue has been controversial for years.
See [ entire article ]
14 Arrested at Headquarters of Local Arms Merchant
by By Steve Clemens , 2 Oct 2007, Twin Citys Daily Planet
AlliantACTION has held a weekly vigil in front of Alliant Techsystems (ATK) headquarters
for more than ten years on every Wednesday morning. However, to honor Gandhi and to broaden
the circle of protestors beyond the normal group of 20-50 activists, the group added to the
weekly presence by gathering on Tuesday, October 3.
In a park near the Edina offices, the group began with a song and reciting a
“Commitment to Nonviolence” pledge. A poem was read to the circle and a brief talk
informed those gathered about “Why We Focus on Alliant Techsystems”. Besides objecting
to “profiting from war and death” and that “ATK sells its weapons all over the world
–in more than 60 countries”, specific mention was made to the “illegal and
indiscriminate weapons” designed, manufactured, and sold by ATK. Cluster bombs,
anti-personnel landmines, and depleted uranium weapons were included in the list.
See [ entire article ]
Depleted Uranium, Increased Risk
by Perry O'Brien , 2 Sep 2007, The Nation
Dreamworks' summer blockbuster Transformers opened with the devastation of a U.S.
military base at the hands of an evil space robot. Luckily, the movie depicted a
special robot-killing weapon to defeat the evil robot: the sabot round. In fact, the
sabot round is a very real weapon that has been used in both Iraq wars. But because of
its dangerous health effects, the ongoing use of this weapon may constitute a war crime.
The sabot round is nothing more than a lightweight frame containing a solid,
two-foot-long dart made from depleted uranium, or DU. Forged from leftover nuclear
metal ore waste, DU is incredibly dense, allowing it to penetrate most conventional
armor, and it is used primarily to penetrate tanks. It's also pyrophoric, which means
the dart spontaneously ignites on contact with air, producing intense heat. A single DU
sabot round will punch through a tank and engulf the interior in molten plasma. The
resulting conflagration often burns hot enough to ignite the enemy vehicle's ammunition
and fuel, completely destroying it. For the Department of Defense, DU is cheap and
readily available: The Cold War left the United States with about half a million tons
of the stuff.
See [ entire article ]
This came to our attention:
by John W. Gofman, M.D., Ph.D. , 11 May 1999, University of California, Berkeley
By any reasonable standard of biomedical proof, there is no safe dose, which means
that just one decaying radioactive atom can produce permanent mutation in a cell's
genetic molecules. My own work showed this in 1990 for xrays, gamma rays, and beta
particles.....
It follows from such evidence that citizens worldwide have a strong biological basis
for opposing activities which produce an appreciable risk of exposing humans and others
to plutonium and other radioactive pollution at any level.
See [ entire article ]
Passing of a Giant
Dr. John Gofman, In Memoriam 21 September 1918 - 15 August 2007
See
Legislature
Subject: Depleted Uranium Study
This is Section 716 of HR 5122 in the 109th Congress.
SEC. 716. STUDY OF HEALTH EFFECTS OF EXPOSURE TO DEPLETED URANIUM.
(a) Study- The Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretary for Veterans Affairs and
the Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall conduct a comprehensive study of the health effects of exposure to
depleted uranium munitions on uranium-exposed soldiers and on children of uranium-exposed soldiers who were born after the
exposure of the uranium-exposed soldiers to depleted uranium.
(b) Uranium-Exposed Soldiers- In this section, the term `uranium-exposed soldiers' means a member
or former member of the Armed Forces who handled, came in contact with, or had the likelihood of contact with depleted
uranium munitions while on active duty, including members and former members who--
(1) were exposed to smoke from fires resulting from the burning of vehicles containing
depleted uranium munitions or fires at depots at which depleted uranium munitions were stored;
(2) worked within environments containing depleted uranium dust or residues from
depleted uranium munitions;
(3) were within a structure or vehicle while it was struck by a depleted uranium
munition;
(4) climbed on or entered equipment or structures struck by a depleted uranium
munition; or
(5) were medical personnel who provided initial treatment to members of the Armed
Forces described in paragraph (1), (2), (3), or (4).
(c) Report- Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of
Defense shall submit to Congress a report on the results of the study described in subsection (a).
Sean Hughes
Senior Legislative Assistant
Rep. Jim McDermott
202-225-3106
202-225-6197 (fax)
|
|
