(Cross Posted from The Blog Roundup).
Why is the US government slow poisoning its own troops?
The use of depleted uranium (DU) in Iraq, much like depleted uranium itself, is gradually starting to seep into the media's consciousness, and so the general public. The issue, for those not yet familiar with it, is that some US ordnance (specifically shells) and tank armor used in Iraq contains depleted uranium, which is a low level radioactive by-product of uranium processing for nuclear reactors. When fired, these shells naturally disintegrate, and the uranium contained within them "vaporizes" -- becoming an airborne mist which mingles with the dusty desert soil or even seeps into the groundwater, and so into plants and animals.
One older article which does a good job of explaining the issue is from the New York Daily News. It focuses on the high levels of radiation present in four National Guardsmen who were in the same MP unit in Iraq. The radiation is likely from uranium oxide dust which they inhaled at some point during their tour, which led all of them to exhibit classic symptoms of radiation poisoning:
Poisoned? by Juan Gonzalez, New York Daily News
A nuclear medicine expert who examined and tested nine soldiers from the company says that four "almost certainly" inhaled radioactive dust from exploded American shells manufactured with depleted uranium.
Laboratory tests conducted at the request of The News revealed traces of two manmade forms of uranium in urine samples from four of the soldiers.
If so, the men - Sgt. Hector Vega, Sgt. Ray Ramos, Sgt. Agustin Matos and Cpl. Anthony Yonnone - are the first confirmed cases of inhaled depleted uranium exposure from the current Iraq conflict.
DU is a leading suspect as the cause of (or at least a contributing factor towards) Gulf War syndrome, and according to the Uranium Medical Research Center, there are a number of studies showing serious adverse affects on both military personnel and civilians in Afghanistan and Iraq due to high levels of radiation present in the soil. Given all this, you might think the Pentagon would be reducing the use of DU, testing all personnel returning from Iraq and so on. Not so -- according to the DoD's website, a study shows that the risks of contamination from DU are low, so despite the growing mass of conflicting evidence and concern among the international community, DU will continue to be used indefinitely.
To an objective observer, perhaps the fact that there are real live human beings who are sick and peeing uranium might be more compelling than a DoD-funded study, and at least suggest that the US government should suspend the use of DU until more thorough investigations can be conducted over time? Apparently not. The US will continue to poison Iraq, its civilian population, and even our own troops in the name of "freedom".
- Trendar