Pentagon Knew DU risks Before Gulf War

["Laura Olah" <olah@speagle.com>]

The National Gulf War Resource Center
1224 M Street NW
Washington, DC 20005

Citizens for Safe Water Around Badger
E12629 Weigand's Bay South
Merrimac, Wisconsin 53561

September 22, 1997

PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release

For more information, contact:
 Chris Kornkven, President, The National Gulf War Resource Center 
 (414) 206-0562 
 Laura Olah, Executive Director, Citizens for Safe Water Around 
 Badger (608) 643-3124

Gulf War Soldiers Exposed to Radioactive Dust
Pentagon knew of Risks more than a Decade before the War

WISCONSIN -- While most of us have read about chemical and biological 
exposures during Operation Desert Storm, the word is getting out that 
many of our soldiers were also exposed to toxic and radioactive depleted 
uranium contamination -- an issue the Pentagon has been extremely 
reluctant to discuss.

Depleted uranium or DU, used extensively in weaponry by U.S. military 
forces during the Persian Gulf War, was used for its superior density. 
When DU munitions smash into tanks or other objects, they partially 
burn, producing uranium oxide dust which is chemically toxic and 
radioactive. According to Army technical reports, as much as 70 percent 
of a DU penetrator can be aerosolized when it strikes a tank. 

Remarkably, while the U.S. Army acknowledges firing at least 14,000 
rounds (or 40 tons) of DU ammunition in Kuwait and southern Iraq, 
American and allied soldiers were not told they had radioactive bullets 
in their arsenal, and moreover, were not aware of the hazards and 
precautions required when dealing with DU and DU contaminated vehicles.

"We have uncovered dozens of reports which show the Department of 
Defense was well aware of the significant potential of DU as an 
environmental health hazard," said Chris Kornkven, President of the 
National Gulf War Resources Center and a veteran of the Gulf War who 
tested positive in 1995 for DU contamination. "Under the Freedom of 
Information Act, we have obtained documents that show the Department was 
aware of the exposure of soldiers from DU when it burns, aware of the 
downwind spreading and incidental contamination hazard, and aware of the 
large number of military personnel that were exposed."

One such report, published by U.S. Army Mobility Equipment, Research & 
Development Command in March 7, 1979 -- more than a decade before the 
Gulf War -- concludes: "Not only the people in the immediate vicinity 
(emergency and fire fighting personnel) but also people at distances 
downwind from the fire are faced with potential over exposure to 
airborne uranium dust."

"Wind-blown particles readily lodge in lung tissue, exposing the host to 
a growing, toxic dose of alpha radiation and capable of inducing cancer 
and other deadly illnesses. A single, microscopic particle of DU lodged 
in the respiratory system is the radiological equivalent of fifty (50) 
x-rays, and can subject lung tissue to 8,000 times the annual radiation 
dose permitted by federal regulations for whole-body exposure," said 
Laura Olah, board member of the Military Toxics Project, a national 
coalition of veterans and community activist fighting for an 
international ban on DU. 

"Many soldiers are exhibiting medical problems which are known to be 
related to exposure to DU and they need help now. Some have died. Some 
have required extensive surgery to continue living," Olah said.

U.S. Army studies confirm the radioactive properties of DU have the 
greatest potential for health impacts when DU is internalized due to 
heavy metal toxicity. Equipment contaminated with DU oxides becomes a 
source of contamination when the oxides are resuspended, blown, washed 
or dislodged during transit. In addition to recovery and maintenance 
personnel, thousands of ground troops encountered and entered 
contaminated vehicles, and likely ingested or inhaled depleted uranium 
particles. 

Ingestion occurs primarily from hand-to mouth transfer or from 
DU-contaminated water or food; once inside the body, DU concentrates in 
the kidneys, liver and bones. Inhalation can occur during DU munitions 
testing, during a fire involving DU munitions or armor, and when DU 
particles are resuspended by testing or fires. 

Urinalysis, which is only effective in detecting DU shortly after 
exposure, continues to be the only test offered to veterans by the 
Department of Defense - a test method that Kornkven says the Department 
of Defense knows is inadequate. "In order to accurately measure past DU 
exposures, in-vivo monitoring (whole-body counts) is necessary," said 
Kornkven. "This testing method has effectively been used to determine 
the levels of radioactive material in lungs and other organs of workers 
at DU manufacturing facilities, as well as Gulf War soldiers who were 
wounded by friendly fire and carry DU shrapnel. Unfortunately, the 
Department of Veterans Affairs stopped this type of testing after 
testing only 8 soldiers." 

Kornkven and Olah will be traveling to Washington, DC in November to 
participate in the International Forum on DU hosted by the Military 
Toxics Project. The goal of the conference is bring worldwide attention 
to the human health and environmental risks associated with the 
production, testing and use of DU weaponry.

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