Independent Study on Persian Gulf Veterans Confirms DU Exposure

[Center for Public Environmental Oversight <cpeo@cpeo.org>]

For Immediate Release: September 25, 1998

Contact: Tara Thornton
 Military Toxics Project
 (207) 783-5091

 Chris Kornkven
 President, National Gulf War Resource Center
 (920) 699-2376

 Dr. Hari Sharma
 University of Waterloo
 (519) 885-1211 ext. 2609

INDEPENDENT PILOT MEDICAL STUDY ON PERSIAN GULF VETERANS CONFIRMS EXPOSURE TO
DEPLETED URANIUM

Lewiston, Maine- Today the Military Toxics Project released preliminary test
results of Persian Gulf Veterans, confirming depleted uranium in veteran's
urine. They also confirm these veterans ingested or inhaled depleted uranium
during their service in the Gulf. By calculating from rate of excretion
formulas based on what is showing in the urine now, almost 8 years after
exposure, it was determined that veterans were exposed to anywhere from 1-10
grams of depleted uranium in the Gulf. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission notes that an intake of .01 gram in one week can cause health
problems, and that a known or suspected inhalation of this amount of depleted
uranium requires automatic medical testing.

The Pentagon admitted in January 1998 that thousands of soldiers might have
been exposed in the Gulf. The Veterans Administration admitted in November
1997 and again on September 18, 1998 they are finding neurocognitive
disorders and depleted uranium in the semen of Gulf War Veterans. MTP along
with Swords to Plowshares and the National Gulf War Resource Center released
the Depleted Uranium Case Narrative in March saying that that number could be
as high as 400,000 veterans exposed to depleted uranium. Yet, even though the
NRC states that exposure to an intake of .01 grams requires automatic medical
testing, the DoD has only tested a few dozen veterans for depleted uranium.

The Military Toxics Project held an International Forum on Depleted Uranium
in November 1997. Strategy and next steps were discussed at that time
including the loud call for an independent medical study. Veterans were
tired of tests not being done, test results that were mysteriously lost, and
tests that came back negative because they didn't exceed the threshold limits
for all isotopes of uranium. "We knew depleted uranium was used, we knew
there were health risks, we knew no training was done and no protection was
given to the vets. We needed to know and the veterans deserve to know if they
were exposed and if DU is present in their bodies. Therefore, we conducted
the tests independent of the Pentagon and the Veterans Administration," said
Tara Thornton, organizer for the Military Toxics Project.

One veteran that tested positive for DU, Michael Stacy said, "I'm really
angry, I begged and pleaded with the VA and the DoD for help and was denied,
they told me I have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, if I hadn't of met the
folks at MTP, I wouldn't have been included in this pilot study and I still
wouldn't know about my exposure to depleted uranium. Its pretty sad that
instead of the VA and DoD testing us vets, we had to go to an independent
organization for the truth." Many sick Gulf War Veterans are angry at how
they've been treated. Stacy summed up their sentiments best when he said,
"80% of the people who join the military, do it to better their lives and
their families lives. This has ruined our lives, I'm sick and my wife is
sick. If I lived in Iraq or elsewhere I might expect to be treated this way
by my government but I never would have thought the United States Government
would have left the vets to hang out to dry like this."

Tara Thornton states these test results are preliminary and were conducted
for the pilot study. The pilot study was a biased study in which a limited
number of veterans known to have been exposed to DU were tested in order to
develop the protocol for a much broader test in the future. The pilot study
was done using the proper 24-hour urine bottles sterilized with a nitric acid
wash. Veterans were instructed on proper collection and shipping
requirements and shipped the samples directly to Dr. Hari Sharma of the
University of Waterloo in Canada who conducted the urine analysis.

Dr. Sharma describes the methodology used to determine if DU is present in
the urine, "Uranium 235 is determined by the delayed- neutron counting
method. Uranium-238 was determined by instrumental neutron activation
analysis (INAA). If the ratio between U-238 and U-235 is higher than 137.8,
which is what you would find for naturally occurring uranium, then DU is
present." Dr. Sharma confirms what MTP has suspected all along, that
veterans might have been exposed to depleted uranium in the Gulf. Sharma
said, "if it had been simply exposure to natural uranium as the DoD continues
to claim, the levels of U238 content found in urine would have resulted in
higher levels U234 and U235. In depleted uranium the levels of U234 and U235
are much lower. Uranium in the urine must have come from inhalation or
ingestion during the Gulf War, you can't get depleted uranium from any
natural sources in the environment."

Chris Kornkven, a Persian Gulf Veteran involved in the pilot study and
President of the National Gulf War Resource Center participated on an MTP
teleconference call this morning with Dr. Sharma and other veterans tested.
He said this confirms previous testing done by the VA in 1995. He has mixed
emotions about the results considering the fact that he was refused for
testing, treatment and follow-up care. He said, "my test results in 1995
were higher than some veterans currently being monitored by the VA. These
test results show the need for a much faster and more thorough independent
investigation into inhalation and ingestion of depleted uranium." Veterans
have many questions regarding the health impact of inhaled or ingested DU and
whether or not the depleted uranium will ever be gone from their bodies. Dr.
Sharma stated, "there is so much we don't know about exposure to depleted
uranium, the need for much more in-depth studies has never been clearer."

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