Re: Depleted Uranium

[CPEO <cpeo@cpeo.org>]

[Note: the following message contains today's postings on the ongoing
depleted uranium munitions debate. -jg]


----->From Marianne Thaeler <marianne.thaeler@sfsierra.sierraclub.org>
 
How about "greening" of munitions? Substitutes for DU exist!!

Marianne



----->From Richard Hugus <rhugus@cape.com>

"An International Appeal to Ban the Use of Depleted Uranium Weapons

Drafted by Ramsey Clark

Depleted-uranium weapons are an unacceptable threat to life, a violation
of international law and an assault on human dignity. To safeguard the
future of humanity, we call for an unconditional international ban
forbidding research, manufacture, testing, transportation, possession and
use of DU for military purposes. In addition, we call for the immediate
isolation and containment of all DU weapons and waste, the
reclassification of DU as a radioactive and hazardous substance, the
cleanup of existing DU-contaminated areas, comprehensive efforts to
prevent human exposure and medical care for those who have been exposed.

During the Gulf War, munitions and armor made with depleted uranium were
used for the first time in a military action. Iraq and northern Kuwait
were a virtual testing range for depleted-uranium weapons. Over 940,000
30-millimeter uranium tipped bullets and "more than 14,000 large caliber
DU rounds were consumed during Operation Desert Storm/Desert Shield."
(U.S. Army Environmental Policy Institute)

These weapons were used throughout Iraq with no concern for the health and
environmental consequences of their use. Between 300 and 800 tons of DU
particles and dust have been scattered over the ground and the water in
Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Iraq. As a result, hundreds of thousands of
people, both civilians and soldiers, have suffered the effects of exposure
to these radioactive weapons.

Of the 697,000 U.S. troops who served in the Gulf, over 90,000 have
reported medical problems. Symptoms include respiratory, liver and kidney
dysfunction, memory loss, headaches, fever, low blood pressure. There are
birth defects among their newborn children. DU is a leading suspect for a
portion of these ailments. The effects on the population living in Iraq
are far greater. Under pressure, the Pentagon has been forced to
acknowledge Gulf War Syndrome, but they are still stonewalling any
connection to DU.

Communities near DU weapons plants, testing facilities, bases and arsenals
have also been exposed to this radioactive material which has a half-life
of 4.4 billion years. DU-weapons are deployed with U.S. troops in Bosnia.
The spreading toxicity of depleted uranium threatens life everywhere.

DU weapons are not conventional weapons. They are highly toxic,
radioactive weapons. All international law on warfare has attempted to
limit violence to combatants and to prevent the use of cruel and unfocused
weapons. International agreements and conventions have tried to protect
civilians and non-combatants from the scourge of war and to outlaw the
destruction of the environment and the food supply in order to safeguard
life on earth.

Consequently, DU weapons violate international law because of their
inherent cruelty and unconfined death-dealing effect. They threaten
civilian populations now and for generations to come. These are precisely
the weapons and uses prohibited by international law for more than a
century including the Geneva Conventions and their Protocols Additional of
1977."

-  International Action Center http://www.iacenter.org