[CPEO-MEF] Depleted Uranium weapons fired by U.S.Navy onWashington coast(gzcente

[Shanti Renfrew <autodelete66@yahoo.com>]

Depleted Uranium (DU) weapons fired by U.S. Navy on
Washington coast
 
Contact:  David Mann (Gendler and Mann, LLP)  (206)
621-8868
                 Greg Wingard (Waste Action Project)
(206) 261-2670
                 Glen Milner (Ground Zero Center) 
(206) 365-7865
 
DEPLETED URANIUM BULLETS, MADE FROM RADIOACTIVE WASTE
MATERIAL, WERE FIRED IN EXERCISES OFF THE COAST OF
WASHINGTON STATE ACCORDING TO RECENTLY RELEASED U.S.
NAVY DOCUMENTS.   THE U.S. NAVY MEMO WAS ISSUED IN
JUNE 2001 AS A WARNING TO OTHER SHIPS, AND FOR
SUBMARINES TO "STAY CLEAR".
 
A COALITION OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND PEACE ORGANIZATIONS
ARE CONSIDERING FILING FOR AN IMMEDIATE COURT
INJUNCTION AGAINST FURTHER USE OF DEPLETED URANIUM
ROUNDS BY THE U.S. NAVY.
 
Depleted uranium (DU/U-238) is a highly toxic
material.  It is about half as radioactive as natural
uranium (U235) and twice as heavy as lead.  Depleted
uranium has a half-life of 4.5 billion years.  It is
known to have been first used by U.S. Army tanks and
Air Force jets during the 1991 war against Iraq with
devastating effects on the environment in the region.
 
In 1995, the Army Environmental Policy Institute
concluded, "If depleted uranium enters the body, it
has a potential to generate significant medical
consequences.  The risks associated with depleted
uranium are both chemical and radiological."
 
"How can the Navy fire depleted uranium rounds and
spread radioactive material into prime fishing areas
off our coast?" said Dave Mann, Seattle environmental
attorney.  "The Navy is willing to put us all at risk,
including its own sailors, to improve its warfighting
capabilities", said Glen Milner, of Ground Zero Center
for Nonviolent Action, who received the information
through the Freedom of Information Act.  
 
The U.S. Navy memo was released through the Freedom of
Information Act in December 2002 to Glen Milner of
Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action.  The memo
states in June 2001, the USS Fife, a U.S. Navy
destroyer stationed at the U.S. Naval base at Everett,
was "CONDUCTING GUNNERY OPERATIONS CONSISTING OF 5" 54
LWGM/BLP AND CIWS/DEPLETED URANIUM ROUNDS IN AREAS
W237C AND W237F... (ALL TIMES JUN 01)"
 
Areas W237C and W237F are warning areas west of the
Washington Coast between Neah Bay and Ocean Shores. 
This area is prime fish habitat for a number of
endangered species.
 
The CIWS designation is for "Close In Weapons System",
also known as the Phalanx system.  This weapons system
is complete with radar and rapid-fire 20 mm guns.  The
guns are capable of firing up to 3,000 or 4,500 rounds
per minute.
 
Please see following Fact Sheet 

Fact Sheet
 
Depleted Uranium (DU) weapons fired by U.S. Navy on
Washington coast
 
Depleted uranium is a waste product of the process
used to enrich uranium for use in nuclear power plants
and weapons production.  When a DU-coated projectile
impacts a solid surface, the pyrophoric properties of
this heavy metal ignite, producing intense heat,
resulting in an aerosolized radioactive release as the
projectile quickly burns through the armor.  The
residue of this firestorm is an extremely fine ceramic
uranium dust that can be spread by the wind, inhaled
and absorbed into the human body, and absorbed by
plants and animals, becoming part of the food chain.
 
The W237C and W237F are Navy Warning Areas and are
approximately 25 to 100 miles off the Washington coast
between Ocean Shores and Ozette (south of Neah Bay). 
The areas are used routinely for joint air/surface
operations such as missile firings, air-to-surface
bombing, air-to-air firing and combat tactics.  The
W237 areas are also a designated
anti-submarine-warfare (ASW) range for ASW operations,
sonobouys, practice depth charges and smoke markers.
 
The Navy Warning Areas are also approximately 50 miles
off Vancouver Island.  The use of DU weapons brings
into question whether the U.S. Navy is firing DU
rounds in other areas, such as the Nanoose range in
Canadian waters.
 
The firing of depleted uranium rounds from the USS
Fife also creates a hazard for Navy personnel aboard
the destroyer.  The ship itself becomes a radiological
hazard.
 
Citizens of the City of Everett should be concerned
over the storage and handling of depleted uranium
weapons within city boundaries.  Can the Navy be
trusted to transport and handle this type of weapon
properly?
 
According to Sea Waves Magazine, the USS Fife made a
port visit in San Francisco on August 3, 2001. 
Usually such a port call will involve public tours of
the ship such as at our own Seattle Seafair.  It is
unknown at this time whether the USS Fife allowed
citizens on what would have been a contaminated ship. 
 
The Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action is one of
five peace and environmental organizations involved in
a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Navy for violations
of the Endangered Species Act and NEPA regarding the
Trident D-5 nuclear missile upgrade at the Bangor
submarine base.  A 60 Day Notice was filed in March
2001.  A decision by Judge Franklin Burgess in Tacoma
in October 2002 is under appeal in the 9th Circuit
Court of Appeals.  Plaintiffs seek an injunction
against the new Trident D-5 missile deployment.

Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action
16159 Clear Creek Road NW  Poulsbo, WA   98370
Website: www.gzcenter.org   E-mail: info@gzcenter.org
 

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