[CPEO-MEF] Activists want depleted-uranium munitions labeled

[CPEO Moderator <cpeo@cpeo.org>]

Washington
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER
Activists want depleted-uranium munitions labeled
Military's exemption is challenged
By Larry Johnson
Thursday, December 4, 2003

Four activist groups, including one in Poulsbo, have launched a
nationwide campaign to force the Pentagon to label shipments of depleted
uranium munitions.

"The United States military does not want civilian populations to know
how and when depleted uranium munitions are being shipped through their
communities for fear of what the military calls 'unnecessary public
concern about the radiation risks associated with DU munitions,'
"according to Glen Milner, of the Ground Zero Center for Non-violent
Action in Poulsbo.

Milner said that normally this type of shipment would be labeled with
Department of Transportation "radioactive" and "explosive" signs.
Branches of the military, however, have a special exemption, which
allows them to ship DU munitions without the "radioactive" placard. The
exemption, which must be renewed every few years, expires June 30.

Milner estimates that the military makes about 2,000 shipments of DU
munitions annually to various facilities.

The Pentagon doesn't like to talk about the shipments, but Daniel
Carlson, a spokesman for the Army Field Support Command, acknowledged
that the Army alone sent about 195 shipments of DU munitions within the
continental United States in the past 12 months. He said because of
security concerns, such details as where the shipments came from and
where they went could not be disclosed.

Milner said he hopes Ground Zero and the other groups in the campaign --
Traprock Peace Center in Massachusetts; the Military Toxics Project in
Maine; and Nukewatch in Wisconsin -- can help bring about enough public
pressure to force the government to decide not to renew the next
application for exemption by the Military Traffic Management Command, a
branch of the Department of Defense.

"By understanding the danger of shipping DU through our neighborhoods,
we will better understand the damage done by firing DU in neighborhoods
in other countries in our name," said Milner, who said he would like to
see a ban on the use of all DU ammunition.

"Depleted uranium is an extremely toxic material and much more dangerous
when shipped with an explosive propellant as is the case of DU
munitions," he said.

This article can be viewed at:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/150991_du04.html

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