Iraq vets to be tested for uranium

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

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Army to Test New York National Guard Unit Returning from Iraq for Uranium


By Juan Gonzalez
Daily News, New York Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
April 5, 2004

Apr. 5 - Army officials at Fort Dix and Walter Reed Army Medical Center
are rushing to test all returning members of the 442nd Military Police
Company of the New York Army National Guard for depleted uranium contamination.

Army brass acted after learning that four of nine soldiers from the
company tested by the Daily News showed signs of radiation exposure.

The soldiers, who returned from Iraq late last year, say they and other
members of their company have been suffering from unexplained illnesses
since last summer, when they were stationed in the Iraqi town of Samawah.

Dr. Asaf Durakovic, a former Army doctor and nuclear medicine expert who
examined and tested the nine men at The News' request, concluded four of
them "almost certainly" inhaled radioactive dust from exploded depleted
uranium shells fired by U.S. troops.

Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), after learning of The News'
investigation, blasted Pentagon officials yesterday for not properly
screening soldiers returning from Iraq.

"We can't have people coming back with undiagnosed illnesses," Clinton
said. "We have to have a before-and-after testing program for our soldiers."

Clinton, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said she will
write to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld demanding answers and soon
will introduce legislation to require health screenings for all
returning troops.

During meetings with Pentagon officials last year, Clinton said "one of
the issues we raised was exposure to the depleted uranium that was in
the weapons, and how they were going to handle it."

...

for the entire story
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/business/national/8362936.htm

--


Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org


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