[CPEO-MEF] Uranium and the Vermont Guard

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Collateral Risk: DU research gap could impact Vermont troops

By Kathryn Casa
Vermont Guardian
June 17, 2005

By the end of June, more than 600 Vermont National Guard members will be 
deployed in and around heavy combat areas in Iraq, where battlefield 
exposure to depleted uranium – a highly toxic and radioactive 
battlefield poison widely used by the United States in combat zones – 
has now become routine, military watchdogs say.

During the recent legislative session, Vermont lawmakers and state 
leaders turned aside a modest proposal to assess the impact of Vermont 
National Guard members deployed in dangerous and highly stressful war 
zones. However, other legislatures have been aggressively pursuing 
measures aimed at safeguarding their troops.

Louisiana last week became the first state to require returning troops 
to be tested for exposure to depleted uranium. And, like both the 
Louisiana House and Senate, the Connecticut House unanimously passed 
similar legislation earlier this month. That bill, which has broad 
bipartisan co-sponsorship, is now before the state’s Senate. Lawmakers 
from at least seven other states interested in drafting similar 
legislation have contacted Rep. Patricia Dillon, D-New Haven, the 
Connecticut author of the bill.

...

For the entire article, see
http://www.vermontguardian.com/local/0105/CollateralRisk.shtml

--
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
http://www.cpeo.org


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