Wow... AP: "Is an Armament Sickening U.S. Soldiers?" (Depleted Uranium)

[Hissyspit]

Every once in a while, someone at AP does their job. There is much more to this article, so be sure and hit the link. D.U. discussed in the mainstream press, three, nay, 20 years too late, but still...

http://my.earthlink.net/article/nat?guid=20060812/44dd5240_3ca6_15526200608121941417872

Is an Armament Sickening U.S. Soldiers?
August 12, 2006 6:57 PM EDT

NEW YORK - It takes at least 10 minutes and a large glass of orange juice to wash down all the pills - morphine, methadone, a muscle relaxant, an antidepressant, a stool softener. Viagra for sexual dysfunction. Valium for his nerves. Four hours later, Herbert Reed will swallow another 15 mg of morphine to cut the pain clenching every part of his body. He will do it twice more before the day is done.

Since he left a bombed-out train depot in Iraq, his gums bleed. There is more blood in his urine, and still more in his stool. Bright light hurts his eyes. A tumor has been removed from his thyroid. Rashes erupt everywhere, itching so badly they seem to live inside his skin. Migraines cleave his skull. His joints ache, grating like door hinges in need of oil.

There is something massively wrong with Herbert Reed, though no one is sure what it is. He believes he knows the cause, but he cannot convince anyone caring for him that the military's new favorite weapon has made him terrifyingly sick.

- snip -

Reed believes depleted uranium has contaminated him and his life. He now walks point in a vitriolic war over the Pentagon's arsenal of it - thousands of shells and hundreds of tanks coated with the metal that is radioactive, chemically toxic, and nearly twice as dense as lead. A shell coated with depleted uranium pierces a tank like a hot knife through butter, exploding on impact into a charring inferno. As tank armor, it repels artillery assaults. It also leaves behind a fine radioactive dust with a half-life of 4.5 billion years.

- snip -

Reed says he unknowingly breathed DU dust while living with his unit in Samawah, Iraq. He was med-evaced out in July 2003, nearly unable to walk because of lightning-strike pains from herniated discs in his spine. Then began a strange series of symptoms he'd never experienced in his previously healthy life.

MORE

[whistle]

1. Dah, what do you expect?

[Hissyspit]

2. "No one in the military talked to him about depleted uranium, he said."

"His knowledge, like Reed's, is self-taught from the Internet."

[PhilYerHead]

3. Linked to LBN post

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=2452950&mesg_id=2452950

[PhilYerHead]

18. Please use Google to read more

Just type in

Doug Rokke

I've heard him live. He's chilling.

Phil

[madfloridian]

4. I have a folder of things our military and politicians have said about DU

It is alarming that they pretend there is nothing wrong with using it. I don't understand the technicalities of it, but I am just trying to find things that have been said. Hard to find it.

[nam78_two]

5. terrible-poor afflicted people-that sounds AWFUL/nt

[Monkeyman]

6. link to the whole story

scrool down after the first story

http://www.vawatchdog.org

by the way most replugs say its all in their heads

[jwirr]

7. Not too long ago there was an article about Iraq children who

are being diagnosed with multiple cancers. That to is considered the result of depleted uranium.

[JohnyCanuck]

8. A presentation on Depleted Uranium by Thomas Fasy MD PhD

The Health Effects of DU Weapons in Iraq.

by Thomas Fasy MD PhD

SNIP

By the early 1900s, uranium was well recognized to be a kidney toxin. By the mid-1940s, uranium was known to be a neurotoxin. By the early 1970s, uranium was recognized to be a carcinogen based on mortality studies of uranium workers and on experiments with dogs and monkeys. The first evidence that uranyl ions bind to DNA was reported in 1949 and by the early 1990s, uranium was shown to be a mutagen. Also, in the early 1990s, uranium was shown to be a teratogen, that is, an inducer of birth defects. The toxic effects of uranium on the kidney and on the nervous system typically occur within days of exposure and radiation probably plays little or no role in mediating these effects. In contrast, the carcinogenic effects of uranium have a delayed onset. The teratogenic effects of uranium might be due to exposure of one parent prior to conception as well as to exposure of the mother to uranium early in pregnancy.

Now let us briefly consider the routes of exposure to uranium. In the context of the dust particles derived from depleted uranium weapons, this means exposure to uranium oxides. By far the most dangerous route of exposure to uranium oxides is the inhalational or respiratory route. Absorption of uranium oxides through the gastrointestinal tract, the skin and the conjunctivae is possible but quite limited.

SNIP

Soil particles contain uranium at very low concentrations, typically less than 5 parts per million; the vast majority of these soil particles, however, are too large to be inhaled deep into the lungs. In contrast, the dust particles derived from depleted uranium weapons contain very high concentrations of uranium, typically more than 500.000 parts per million; moreover, most of the D.U. dust particles are sufficiently small to be inhaled deep into the lungs. Thus, compared to the uranium naturally present in the environment, D.U. dust contains uranium in a form that is vastly more bio-available and more readily internalized.


Uranyl ions bind to DNA; they bind in the minor groove of DNA. While bound to DNA, uranyl ions are chemically reactive and can give rise to free radicals which may damage DNA. Chemically mediated DNA damage of this type may contribute to the ability of uranium to induce cancers.


I would now like to present some epidemiologic data from the Basra governate in the south of Iraq. In February 1991, more than 300 tons (possibly much more than 300 tons) of D.U. weapons were used in South of Iraq. After 5-6 year latent periods, increases in childhood cancers and birth defects were documented in the Basra governate. The most recent data indicate a four fold increase in pediatric malignancies and a seven fold increase in congenital malformations compared to 1990, the year preceeding the war.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=4124449

[JohnnyLib]

9. Damn, here we go again

what has it taken, 30 years for damage from Agent Orange to be acknowledged? 50+ years of denial about atomic fallout in Nevada and Utah.

Damn.

[Monkeyman]

11. Yep plus now Brain injury is huge

And what do the replugs do cut funding by 50%

[jwirr]

10. I have a question: Who, when and why are we using DU? What

happened to regular ammo? This whole idea seems insane to me.

[Monkeyman]

12. DU is used to go through armor

The Shells are harder cased. But no one saw this coming ya right it was reported since the first Gulf War

[meldroc]

20. Depleted uranium is an extremely dense metal.

It is about 1.6 times more dense than lead. Just by virtue of physics, this makes DU great for armor-piercing shells. The A-10 Warthog's dreaded gatling cannon fires DU shells the size of milk bottles, which rips tanks to shreds. The M-1 Abrams tank can fire depleted uranium armor-piercing sabot shells, which have a DU spike that'll go through a foot of hardened steel like a hot knife through butter. The M-1 also has a layer of depleted uranium in its armor, which is used to protect against armor-piercing shells.

Of course, when you do this, the shell itself disintegrates when it destroys whatever it's fired at, and puts zillions of particles of DU dust into the air, which settles everywhere in the area. Welcome to this generation's Agent Orange...

[Bear down under]

23. "Depleted" is a euphemism

And its use is intended to make the stuff (uranium 238) sound harmless. I'm sure half the public thinks it means it's had its radioctivity been removed and been rendered non-toxic. It's only 'depleted' in the sense that its no further use in a nuclear reactor or in a bomb.

[bleever]

13. K&R. How can you support the troops and poison them at the same time?

Remember how long it took for the damages of asbestos to be acknowledged, and they are still dragging out the claims on that.

Question: Who bought Dresser Industries while CEO of Halliburton, thinking he could take their multi-billion dollar asbestos liability and make it go away?

Answer: yeah, him.

[peacetalksforall]

14. Before we invaded Iraq there were rumors floating that we had to get

back in to Iraq to take care of some stuff left behind from ???? or the first Iraq War.

Then, not too long after the invasion, there were reports of soldiers getting sick by going to some warehouse like structure and moving 'stuff' that was in there.

Brought to us by our upright and earnest ceo's and military in partnerships with politicians. reverends, think tankers, bankers = all spurring us on with terror alerts and rah-rah's of patriotism.

[me b zola]

15. There is also a greatly increased incidence of birth defects in Iraq

I can't find the link, but the number of birth defects in Iraq has dramatically increased since the invasion. The article touched on the genetic changes that can occur from exposure to DU, and the Iraqi people are (attempting)to live in many of these radioactive sites.

Heartbreaking and enraging, all the way around. :grr: :cry:

[tsuki]

16. The trouble with depleted uranium is that it doesn't stay where

it is used. It gets into the trade winds and rains on everyone.

[bigtree]

17. some more stuff on this

The American death-count from that first Gulf war was 346 total from all causes, out of 511,000 troops deployed from August 1990 to February 1991.

According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, thirty-six percent of the 581,000 retired veterans serving at the height of the 1991 Gulf War have filed health claims.

Of that number, 22 percent of the claims remain pending, or have been denied. As you stated, ore than 11,000 Gulf War veterans, whose average age was 36 when the war began, have since died, many from illnesses their families believed were war-related from exposures to chemical weapons that troops found and destroyed, depleted uranium from U.S. armor-piercing munitions, pollution from oil well fires, experimental vaccines, and anti-nerve agent pretreatment pills, among other toxins.

According to: Steve Robinson, of the
National Gulf War Resource Center
http://www.ngwrc.org /

~697,000 served in the first Gulf War;

~320,000 veterans who deployed in the first Gulf War have sought medical treatment from the VA;

~214,000 veterans who deployed to the first Gulf War have filed for disability;

~167,000 veterans who deployed to the first Gulf War have had their claim approved;

~40,000 veterans who deployed have had their claim denied;

~22,000 veterans have a claim pending

GAO Report, Gulf War Illness
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-03-833T

British Syndrome Diaries
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-03-833T

Gulf War 'linked to nerve disease'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3129180.stm

Gulf War Illnesses~

Department of Veterans Affairs Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses
http://www.va.gov/rac-gwvi /

Department of Defense, Office of the Special Assistant for Gulf War Illnesses
http://www.gulflink.osd.mil /

Walter Reed Medical Center Program for Gulf War Veterans
http://160.151.186.19/departments/dhcc /

Gulf War Illnesses: Fact & Fiction - A Guide for Veterans and Families Am. Leigon
http://www.legion.org/pdf_files/gwi1.pdf

Gulf War Benefits & Programs: A Guide for Veterans and Families Am. Leigon
http://www.legion.org/pdf_files/gwi2.pdf

Gulf War/Agent Orange Helpline: 1-800-749-8387

National Gulf War Resource Center
http://www.ngwrc.org /

Citizen Soldier depleted uranium report
http://www.citizen-soldier.org/CS09-uranium.html

GULFLINK FILES
http://www.citizen-soldier.org/CS09-uranium.html

Depleted Uranium National Public Radio broadcast (4/18/03)
http://discover.npr.org/features/feature.jhtml?wfId=1236241

Kansas Commission on Veterans Affairs - Gulf War Veterans Project
http://www.kcva.org/gulfwar.html

The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas
Division of Epidemiology - Gulf War Syndrome
http://www.swmed.edu/home_pages/epidemi/gws /

Epidemiologic Research and Information Center (ERIC)
http://hsrd.durham.med.va.gov/ERIC/ALS/ALSregistry.htm

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
http://www.cdc.gov /

Gulf War Veterans' Health
http://www.va.gov/gulfwar /

[Clarkie1]

19. There is a very good article on DU here...well-balanced.

Science of Science Fiction?

"The Facts, Myths, and Propaganda in the Debate over Depleted Uranium Weapons"

http://doc.danfahey.com/Sci-SciFi.pdf

[GuvWurld]

21. Depleted Uranium is Mr. Bush's slow-motion holocaust

US Soldiers Use Nuclear Weapons In The Field

[JohnyCanuck]

26. Handing out small-pox infected blankets to the natives

is so 18th century. Neocons say why not just poison their land with depleted uranium instead, much more in line with the modern high-tech approach to things. And if some of our own soldiers get infected, well as that noted humanitarian Henry Kissinger said, "military men are just "dumb, stupid animals to be used as pawns in foreign policy." (Chapter 5 "The Final Days" by Woodward and Bernstein).

[Roland99]

22. Can't wait to hear the apologist spin now in light of 1st person stories.

[sce56]

24. BEYOND TREASON GET THE DVD FREE TO VETS

What you don't know about your government could kill you...
Department of Defense documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act expose the horrific underworld of the disposable army mentality and the government funded experimentation upon US citizens conducted without their knowledge or consent.

UNMASKING SECRET MILITARY PROJECTS:
Chemical & Biological Exposures
Radioactive Poisoning
Mind Control Projects
Experimental Vaccines
Gulf War Illness
Depleted Uranium (DU)

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Why won't the mainstream media report this story?

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[JohnyCanuck]

25. "Support the troops," what a lie.

U.S. Colonel Admits 500 Tons of D.U. Were Used in Iraq

By Jay Shaft
Coalition For Free Thought In Media
5 May 2003

SNIP

U.S.C.: Well����� (long pause, followed by heavy profanity)�. Okay, I�ll give you some dirt if that�s what you�re looking for. The Pentagon knows there are huge health risks associated with D.U. They know from years of monitoring our own test ranges and manufacturing facilities.

There were parts of Iraq designated as high contamination areas before we ever placed any troops on the ground. The areas around Basra, Jalibah, Talil, most of the southern desert, and various other hot spots were all identified as contaminated before the war. Some of the areas in the southern desert region along the Kuwaiti border are especially radioactive on scans and tests.

One of our test ranges in Saudi Arabia shows over 1000 times the normal background level for radiation. We have test ranges in the U.S. that are extremely contaminated, hell they have been since the 80�s and nothing is ever said publicly. Don�t ask don�t tell is not only applied to gays, it is applied to this matter very heavily.

I know at one time the theory was developed that any soldier exposed to D.U. shells should have to wear full MOP gear (the chemical protective suit). But they realized that just wouldn�t be practical and it was never openly discussed again.

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0305/S00050.htm

[mkb]

27. War Is Not Inevitable For Us

     Mr. Reed is someone who can show us what happens when we
allow our leaders to promote their self-serving agendas at
literally the expense of humanity.
     People like Mr. Reed show much courage in their recovery
from trauma, and that is an inspiration for those who have
difficulties in life.  Most of us will have adversity in our
life, hopefully not to that extent, but to persevere when it
occurs.
     More important is to try to prevent adversity from
entering our lives as much as possible.
     If we pay attention to what is happening in the world and
educate ourselves as best as possible, then we can contribute
to minimizing adversity caused by others.  Many soldiers like
Mr. Reed are patriotic, well-meaning people, but never hear
the news and information that would cause them to question
what their sincere and courageous effort is being used for. 
Every person should take responsibility as citizen to promote
a good life for themselves and those like Mr. Reed, so they
don't end up as victims.  War should be seen as a choice, not
an inevitability.

[txb]

28. Question......(methadone?)

FIRST ---> this article is absolutely DISGUSTING. i can imagine darth cheney's eyes LIT UP the first time he was told about DU armaments...."oh, kinda like a conventional-nuke....GRRRREAT!"

common sense-be damned
our braves troops-be damned
darth's stock portfolio - hot damn!

ASSHOLE.

anyways my question -->
It takes at least 10 minutes and a large glass of orange juice to wash down all the pills - morphine, methadone, a muscle relaxant, an antidepressant, a stool softener.

--> Methadone? in the same gulp as 15g of morphine? any of you medical types explain this to a guy who took 'physics for poets'? ;-)

just curious if methadone is usually prescribed for pain management, i guess.

-------

anyway, just curious & thanks for posing such an IMPORTANT ARTICLE.

bless our troops

[schrodingers_cat]

30. Although I am hardly qualified to answer your question,

I did some chronic pain management courses until they figured my pain out and fixed it surgically. Methadone was discussed in the group courses as part of a pain management regimen. My guess is that it is used when a person has built a tolerance to opiates, but I don't know how or why.

"just curious if methadone is usually prescribed for pain management"

[L0oniX]

29. 4.5 billion year half life ...see the links

http://idust.net/ and http://www.xs4all.nl/~stgvisie/ud_main.html