Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Lodestar

(2,388 posts)
Sat May 7, 2016, 04:54 PM May 2016

The Enduring Heavy Costs of the Gulf Wars to Humanity and the Environment

And here we are worried about Iran having nuclear capabilities?


=================


Depleted Uranium Weapons: Lessons from the 1991 Gulf War

During Operation Desert Storm, American M1A1, M1, and M60 tanks and British Challenger tanks fired thousands of large caliber depleted uranium penetrators.[6] American A-10 and AV-8B aircraft shot hundreds of thousands of small caliber depleted uranium rounds.[7] American snipers shot 7.62mm and possibly .50 caliber depleted uranium bullets.[8] In addition, one-third (654) of the American tanks used in the war (2,054) were equipped with depleted uranium armor.[9] Depleted uranium penetrators enhanced the tactical advantage of American and British forces over the Iraqi Army's inventory of tanks, but the effectiveness of depleted uranium tank armor was never tested on the field of battle.[10] Iraq did not have DU armor or munitions in its inventory.[11]

Amidst post-war hype over the success of expensive, high tech weaponry, depleted uranium weapons received surprisingly little public praise from Pentagon and U.S. defense industry officials. A possible motivation for this cautious silence is expressed in pre-war U.S. Army reports which warned the use of DU weapons could have severe health and environmental consequences and create "adverse international reaction."[12] However, post-war reports have promoted a policy of "proponency" to guarantee the unrestricted use and proliferation of depleted uranium weapons. The Pentagon's focus on proponency has forestalled investigation and research of illnesses among veterans of the American-led expeditionary force and populations in southern Iraq possibly related to exposure to depleted uranium.

The lessons of the use of depleted uranium weapons in the Gulf War are unsettling, but understanding them will enable us to prevent or minimize the effects of depleted uranium weapons in the future.

LESSON 1: Depleted uranium weapons contaminate impact areas with extremely fine radioactive and toxic dust. U.S. Army testing found that 18 to 70% of a depleted uranium penetrator rod burns and oxidizes into extremely small particles during impact.[13] The impact of one 120mm depleted uranium penetrator fired from an American Abrams tank therefore creates between 900 and 3,400 grams (roughly 2 to 7 pounds) of uranium oxide dust. U.S. Army testing further found "[t]he DU oxide aerosol formed during the impact of DU into armor has a high percentage of respirable size particles (50 to 96%)," and 52 to 83% of those respirable size particles are insoluble in lung fluids.[14] Respirable size particles (less than 5 microns in diameter) are easily inhaled or ingested. Insoluble particles are not readily excreted from the body, and may remain in the lungs or other organs for years.[15]

U.S. Army research recently found that some respirable size uranium dust remains suspended in the air for hours after an impact.[16] As demonstrated in the 1970's by the release of depleted uranium during the manufacture of DU ammunition near Albany, New York, depleted uranium dust can be carried downwind for 40 kilometers (25 miles) or more.[17] Most of the dust created by an impact comes to rest inside, on, or within 50 meters of the target. However, U.S. Army testing also discovered depleted uranium dust can be resuspended by the wind, or the movement of people and vehicles.[18]

The long-term dangers of depleted uranium contamination are discussed in a U.S. Army Chemical School training manual:

DU's mobility in water is due to how easily it dissolves. Soluble compounds of DU will readily dissolve and migrate with surface or ground water. Drinking or washing or other contact with contaminated water will spread the contamination . . . The end result of air and water contamination is that DU is deposited in the soil. Once in the soil, it stays there unless moved. This means that the area remains contaminated, and will not decontaminate itself.[19]
No cleanup of depleted uranium in the soil has taken place in Iraq or Kuwait. Surprisingly, the U.S. Department of Defense claims it tested soil in Kuwait and found no presence of depleted uranium contamination.[20] However, in 1995 and 1997, documentary film teams detected depleted uranium contamination on destroyed vehicles and in the soil in southern Iraq.[21]

cont'd
http://www.wise-uranium.org/dhap992.html



Mass Radiation Exposure
(go to page 9)
http://www.fukushimaishere.info/Transnationality_ofRadContam.pdf
2 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
The Enduring Heavy Costs of the Gulf Wars to Humanity and the Environment (Original Post) Lodestar May 2016 OP
Look up Dr. Doug Rokke. All the info you will ever need. nt 7wo7rees May 2016 #1
It will get worse under president Clinton Doctor_J May 2016 #2
Latest Discussions»Issue Forums»Editorials & Other Articles»The Enduring Heavy Costs ...