Questions 4 and 5
4. What kinds of impact does depleted uranium munitions have on the environment as well as on the human body? Please explain its mechanism.
Depleted uranium was recognized in 19431 as a very effective weapon because it disperses like a radioactive gas and acts as an area contaminant to kill and disable the enemy. As a kinetic energy weapon, its ability to penetrate and destroy objects is outstanding. Because it is pyrophoric, large amounts of very fine particles are formed at high temperature which contaminate air, water, soil, and blood. When internal exposure occurs, the chemical heavy metal toxicity acts synergistically with the radioactive effects, increasing the toxic effects by as much as eight times2. Dispersal of the fine radioactive dust, long half-life, and radioactive daughter products, contribute to its detrimental effect long after the battle is over and in regions far from the battlefield3.
HUMAN IMPACT
External exposure
Contamination of the skin by fine radioactive DU dust or bare DU metal can cause external exposure to alpha and beta radiation, and to gamma rays. Very fine particles can pass through the skin into the tissues and blood.
Ulcers and cancers which continue to spread, were observed by Dr. Prof. Siegwart-Horst Gunther4 on children playing with depleted uranium shells. Small children5 and adults who make money to feed their families as ammunition scrap metal scavengers are especially at risk. Dr. Chris Busby measured 24,000 Bq (counts per second) at the surface of a stray A-10 30mm penetrator lying on the ground in Iraq several years ago6. A medical doctor from southern Iraq has reported7, DU dust that settled on the heads of patients living in heavily contaminated areas near the border of Kuwait, caused cancerous growths which increased rapidly in size7 [photo]. Human shield people in Baghdad during bombing in March and April of 20038, and U.S. soldiers in contaminated areas have complained of skin rashes, black spots on their skin and mysterious diseases 9.
Internal exposure
When fine particles (0.1 micron range to nanoparticles) are inhaled and pass into the blood they are carried throughout the body. Larger particles (2.5-10 microns) are removed from the lung and are coughed out or swallowed. But 70% of the finer particles (0.1 micron range) pass into the blood at the blood-lung barrier and are engulfed by white blood cells (about 10 microns) which may be 1000 or more times larger than DU particles. The tiny particles of DU are carried to all parts of the body - the brain, heart, bones, organs, muscles, nerves, and germ cells (ovum and sperm). Because depleted uranium oxides which form on the battlefield at high temperatures are very insoluble, they do not dissolve easily in body fluids which prevents excretion by the body. After exposure, the effects can be felt almost immediately depending on exposure levels. Soldiers on the battlefield and testing grounds have reported illnesses within 72 hours or less of exposure4,10.
Gulf War Illness Symptoms & Illnesses11
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)
Severe Headaches
Rashes
Joint Pain
Muscle Pain
Nerve Damage
Neurological Damage
Kidney Damage
Lung Damage
Cardiovascular signs or symptoms
Thyroid Disease
Multiple Cancers
Auto-Immune Deficiencies
Unusual Fevers & Night Sweats
Fluid Buildup
Sleep Disturbances
Gastrointestinal signs or symptoms
Abnormal Births & Defects
Menstrual Problems
Reduced IQ
Confusion
Memory Loss
Blood In Stools & Urine
Fybromyligia
Epstein Barr Syndrome
Genetic Alterations
Sinus Diseases
Micoplasma Fermentans Incognitis Infections
Unusual Hair Loss
Loss Of Smell
Chemical Sensitivities
Asthma
Vision Problems
Schrapnel
Soldiers who have schrapnel in their bodies from battlefield wounds have DU metal exposure that is very different from exposure through inhalation of DU dust. DU dust is physically and chemically different from schrapnel. Schrapnel is solid DU metal. It is soluble in body fluids, excreted through the kidneys and bladder and can be measured in the urine. Schrapnel causes cancer in the bones and areas where it lodges23. Medical doctors treating Gulf War veterans with DU schrapnel were directed to leave the schrapnel in the soldiers10.
A 1995 five year study of Wistar rats, implanted with DU fragments, funded by the Department of Defense (Project DoD-7B), showed that soft tissue sarcomas and local tissue reactions occurred around DU implants32. In another study33 where rats were implanted with DU pellets, researchers reported unexpected accumulation of uranium in the brain, lymph nodes and testicles of lab animals, suggesting unanticipated pathways for exposure to uranium33. There were also significant levels of uranium in the muscle, spleen, liver, heart, and lung.
Chemical heavy metal effect12
Soldiers exposed to DU on the battlefield have complained of a metallic taste in their mouths. The physiological effect of uranium compounds depends on their solubility. DU metal is soluble in body fluids and can be deposited all over the body. It also has metabolic toxic effects, blocking transfer of phosphate to glucose, inhibiting the first step of metabolic utilization. This would contribute to weight loss which is common in DU exposed veterans. Phosphorous is also a crucial component of DNA, nerves and cell structure which must also be affected by DU.
Radioactive effect12
The physical damage from the slow heavy alpha particle tearing through the cells like a bullet causes damage to the cell membrane (immune system damage), cell skeleton, the mitochondria (chronic fatigue syndrome), and the pumps, engines, pipes, gates and other parts of the cell which control cell function. The physical damage is 30% of damage caused by ionizing radiation exposure of the cell. About 70% of the damage from ionizing radiation is to the chemicals in the cells – the hormones, enzymes, signaling mechanisms, and other chemicals which control cell processes and cooperation with neighboring cells. Damage occurs by the dispersion of the energy along the ionization path as the energy particle or ray dumps its energy (Linear Energy Transfer or LET).
A single internal Uranium-238 alpha particle exposure to a cell is 50 times the yearly dose limit13. The LET of alpha particles is so great that the cell cannot repair the damage14,15. The alpha particle from Uranium-238 has a decay energy of 4.039 MeV. The binding energy of molecules in the cell is less than 10 electron volts (eV). The alpha particle irreversibly damages the cells it passes through and damages hundreds of cells around it14. The damage to surrounding cells is called the “bystander effect” 14. An alpha particle acts like a nuclear bomb in just 1-2 cells.
Somatic effects are damage from radiation to individual cells within the body which may result in cancer or other diseases. Cancer starts with one alpha particle13,16. Genetic defects caused by radiation damage in individual cells are usually not passed on to future generations.
Genetic effects occur when radiation damages the reproductive or germ cells, the ovum or sperm. When these cells are damaged, then all cells in the new organism carry the genetic defects. For this reason genetic effects of exposed individuals cannot be determined until studies are done on subsequent generations. H.J. Muller beginning in 192734, studied genetic effects induced by a single exposure to radiation in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster over 40,000 generations. He found visible and recessive changes occurred, but were expressed over many generations35.
Genetic defects that are visible in the first generation after a single exposure do not represent the total genetic damage that will be apparent over many future generations. This must be kept in mind when assessing birth defects in the first generation of babies born after DU exposure. Birth defects were reported in a U.S. Government study by the Dept. of Veterans Affairs on 251 Gulf War veterans from Mississipi19. Severe birth defects were identified in 67% of babies born after the Gulf War to soldiers who had normal children before the war19. Birth defects have been increasingly severe in babies born to civilians living in contaminated areas in southern Iraq17,18.
Voices from parents and grandparents in Afghanistan express the tragedy:
"After the Americans destroyed our village and killed many of us, we also lost our houses and have nothing to eat. However, we would have endured these miseries and even accepted them, if the Americans had not sentenced us all to death. When I saw my deformed grandson, I realized that my hopes of the future have vanished for good, different from the hopelessness of the Russian barbarism, even though at that time I lost my older son Shafiqullah. This time, however, I know we are part of the invisible genocide brought on us by America, a silence death from which I know we will not escape."
Jooma Khan of Laghman province, March 2003 20
"If they had killed us once, it would not be so bad. But what the Americans have brought upon us is not only depriving us but our future generations of our basic god given human right, the right to live. They will be killing us for generations to come"
An Afghan Victim of US-UK bombing 21
"What else do the Americans want? They killed us, they turned our newborns into horrific deformations, and they turned our farmlands into graveyards and destroyed our homes. On top of all that their planes fly over and spray us with bullets. We have nothing to lose; we will fight against them the same way we fought the previous monster [the former Soviet Union]."
Sa'yed Gharib, April 2003 21
Cumulative effect of chronic exposure in contaminated areas, dust particles in the air, contaminated water and food, will increase the levels of DU in the bodies of individuals and affected populations. Chronic internal exposure to increasing levels internally will have a cumulative effect. Predictably over time, this will increase the severity and the rate of disease in those living in contaminated areas. The long-term increased burden will result in increases in genetic effects, both in the number of babies affected and the severity of the deformations, exactly what is being reported now for southern Iraq in just one decade17,18. Babies born with deformities, due to damaged germ cells, may also have additional in vivo exposure during the pregnancy of the mother, radiation the mother is exposed to from contaminated air, water and food. After birth, the baby will be chronically exposed to yet more, the accumulation of DU from environmental contamination. In addition, and the reason DU is called the “Trojan Horse of Nuclear War”, is that the uranium isotopes will naturally decay and transform into daughter isotopes2 which have much higher levels of radioactivity and are chemically changed by decay2. Clearly the environmental contamination which cannot be cleaned up puts each future generation at greater and greater risk.
1991 Gulf War veterans were exposed to DU and other chemical and biological toxins during the time they served in the Persian Gulf region. For most that was a short time, probably limited to weeks or months. A recent independent study has been done on chromosome damage in veterans and civilians exposed to DU, “Chromosome Aberration Analysis in Peripheral Lymphocytes of Gulf War and Balkans War Veterans” 22. This study reported a significant increase in the frequency of dicentric chromosomes and centric ring chromosomes in the veterans group, indicating a previous exposure to ionizing radiation22. The chromosome damage was typical of non-uniform exposure and/or exposure to radiation with a high linear energy transfer (LET) 22. [Alpha particles have high LET].
Chromosome studies are valuable, powerful, and irrefutable diagnostic evidence of radiation exposure. The radiation quality (LET) can also be distinguished (alpha, beta or gamma). The last thing the Pentagon wants is independent chromosome studies on veterans exposed to DU. In fact, the Pentagon doesn’t want them done on Iraqi citizens either.
Other symptoms experienced by Gulf War veterans are:
Burning semen which contaminated their wives with DU and unknown chemicals23
Birth defects in their babies born after the Gulf War - as high as 67% with severe birth defects19
Brain function problems - mood swings11, memory, violence/suicide11, dizziness11
Mitochondria damage – chronic fatigue syndrome, Parkinsons11,24, LouGehrig/ALS24, brain11, heart disease11
Immune system – impaired ability to fight infection, Asthma, (diabetes can also be expected)
Teeth – teeth crumbling10
Bones – loss of calcium and cancer throughout the bones10
Chronic rashes10
Joints and bones ache10
Metallic taste11
Increased violence in major cities globally has been linked to radiation exposure from atmospheric testing36. Violence37, suicide, and mood swings have been reported in soldiers who had served in Afghanistan and Iraq. Four soldiers who had served in Afghanistan returned to Ft. Bragg where all four murdered their wives within two months37. Suicides by soldiers now serving in Iraq have been covered up, but people in Iraq who came to the World Depleted Uranium Weapons Conference in Hamburg Oct. 16-19, 2003, reported that the numbers are increasing. Susan Riordan, described her husbands mood swings to me - from suicide to homicide until he died in 1998. Susan is the widow of Terry Riordan, Canadian 1991 Gulf War veteran whose official cause of death from “Gulf War Syndrome” is a rare official ackowledgement of severe DU contamination and cancer throughout his body.
The illnesses experienced by 1991 Gulf War veterans are so severe that over 240,000 are on permanent medical disability10, nearly one third of the soldiers sent to the Persian Gulf area in 1991. The Iraqis have had chronic exposure to DU left from that war3. The winds have carried it to neighbouring countries that are also affected now. Arab women have reported to me that their families in Kuwait are now complaining of escalating diabetes and leukemia in children born in Kuwait after the Gulf War, and that those diseases were almost unknown before the war. Not surprising since Kuwait is contaminated with DU25. Israel is also suffering from epidemics of breast cancer, diabetes and autism I was told by an Israeli medical doctor during a conversation about radiation linked diseases we were having in London in October 200338 .
The increased levels of DU used in Afghanistan in 2001 (1000 tons), and Iraq in 2003 (over 2000 tons) are many times greater than on the battlefields of Iraq in 1991 (340 tons). This time the cities, water supplies, infrastructure have been bombed into radioactive rubble where people are living and will continue to live. To quote the 1943 Groves memo1 suggesting the use of fission products (DU was proposed at the time):
“As a Gas Warfare Instrument. The material would be ground into particles of microscopic size [0.1 mm] and would be distributed in the form of a dust or smoke or dissolved in liquid, by ground-fired projectiles, land vehicles, airplanes, or aerial bombs. In this form, it would be inhaled by personnel. The amounts necessary to cause death to a person inhaling the material is extremely small. An infintesimal amount accumulating in a person's body would be fatal in a few day to weeks depending upon the amount absorbed and its radioactivity. There are no known effective methods of treatment for such a casualty.” 1
Areas so contaminated by radioactive dusts and smokes, would be dangerous as long as a high enough concentration of material could be maintained. In these forms, the materials take on the characteristics of a quickly dissipating gas and it is improbable that heavy concentrations could be maintained for more than a few minutes time over a given area. However, they can be stirred up as a fine dust from the terrain by winds, movement of vehicles or troops, etc., and would remain a potential hazard for a long time.” 1
The long-term effects from over a decade of exposure are emerging from southern Iraq. They are devastating. However, the increased amount of radioactive material used in Afghanistan (3 times greater than 1991) and Iraq in 2003 (6-10 times greater than 1991) will travel throughout a larger area and affect many more people. The impact on future generations is unknown but will also prove to be devastating. Countries within a thousand miles of Iraq will be greatly affected26.
800 tons of DU is equivalent to 83,000 Nagasaki bombs
Professor Katsuma YAGASAKI has calculated the total radioactive atomicity of the Nagasaki bomb and compared it to the radioactive atomicity of DU. He reported13 at the World Uranium Weapons Conference in Hamburg, Germany, Oct. 16-19 2003, that 800 tons of DU is the atomicity equivalent to 83,000 Nagasaki bombs.
The amount of DU used in Iraq in 2003 is equivalent in atomicity to nearly 250,000 Nagasaki bombs.
[Busby has calculated that 1900 tons of DU is equivalent to 60TBq of alpha and beta particulate activity26.]
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
Biological effect
Because of the long half-life and the short period of use of DU, little is known about the long-term impact of DU contamination of the environment but it must be complex. How this will affect bacteria, viruses, pathogens, plants and animals in contaminated areas and regions is unknown. How it will impact the health of the environment is unknown, but the health of all species can be no better than the health of the environment. It may take decades before research can be done to address these questions. However, it is clear that all forms of life are affected by DU contamination of the air, water, food and soil. Other questions should be asked and investigations done on nanoparticles, nanopathology, and the exotic alloys and chemical compounds formed in the burning and explosions of DU weapons on the battlefield. What is the effect of pathogens and biological agents on organisms with damaged immune systems from radiation exposure? It is all interelated and will potentially have an effect on all lifeforms even at very low radiation levels.
Depleted uranium acts as an indiscriminate weapon that remains radioactive longer than the age of the earth (4.5 billion years). As it disperses in the environment and concentrates in the upper dust level (top 3 cm of soil), the low level radiation will spread to neighboring regions travelling long distances in atmospheric dusts. Where these dusts are rained out, snowed out or attach to pollution and moisture in the air27, the radiation will be concentrated and deposited in environments at great distances from the source. Animals will also spread the radiation just as birds have contaminated the Arctic with uranium and other isotopes in their droppings released by nuclear accidents, dumping in the sea and atmospheric weapons testing28. The isotopes bioconcentrate in plants and animals and up the food chain.
Damage to microbes, plants, animals, will cause unknown changes in the genetics of all lifeforms. DU, the “Trojan Horse of Nuclear War” is called an “omnicidal” weapon because it affects any living organism and contaminates the earth which supports life. The impact on the ecology of regions and on future generations of life in those regions is unknown. As in humans, it may be increasingly biologically destructive over time as genetic mutations and defects are expressed in future generations.
A detailed but preliminary environmental study3 was carried out in southern Iraq in war environment areas by a group of Iraqi scientists in 1995-6. Samples of DU contamination in soil, groundwater, surface water, wild plants, vegatables, meat and fish were measured for radiation levels. DU levels were concentrated at target locations and in and around destroyed vehicles. Further detailed research is needed to determine pathways, bioconcentration mechanisms, and contamination levels in that environment. Little is still known about exposure levels of Basra residents.
But what is known about DU contamination of biological systems is not good. A study29 on camels Camels dromodarius compared those living in areas contaminated with fallout from atmospheric testing in the southern Sahara, and DU in southern Iraq. Researchers found evidence of radiation damage in blood samples - from changes in cell counts and cell structure29. Samples from contaminated camels were also compared to camels tested in areas not exposed to radiation contamination. In the contaminated areas of Algeria and Iraq, tests have shown leukemia in humans, camels and other animals. Humans seem to have more sensitivity to ionizing radiation than camels.
A paper on DU30 presented at the 2001 Geological Society of America Annual Conference in a session on Munitions: Sources, Fate and Transport identified how tree rings can be used to identify, measure DU and heavy metal concentrations in groundwater, and monitor contamination plumes. It identified methods at a DU munitions plant used to analyze for DU contaminants in various tree tissues, uptake pathways (groundwater versus through the leaves), and how heavy metals migrate through (bluring the signal) or are fixed (historic record) in tree rings where they are first deposited.
Migration of DU from shells left in the ground after the 1998 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina 31 was reported by UNEP in March 2003. In just 5 years, 25% of the DU metal in the shells had dissolved and contaminated the groundwater.
“It's in our back yard... it's in our front yard. This nuclear contamination is shortening all life. We are going to have to unite as a people and say no more! We, the people, are going to have to put our thoughts together to save our planet here. We only have One Water...One Air...One Mother Earth."
Corbin Harney - Newe (Western Shoshone) Spiritual Leader
Founder & Chairman of the Board of The Shundahai Network
Email: Shundahai@shundahai.org http://www.Shundahai.org
Depleted uranium weapons are omnicidal. They are the Trojan Horse of Nuclear War - an indiscriminate war against the earth and all life.
References
1 Declassified memo to Gen. L.R. Groves 1943 – a blueprint for DU
http://www.mindfully.org/Nucs/2003/Leuren-Moret-Gen-Groves21feb03.htm
2 ECRR 2003 Recommendations of the European Committee on Radiation Risk, by European Committee on Radiation Risk, Regulator’s Edition: Brussels 2003. http://www.euradcom.org
3 Environmental Pollution Resulting From the Use of Depleted Uranium Weaponry Against Iraq During 1991
by S. Al-Azzawi, B. Ma’aruf, M. Abdul-Rahman, M. Al-Saji, W. Rasheed, A. Mugwar, manuscript Nov. 2003.
4 Invisible War: Depleted Uranium and the Politics of Radiation by Martin Meissonier (2000) France.
5 “Iraqi Kids Toil in Dickensian Desperation” by V. Walt, S.F. Chronicle Aug. 13, 2003.
6 ”Science on Trial: On the Biological Effects and Health Risks following Exposure to Aerosols produced by the use of Depleted Uranium Weapons” by Chris Busby PhD, presented to the Royal Society, London, July 19, 2000, p. 16. http://www.llrc.org/du/duframes.htm
7 Personal communication with Iraqi medical doctor [protected ID] from southern Iraq October 2003.
8 Personal communication with Jamilla Takahashi on July 7, 2003, Tokyo, Japan.
9 “Mysterious Diseases Haunt U.S. Troops In Iraq” IslamOnline.net July 17, 2003.
http://www.islam-online.net/English/News/2003-07/17/article03.shtml
10 Major Doug Rokke, U.S. Army Depleted Uranium Project Leader, presentation October 16, 2003, Hamburg,
Germany, at the World Depleted Uranium Weapons Conference.
11 “Gulf War Illness Symptoms & Illnesses” DESERT SHIELD/DESERT STORM Website (see articles on brain damage and malfunction on this website) http://www.ushostnet.com/gulfwar/articles.htm
12 ”Observation of Radiation-specific Damage in Human Cells Exposed to Depleted Uranium: Dicentric Frequency and Neoplastic Transformation as Endpoints” by A.C. Miller, J. Xu, M. Stewart, K. Brooks, S. Hodge, L. Shi, M. Page and D. McClain, Radiation Protection Dosimetry Vol. 99 No. 1-4, P. 275 (2002).
http://www.ntp.org.uk/rpda87/rpda2002991-4275.html
13 Presentation by Dr. K. YAGASAKI: World Uranium Weapons Conference Hamburg, Germany, Oct. 16-19 2003. http://www.uraniumweaponsconference.de
14 ”Radiation risk to low fluences of a particles may be greater than we thought” by H. Zhou, M. Suzuki, G. Raners-Pehrson, D. Vannais, G. Chen, J. Trosko, C. Waldren, T. Hei in Proceedings National Academy Sciences Dec. 4 2001, Vol. 98 No. 25, pp.14410-14415.
15 G.E.Watson, D.A.Pocock, D. Papworth, S.A.Lorimore, E.G.Wright “In vivo chromosomal instability and transmissible aberrations in the progeny of haemopoietic stem cells induced by high- and low- LET radiations” Int. J. Radiat. Biol. 2001, Vol.77 (4), 409-417.
16 “One Too Many” by R. Edwards in NewScientist vol.169 issue 2274, Jan 20 2001, p.4.
17 A Different Nuclear War: Children of the Gulf War by Takashi MORIZUMI (2002) Hiroshima. http://www.savewarchildren.org
18 Reported by southern Iraq medical doctors at the World Uranium Weapons Conference Hamburg, Germany, Oct. 16-19 2003. http://www.uraniumweaponsconference.de
19 “Mal de Guerre” by Laura Flanders, The Nation March 7 1994.
20 “The Silent Genocide from America” by D. Miraki
http://www.rense.com/general37/InvisibleGenocid.html
21 “Perpetual Death From America” by D. Miraki 2/24/03.
http://www.rense.com/general35/perp.htm
22 “Chromosome Aberration Analysis in Peripheral Lymphocytes of Gulf War and Balkans War Veterans” by H. Schroder, A. Heimers, R. Frentzel-Beyme, A. Schott, and W. Hoffman in Radiation Protection Dosimetry Vol. 103, No. 3, pp. 211-219 (2003).
23 Discounted Casualties: The Human Cost of Depleted Uranium by A. TASHIRO, Chugoku Shimbun 2001,p.24, 94.
http://www.chugoku-np.co.jp/abom/uran/index_e.html
24 SandiaLabNews Vol. 55, No. 19, September 19, 2003.
http://www.sandia.gov/LabNews/LN09-19-03/key09-19-03_stories.html#nano
25 Estimating the Concentration of Uranium in Some Environmental Samples in Kuwait After the 1991 Gulf War” by F. Bou-Rabee, Appl.Radiat.Isot.I Vol.46 No.4, pp.217-220,1995.
26 “If you think Cancer is a problem now, wait until more depleted uranium is released into the world.” Busby, Sherman, Moret May 2003, Toronto Peace Center website: http://www.torontoforpeace.org/uranium-risks.html
27 Letter from Dr. Ernest Sternglass to Leuren Moret August 23, 2001. http://www.mindfully.org/Nucs/Radiation-Dust-Particles23aug01.htm
28 “Birds Bring Radioactivity Ashore” in New Scientist Jan. 4 2003, p. 5
29 Comparison of Effects on Animals and Environment From Ionizing Radiation From Above-Ground Weapons Testing in Algeria With DU Use in Iraq by A. Alaboudi, manuscript October 2003.
30 ”Combined IDTIMS and LAM-ICPMS Dendrochemical Study of a Depleted Uranium and Heavy Metal Contaminated Bog Near Concord, Massachusetts” by M. Bulleri, D. Coleman, and D. Brabander, Abstract GSA Annual Meeting, Nov. 5-8, 2001.
31 Low-level DU contamination found in Bosnia and Herzegovina, UNEP calls for precaution, UNEP News Release - 2003/17 March.
32 “Implanted depleted uranium fragments cause soft tissue sarcomas in the muscles of rats” by F.F. Hahn, R.A. Guilmette, M.D. Hoover, Environ. Health Perspect. Vol. 110 No.1, pp.51-59 (2002).
http://ehpnet1.niehs.nih.gov/docs/2002/110p51-59hahn/abstract.html
33 “Distribution of uranium in rats implanted with depleted uranium pellets” by T.C. Pellmar, A.F. Fucierelli, J.W. Ejnik, M. Hamilton, J. Hogan, S. Strocko, C. Emond, H.M. Mottaz, M.R. Landeuer in Toxicol. Sci. 49(1),29-39(1999) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=10367339&dopt=Abstract
34 H.J.Muller (1927) "Artificial Transmutation of the Gene," Science 66: 84-87.
35 Actions of Radiations on Living Cells D.E. Lea, Cmbridge University Press (1946), pp.144-161.
36 R.J.Pellegrini “Nuclear Fallout and Criminal Violence: Preliminary Inquiry Into a New Biogenic Predisposition Hypothesis” Intern.Jour.BiosocialRes. Vol. 9(2):125-143. 1987.
R.J.Davidson, K.M. Putnam, C.L.Larson “Dysfunction in the Neural Circuitry of Emotion Regulation-A Possible Prelude to Violence” Science Vol. 289 July 28 2000, pp.591-594.
37 “Ft. Bragg suspect said to be dilusional” by M. Benjamin and D. Olmsted UPI 8/31/02
http://www.upi.com/print.cfm?StoryID=20020831-070355-9742r
38 Personal communication November 5, 2003, in London, England, with an Israeli MD.
Leuren Moret
Please continue ...
4. What kinds of impact does depleted uranium munitions have on the environment as well as on the human body? Please explain its mechanism.
Depleted uranium was recognized in 19431 as a very effective weapon because it disperses like a radioactive gas and acts as an area contaminant to kill and disable the enemy. As a kinetic energy weapon, its ability to penetrate and destroy objects is outstanding. Because it is pyrophoric, large amounts of very fine particles are formed at high temperature which contaminate air, water, soil, and blood. When internal exposure occurs, the chemical heavy metal toxicity acts synergistically with the radioactive effects, increasing the toxic effects by as much as eight times2. Dispersal of the fine radioactive dust, long half-life, and radioactive daughter products, contribute to its detrimental effect long after the battle is over and in regions far from the battlefield3.
HUMAN IMPACT
External exposure
Contamination of the skin by fine radioactive DU dust or bare DU metal can cause external exposure to alpha and beta radiation, and to gamma rays. Very fine particles can pass through the skin into the tissues and blood.
Ulcers and cancers which continue to spread, were observed by Dr. Prof. Siegwart-Horst Gunther4 on children playing with depleted uranium shells. Small children5 and adults who make money to feed their families as ammunition scrap metal scavengers are especially at risk. Dr. Chris Busby measured 24,000 Bq (counts per second) at the surface of a stray A-10 30mm penetrator lying on the ground in Iraq several years ago6. A medical doctor from southern Iraq has reported7, DU dust that settled on the heads of patients living in heavily contaminated areas near the border of Kuwait, caused cancerous growths which increased rapidly in size7 [photo]. Human shield people in Baghdad during bombing in March and April of 20038, and U.S. soldiers in contaminated areas have complained of skin rashes, black spots on their skin and mysterious diseases 9.
Internal exposure
When fine particles (0.1 micron range to nanoparticles) are inhaled and pass into the blood they are carried throughout the body. Larger particles (2.5-10 microns) are removed from the lung and are coughed out or swallowed. But 70% of the finer particles (0.1 micron range) pass into the blood at the blood-lung barrier and are engulfed by white blood cells (about 10 microns) which may be 1000 or more times larger than DU particles. The tiny particles of DU are carried to all parts of the body - the brain, heart, bones, organs, muscles, nerves, and germ cells (ovum and sperm). Because depleted uranium oxides which form on the battlefield at high temperatures are very insoluble, they do not dissolve easily in body fluids which prevents excretion by the body. After exposure, the effects can be felt almost immediately depending on exposure levels. Soldiers on the battlefield and testing grounds have reported illnesses within 72 hours or less of exposure4,10.
Gulf War Illness Symptoms & Illnesses11
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)
Severe Headaches
Rashes
Joint Pain
Muscle Pain
Nerve Damage
Neurological Damage
Kidney Damage
Lung Damage
Cardiovascular signs or symptoms
Thyroid Disease
Multiple Cancers
Auto-Immune Deficiencies
Unusual Fevers & Night Sweats
Fluid Buildup
Sleep Disturbances
Gastrointestinal signs or symptoms
Abnormal Births & Defects
Menstrual Problems
Reduced IQ
Confusion
Memory Loss
Blood In Stools & Urine
Fybromyligia
Epstein Barr Syndrome
Genetic Alterations
Sinus Diseases
Micoplasma Fermentans Incognitis Infections
Unusual Hair Loss
Loss Of Smell
Chemical Sensitivities
Asthma
Vision Problems
Schrapnel
Soldiers who have schrapnel in their bodies from battlefield wounds have DU metal exposure that is very different from exposure through inhalation of DU dust. DU dust is physically and chemically different from schrapnel. Schrapnel is solid DU metal. It is soluble in body fluids, excreted through the kidneys and bladder and can be measured in the urine. Schrapnel causes cancer in the bones and areas where it lodges23. Medical doctors treating Gulf War veterans with DU schrapnel were directed to leave the schrapnel in the soldiers10.
A 1995 five year study of Wistar rats, implanted with DU fragments, funded by the Department of Defense (Project DoD-7B), showed that soft tissue sarcomas and local tissue reactions occurred around DU implants32. In another study33 where rats were implanted with DU pellets, researchers reported unexpected accumulation of uranium in the brain, lymph nodes and testicles of lab animals, suggesting unanticipated pathways for exposure to uranium33. There were also significant levels of uranium in the muscle, spleen, liver, heart, and lung.
Chemical heavy metal effect12
Soldiers exposed to DU on the battlefield have complained of a metallic taste in their mouths. The physiological effect of uranium compounds depends on their solubility. DU metal is soluble in body fluids and can be deposited all over the body. It also has metabolic toxic effects, blocking transfer of phosphate to glucose, inhibiting the first step of metabolic utilization. This would contribute to weight loss which is common in DU exposed veterans. Phosphorous is also a crucial component of DNA, nerves and cell structure which must also be affected by DU.
Radioactive effect12
The physical damage from the slow heavy alpha particle tearing through the cells like a bullet causes damage to the cell membrane (immune system damage), cell skeleton, the mitochondria (chronic fatigue syndrome), and the pumps, engines, pipes, gates and other parts of the cell which control cell function. The physical damage is 30% of damage caused by ionizing radiation exposure of the cell. About 70% of the damage from ionizing radiation is to the chemicals in the cells – the hormones, enzymes, signaling mechanisms, and other chemicals which control cell processes and cooperation with neighboring cells. Damage occurs by the dispersion of the energy along the ionization path as the energy particle or ray dumps its energy (Linear Energy Transfer or LET).
A single internal Uranium-238 alpha particle exposure to a cell is 50 times the yearly dose limit13. The LET of alpha particles is so great that the cell cannot repair the damage14,15. The alpha particle from Uranium-238 has a decay energy of 4.039 MeV. The binding energy of molecules in the cell is less than 10 electron volts (eV). The alpha particle irreversibly damages the cells it passes through and damages hundreds of cells around it14. The damage to surrounding cells is called the “bystander effect” 14. An alpha particle acts like a nuclear bomb in just 1-2 cells.
Somatic effects are damage from radiation to individual cells within the body which may result in cancer or other diseases. Cancer starts with one alpha particle13,16. Genetic defects caused by radiation damage in individual cells are usually not passed on to future generations.
Genetic effects occur when radiation damages the reproductive or germ cells, the ovum or sperm. When these cells are damaged, then all cells in the new organism carry the genetic defects. For this reason genetic effects of exposed individuals cannot be determined until studies are done on subsequent generations. H.J. Muller beginning in 192734, studied genetic effects induced by a single exposure to radiation in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster over 40,000 generations. He found visible and recessive changes occurred, but were expressed over many generations35.
Genetic defects that are visible in the first generation after a single exposure do not represent the total genetic damage that will be apparent over many future generations. This must be kept in mind when assessing birth defects in the first generation of babies born after DU exposure. Birth defects were reported in a U.S. Government study by the Dept. of Veterans Affairs on 251 Gulf War veterans from Mississipi19. Severe birth defects were identified in 67% of babies born after the Gulf War to soldiers who had normal children before the war19. Birth defects have been increasingly severe in babies born to civilians living in contaminated areas in southern Iraq17,18.
Voices from parents and grandparents in Afghanistan express the tragedy:
"After the Americans destroyed our village and killed many of us, we also lost our houses and have nothing to eat. However, we would have endured these miseries and even accepted them, if the Americans had not sentenced us all to death. When I saw my deformed grandson, I realized that my hopes of the future have vanished for good, different from the hopelessness of the Russian barbarism, even though at that time I lost my older son Shafiqullah. This time, however, I know we are part of the invisible genocide brought on us by America, a silence death from which I know we will not escape."
Jooma Khan of Laghman province, March 2003 20
"If they had killed us once, it would not be so bad. But what the Americans have brought upon us is not only depriving us but our future generations of our basic god given human right, the right to live. They will be killing us for generations to come"
An Afghan Victim of US-UK bombing 21
"What else do the Americans want? They killed us, they turned our newborns into horrific deformations, and they turned our farmlands into graveyards and destroyed our homes. On top of all that their planes fly over and spray us with bullets. We have nothing to lose; we will fight against them the same way we fought the previous monster [the former Soviet Union]."
Sa'yed Gharib, April 2003 21
Cumulative effect of chronic exposure in contaminated areas, dust particles in the air, contaminated water and food, will increase the levels of DU in the bodies of individuals and affected populations. Chronic internal exposure to increasing levels internally will have a cumulative effect. Predictably over time, this will increase the severity and the rate of disease in those living in contaminated areas. The long-term increased burden will result in increases in genetic effects, both in the number of babies affected and the severity of the deformations, exactly what is being reported now for southern Iraq in just one decade17,18. Babies born with deformities, due to damaged germ cells, may also have additional in vivo exposure during the pregnancy of the mother, radiation the mother is exposed to from contaminated air, water and food. After birth, the baby will be chronically exposed to yet more, the accumulation of DU from environmental contamination. In addition, and the reason DU is called the “Trojan Horse of Nuclear War”, is that the uranium isotopes will naturally decay and transform into daughter isotopes2 which have much higher levels of radioactivity and are chemically changed by decay2. Clearly the environmental contamination which cannot be cleaned up puts each future generation at greater and greater risk.
1991 Gulf War veterans were exposed to DU and other chemical and biological toxins during the time they served in the Persian Gulf region. For most that was a short time, probably limited to weeks or months. A recent independent study has been done on chromosome damage in veterans and civilians exposed to DU, “Chromosome Aberration Analysis in Peripheral Lymphocytes of Gulf War and Balkans War Veterans” 22. This study reported a significant increase in the frequency of dicentric chromosomes and centric ring chromosomes in the veterans group, indicating a previous exposure to ionizing radiation22. The chromosome damage was typical of non-uniform exposure and/or exposure to radiation with a high linear energy transfer (LET) 22. [Alpha particles have high LET].
Chromosome studies are valuable, powerful, and irrefutable diagnostic evidence of radiation exposure. The radiation quality (LET) can also be distinguished (alpha, beta or gamma). The last thing the Pentagon wants is independent chromosome studies on veterans exposed to DU. In fact, the Pentagon doesn’t want them done on Iraqi citizens either.
Other symptoms experienced by Gulf War veterans are:
Burning semen which contaminated their wives with DU and unknown chemicals23
Birth defects in their babies born after the Gulf War - as high as 67% with severe birth defects19
Brain function problems - mood swings11, memory, violence/suicide11, dizziness11
Mitochondria damage – chronic fatigue syndrome, Parkinsons11,24, LouGehrig/ALS24, brain11, heart disease11
Immune system – impaired ability to fight infection, Asthma, (diabetes can also be expected)
Teeth – teeth crumbling10
Bones – loss of calcium and cancer throughout the bones10
Chronic rashes10
Joints and bones ache10
Metallic taste11
Increased violence in major cities globally has been linked to radiation exposure from atmospheric testing36. Violence37, suicide, and mood swings have been reported in soldiers who had served in Afghanistan and Iraq. Four soldiers who had served in Afghanistan returned to Ft. Bragg where all four murdered their wives within two months37. Suicides by soldiers now serving in Iraq have been covered up, but people in Iraq who came to the World Depleted Uranium Weapons Conference in Hamburg Oct. 16-19, 2003, reported that the numbers are increasing. Susan Riordan, described her husbands mood swings to me - from suicide to homicide until he died in 1998. Susan is the widow of Terry Riordan, Canadian 1991 Gulf War veteran whose official cause of death from “Gulf War Syndrome” is a rare official ackowledgement of severe DU contamination and cancer throughout his body.
The illnesses experienced by 1991 Gulf War veterans are so severe that over 240,000 are on permanent medical disability10, nearly one third of the soldiers sent to the Persian Gulf area in 1991. The Iraqis have had chronic exposure to DU left from that war3. The winds have carried it to neighbouring countries that are also affected now. Arab women have reported to me that their families in Kuwait are now complaining of escalating diabetes and leukemia in children born in Kuwait after the Gulf War, and that those diseases were almost unknown before the war. Not surprising since Kuwait is contaminated with DU25. Israel is also suffering from epidemics of breast cancer, diabetes and autism I was told by an Israeli medical doctor during a conversation about radiation linked diseases we were having in London in October 200338 .
The increased levels of DU used in Afghanistan in 2001 (1000 tons), and Iraq in 2003 (over 2000 tons) are many times greater than on the battlefields of Iraq in 1991 (340 tons). This time the cities, water supplies, infrastructure have been bombed into radioactive rubble where people are living and will continue to live. To quote the 1943 Groves memo1 suggesting the use of fission products (DU was proposed at the time):
“As a Gas Warfare Instrument. The material would be ground into particles of microscopic size [0.1 mm] and would be distributed in the form of a dust or smoke or dissolved in liquid, by ground-fired projectiles, land vehicles, airplanes, or aerial bombs. In this form, it would be inhaled by personnel. The amounts necessary to cause death to a person inhaling the material is extremely small. An infintesimal amount accumulating in a person's body would be fatal in a few day to weeks depending upon the amount absorbed and its radioactivity. There are no known effective methods of treatment for such a casualty.” 1
Areas so contaminated by radioactive dusts and smokes, would be dangerous as long as a high enough concentration of material could be maintained. In these forms, the materials take on the characteristics of a quickly dissipating gas and it is improbable that heavy concentrations could be maintained for more than a few minutes time over a given area. However, they can be stirred up as a fine dust from the terrain by winds, movement of vehicles or troops, etc., and would remain a potential hazard for a long time.” 1
The long-term effects from over a decade of exposure are emerging from southern Iraq. They are devastating. However, the increased amount of radioactive material used in Afghanistan (3 times greater than 1991) and Iraq in 2003 (6-10 times greater than 1991) will travel throughout a larger area and affect many more people. The impact on future generations is unknown but will also prove to be devastating. Countries within a thousand miles of Iraq will be greatly affected26.
800 tons of DU is equivalent to 83,000 Nagasaki bombs
Professor Katsuma YAGASAKI has calculated the total radioactive atomicity of the Nagasaki bomb and compared it to the radioactive atomicity of DU. He reported13 at the World Uranium Weapons Conference in Hamburg, Germany, Oct. 16-19 2003, that 800 tons of DU is the atomicity equivalent to 83,000 Nagasaki bombs.
The amount of DU used in Iraq in 2003 is equivalent in atomicity to nearly 250,000 Nagasaki bombs.
[Busby has calculated that 1900 tons of DU is equivalent to 60TBq of alpha and beta particulate activity26.]
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
Biological effect
Because of the long half-life and the short period of use of DU, little is known about the long-term impact of DU contamination of the environment but it must be complex. How this will affect bacteria, viruses, pathogens, plants and animals in contaminated areas and regions is unknown. How it will impact the health of the environment is unknown, but the health of all species can be no better than the health of the environment. It may take decades before research can be done to address these questions. However, it is clear that all forms of life are affected by DU contamination of the air, water, food and soil. Other questions should be asked and investigations done on nanoparticles, nanopathology, and the exotic alloys and chemical compounds formed in the burning and explosions of DU weapons on the battlefield. What is the effect of pathogens and biological agents on organisms with damaged immune systems from radiation exposure? It is all interelated and will potentially have an effect on all lifeforms even at very low radiation levels.
Depleted uranium acts as an indiscriminate weapon that remains radioactive longer than the age of the earth (4.5 billion years). As it disperses in the environment and concentrates in the upper dust level (top 3 cm of soil), the low level radiation will spread to neighboring regions travelling long distances in atmospheric dusts. Where these dusts are rained out, snowed out or attach to pollution and moisture in the air27, the radiation will be concentrated and deposited in environments at great distances from the source. Animals will also spread the radiation just as birds have contaminated the Arctic with uranium and other isotopes in their droppings released by nuclear accidents, dumping in the sea and atmospheric weapons testing28. The isotopes bioconcentrate in plants and animals and up the food chain.
Damage to microbes, plants, animals, will cause unknown changes in the genetics of all lifeforms. DU, the “Trojan Horse of Nuclear War” is called an “omnicidal” weapon because it affects any living organism and contaminates the earth which supports life. The impact on the ecology of regions and on future generations of life in those regions is unknown. As in humans, it may be increasingly biologically destructive over time as genetic mutations and defects are expressed in future generations.
A detailed but preliminary environmental study3 was carried out in southern Iraq in war environment areas by a group of Iraqi scientists in 1995-6. Samples of DU contamination in soil, groundwater, surface water, wild plants, vegatables, meat and fish were measured for radiation levels. DU levels were concentrated at target locations and in and around destroyed vehicles. Further detailed research is needed to determine pathways, bioconcentration mechanisms, and contamination levels in that environment. Little is still known about exposure levels of Basra residents.
But what is known about DU contamination of biological systems is not good. A study29 on camels Camels dromodarius compared those living in areas contaminated with fallout from atmospheric testing in the southern Sahara, and DU in southern Iraq. Researchers found evidence of radiation damage in blood samples - from changes in cell counts and cell structure29. Samples from contaminated camels were also compared to camels tested in areas not exposed to radiation contamination. In the contaminated areas of Algeria and Iraq, tests have shown leukemia in humans, camels and other animals. Humans seem to have more sensitivity to ionizing radiation than camels.
A paper on DU30 presented at the 2001 Geological Society of America Annual Conference in a session on Munitions: Sources, Fate and Transport identified how tree rings can be used to identify, measure DU and heavy metal concentrations in groundwater, and monitor contamination plumes. It identified methods at a DU munitions plant used to analyze for DU contaminants in various tree tissues, uptake pathways (groundwater versus through the leaves), and how heavy metals migrate through (bluring the signal) or are fixed (historic record) in tree rings where they are first deposited.
Migration of DU from shells left in the ground after the 1998 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina 31 was reported by UNEP in March 2003. In just 5 years, 25% of the DU metal in the shells had dissolved and contaminated the groundwater.
“It's in our back yard... it's in our front yard. This nuclear contamination is shortening all life. We are going to have to unite as a people and say no more! We, the people, are going to have to put our thoughts together to save our planet here. We only have One Water...One Air...One Mother Earth."
Corbin Harney - Newe (Western Shoshone) Spiritual Leader
Founder & Chairman of the Board of The Shundahai Network
Email: Shundahai@shundahai.org http://www.Shundahai.org
Depleted uranium weapons are omnicidal. They are the Trojan Horse of Nuclear War - an indiscriminate war against the earth and all life.
References
1 Declassified memo to Gen. L.R. Groves 1943 – a blueprint for DU
http://www.mindfully.org/Nucs/2003/Leuren-Moret-Gen-Groves21feb03.htm
2 ECRR 2003 Recommendations of the European Committee on Radiation Risk, by European Committee on Radiation Risk, Regulator’s Edition: Brussels 2003. http://www.euradcom.org
3 Environmental Pollution Resulting From the Use of Depleted Uranium Weaponry Against Iraq During 1991
by S. Al-Azzawi, B. Ma’aruf, M. Abdul-Rahman, M. Al-Saji, W. Rasheed, A. Mugwar, manuscript Nov. 2003.
4 Invisible War: Depleted Uranium and the Politics of Radiation by Martin Meissonier (2000) France.
5 “Iraqi Kids Toil in Dickensian Desperation” by V. Walt, S.F. Chronicle Aug. 13, 2003.
6 ”Science on Trial: On the Biological Effects and Health Risks following Exposure to Aerosols produced by the use of Depleted Uranium Weapons” by Chris Busby PhD, presented to the Royal Society, London, July 19, 2000, p. 16. http://www.llrc.org/du/duframes.htm
7 Personal communication with Iraqi medical doctor [protected ID] from southern Iraq October 2003.
8 Personal communication with Jamilla Takahashi on July 7, 2003, Tokyo, Japan.
9 “Mysterious Diseases Haunt U.S. Troops In Iraq” IslamOnline.net July 17, 2003.
http://www.islam-online.net/English/News/2003-07/17/article03.shtml
10 Major Doug Rokke, U.S. Army Depleted Uranium Project Leader, presentation October 16, 2003, Hamburg,
Germany, at the World Depleted Uranium Weapons Conference.
11 “Gulf War Illness Symptoms & Illnesses” DESERT SHIELD/DESERT STORM Website (see articles on brain damage and malfunction on this website) http://www.ushostnet.com/gulfwar/articles.htm
12 ”Observation of Radiation-specific Damage in Human Cells Exposed to Depleted Uranium: Dicentric Frequency and Neoplastic Transformation as Endpoints” by A.C. Miller, J. Xu, M. Stewart, K. Brooks, S. Hodge, L. Shi, M. Page and D. McClain, Radiation Protection Dosimetry Vol. 99 No. 1-4, P. 275 (2002).
http://www.ntp.org.uk/rpda87/rpda2002991-4275.html
13 Presentation by Dr. K. YAGASAKI: World Uranium Weapons Conference Hamburg, Germany, Oct. 16-19 2003. http://www.uraniumweaponsconference.de
14 ”Radiation risk to low fluences of a particles may be greater than we thought” by H. Zhou, M. Suzuki, G. Raners-Pehrson, D. Vannais, G. Chen, J. Trosko, C. Waldren, T. Hei in Proceedings National Academy Sciences Dec. 4 2001, Vol. 98 No. 25, pp.14410-14415.
15 G.E.Watson, D.A.Pocock, D. Papworth, S.A.Lorimore, E.G.Wright “In vivo chromosomal instability and transmissible aberrations in the progeny of haemopoietic stem cells induced by high- and low- LET radiations” Int. J. Radiat. Biol. 2001, Vol.77 (4), 409-417.
16 “One Too Many” by R. Edwards in NewScientist vol.169 issue 2274, Jan 20 2001, p.4.
17 A Different Nuclear War: Children of the Gulf War by Takashi MORIZUMI (2002) Hiroshima. http://www.savewarchildren.org
18 Reported by southern Iraq medical doctors at the World Uranium Weapons Conference Hamburg, Germany, Oct. 16-19 2003. http://www.uraniumweaponsconference.de
19 “Mal de Guerre” by Laura Flanders, The Nation March 7 1994.
20 “The Silent Genocide from America” by D. Miraki
http://www.rense.com/general37/InvisibleGenocid.html
21 “Perpetual Death From America” by D. Miraki 2/24/03.
http://www.rense.com/general35/perp.htm
22 “Chromosome Aberration Analysis in Peripheral Lymphocytes of Gulf War and Balkans War Veterans” by H. Schroder, A. Heimers, R. Frentzel-Beyme, A. Schott, and W. Hoffman in Radiation Protection Dosimetry Vol. 103, No. 3, pp. 211-219 (2003).
23 Discounted Casualties: The Human Cost of Depleted Uranium by A. TASHIRO, Chugoku Shimbun 2001,p.24, 94.
http://www.chugoku-np.co.jp/abom/uran/index_e.html
24 SandiaLabNews Vol. 55, No. 19, September 19, 2003.
http://www.sandia.gov/LabNews/LN09-19-03/key09-19-03_stories.html#nano
25 Estimating the Concentration of Uranium in Some Environmental Samples in Kuwait After the 1991 Gulf War” by F. Bou-Rabee, Appl.Radiat.Isot.I Vol.46 No.4, pp.217-220,1995.
26 “If you think Cancer is a problem now, wait until more depleted uranium is released into the world.” Busby, Sherman, Moret May 2003, Toronto Peace Center website: http://www.torontoforpeace.org/uranium-risks.html
27 Letter from Dr. Ernest Sternglass to Leuren Moret August 23, 2001. http://www.mindfully.org/Nucs/Radiation-Dust-Particles23aug01.htm
28 “Birds Bring Radioactivity Ashore” in New Scientist Jan. 4 2003, p. 5
29 Comparison of Effects on Animals and Environment From Ionizing Radiation From Above-Ground Weapons Testing in Algeria With DU Use in Iraq by A. Alaboudi, manuscript October 2003.
30 ”Combined IDTIMS and LAM-ICPMS Dendrochemical Study of a Depleted Uranium and Heavy Metal Contaminated Bog Near Concord, Massachusetts” by M. Bulleri, D. Coleman, and D. Brabander, Abstract GSA Annual Meeting, Nov. 5-8, 2001.
31 Low-level DU contamination found in Bosnia and Herzegovina, UNEP calls for precaution, UNEP News Release - 2003/17 March.
32 “Implanted depleted uranium fragments cause soft tissue sarcomas in the muscles of rats” by F.F. Hahn, R.A. Guilmette, M.D. Hoover, Environ. Health Perspect. Vol. 110 No.1, pp.51-59 (2002).
http://ehpnet1.niehs.nih.gov/docs/2002/110p51-59hahn/abstract.html
33 “Distribution of uranium in rats implanted with depleted uranium pellets” by T.C. Pellmar, A.F. Fucierelli, J.W. Ejnik, M. Hamilton, J. Hogan, S. Strocko, C. Emond, H.M. Mottaz, M.R. Landeuer in Toxicol. Sci. 49(1),29-39(1999) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=10367339&dopt=Abstract
34 H.J.Muller (1927) "Artificial Transmutation of the Gene," Science 66: 84-87.
35 Actions of Radiations on Living Cells D.E. Lea, Cmbridge University Press (1946), pp.144-161.
36 R.J.Pellegrini “Nuclear Fallout and Criminal Violence: Preliminary Inquiry Into a New Biogenic Predisposition Hypothesis” Intern.Jour.BiosocialRes. Vol. 9(2):125-143. 1987.
R.J.Davidson, K.M. Putnam, C.L.Larson “Dysfunction in the Neural Circuitry of Emotion Regulation-A Possible Prelude to Violence” Science Vol. 289 July 28 2000, pp.591-594.
37 “Ft. Bragg suspect said to be dilusional” by M. Benjamin and D. Olmsted UPI 8/31/02
http://www.upi.com/print.cfm?StoryID=20020831-070355-9742r
38 Personal communication November 5, 2003, in London, England, with an Israeli MD.
Leuren Moret
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