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Genghis
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Topic: Would US attack Iran?!! Posted: 26-Feb-2006 at 13:23 |
Originally posted by malizai_
I think depleted uranium deserves a thread of its own. It is a declaration of war against humanity. |
Depleted Uranium isn't radioactive to any large degree, that's why it's halflife is 9 billion years. The only health problems come from the fact that it is a heavy metal, similar in effects to silver and gold dust. Even then, the WHO investigation in Bosnia said that the effects were localized to within a few meters of the impact site. DU shells are not any more toxic or volatile than any other sort of chemicals used by the military such as some high performance fuels and explosives.
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SearchAndDestroy
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Posted: 26-Feb-2006 at 13:29 |
I saw a documentary saying that it contaminates the water supply and people were getting cancer in large amounts in Iraq because of the first Gulf War.
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"A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government." E.Abbey
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Mira
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Posted: 26-Feb-2006 at 13:30 |
WHO suppressed scientific study into depleted uranium cancer fears in Iraq
Radiation experts warn in unpublished report that DU weapons used by Allies in Gulf war pose long-term health risk By Rob Edwards, Environment Editor
An expert report warning that the
long-term health of Iraqs civilian population would be endangered by
British and US depleted uranium (DU) weapons has been kept secret. The
study by three leading radiation scientists cautioned that children and
adults could contract cancer after breathing in dust containing DU,
which is radioactive and chemically toxic. But it was blocked from
publication by the World Health Organisation (WHO), which employed the
main author, Dr Keith Baverstock, as a senior radiation advisor. He
alleges that it was deliberately suppressed, though this is denied by
WHO. Baverstock also believes that if the study had been
published when it was completed in 2001, there would have been more
pressure on the US and UK to limit their use of DU weapons in last
years war, and to clean up afterwards. Hundreds of thousands of
DU shells were fired by coalition tanks and planes during the conflict,
and there has been no comprehensive decontamination. Experts from the
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) have so far not been
allowed into Iraq to assess the pollution. Our study suggests
that the widespread use of depleted uranium weapons in Iraq could pose
a unique health hazard to the civilian population, Baverstock told the
Sunday Herald. There is increasing scientific evidence the radio
activity and the chemical toxicity of DU could cause more damage to
human cells than is assumed. Baverstock was the WHOs top expert
on radiation and health for 11 years until he retired in May last year.
He now works with the Department of Environmental Sciences at the
University of Kuopio in Finland, and was recently appointed to the UK
governments newly formed Committee on Radio active Waste Management. While
he was a member of staff, WHO refused to give him permission to publish
the study, which was co-authored by Professor Carmel Mothersill from
McMaster University in Canada and Dr Mike Thorne, a radiation
consultant . Baverstock suspects that WHO was leaned on by a more
powerful pro-nuclear UN body, the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA). I believe our study was censored and suppressed by the
WHO because they didnt like its conclusions. Previous experience
suggests that WHO officials were bowing to pressure from the IAEA,
whose remit is to promote nuclear power, he said. That is more than
unfortunate, as publishing the study would have helped forewarn the
authorities of the risks of using DU weapons in Iraq. These
allegations, however, are dismissed as totally unfounded by WHO. The
IAEA role was very minor, said Dr Mike Repacholi, the WHO coordinator
of radiation and environmental health in Geneva. The article was not
approved for publication because parts of it did not reflect accurately
what a WHO-convened group of inter national experts considered the best
science in the area of depleted uranium, he added. Baverstocks
study, which has now been passed to the Sunday Herald, pointed out that
Iraqs arid climate meant that tiny particles of DU were likely to be
blown around and inhaled by civilians for years to come. It warned
that, when inside the body, their radiation and toxicity could trigger
the growth of malignant tumours. The study suggested that the
low-level radiation from DU could harm cells adjacent to those that are
directly irradiated, a phenomenon known as the bystander effect. This
undermines the stability of the bodys genetic system, and is thought
by many scientists to be linked to cancers and possibly other illnesses. In
addition, the DU in Iraq, like that used in the Balkan conflict, could
turn out to be contaminated with plutonium and other radioactive waste
. That would make it more radioactive and hence more dangerous,
Baverstock argued. The radiation and the chemical toxicity of DU
could also act together to create a cocktail effect that further
increases the risk of cancer. These are all worrying possibilities that
urgently require more investigation, he said. Baverstocks
anxiety about the health effects of DU in Iraq is shared by Pekka
Haavisto, the chairman of the UN Environment Programmes Post-Conflict
Assessment Unit in Geneva. It is certainly a concern in Iraq, there is
no doubt about that, he said. UNEP, which surveyed DU
contamination in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2002, is keen to get into
Iraq to monitor the situation as soon as possible. It has been told by
the British government that about 1.9 tonnes of DU was fired from tanks
around Basra, but has no information from US forces, which are bound to
have used a lot more. Haavistos greatest worry is when buildings
hit by DU shells have been repaired and reoccupied without having been
properly cleaned up. Photographic evidence suggests that this is
exactly what has happened to the ministry of planning building in
Baghdad. He also highlighted evidence that DU from weapons had
been collected and recycled as scrap in Iraq. It could end up in a
fork or a knife, he warned. It is ridiculous to leave the
material lying around and not to clear it up where adults are working
and children are playing. If DU is not taken care of, instead of
decreasing the risk you are increasing it. It is absolutely wrong. 22 February 2004
http://www.sundayherald.com/40096
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Mira
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Posted: 26-Feb-2006 at 13:33 |
Blowing
the N-whistle
: Depleted uranium: How dangerous is it?
A former US military researcher tells Gay
Alcorn of his crusade to expose the health risks of depleted-uranium
weapons used in the Gulf wars.
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Genghis
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Posted: 26-Feb-2006 at 13:34 |
Originally posted by SearchAndDestroy
I saw a documentary saying that it contaminates the water supply and people were getting cancer in large amounts in Iraq because of the first Gulf War. |
Many other regularly used chemicals in conventional warfare do the same thing.
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SearchAndDestroy
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Posted: 26-Feb-2006 at 13:37 |
I wouldn't say it was kept secret. The news media had a field day a couple years ago when the effects of it got out and they were interviewing Veterans of the first Gulf War saying they felt betrayed not being told the effects of it after they were told to check out the tanks they destroyed earlier.
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"A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government." E.Abbey
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SearchAndDestroy
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Posted: 26-Feb-2006 at 13:40 |
Many other regularly used chemicals in conventional warfare do the same thing. |
True, but in away we are attacking civilians in the long term. We had no reason to come back for a second invasion, it seems people are now dying in vein.
Just shows how nasty war is...
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"A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government." E.Abbey
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Zagros
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Posted: 26-Feb-2006 at 13:41 |
Originally posted by Genghis
Originally posted by malizai_
I think depleted uranium deserves a thread of its own. It is a declaration of war against humanity. |
Depleted Uranium isn't radioactive to any large degree, that's why it's halflife is 9 billion years. The only health problems come from the fact that it is a heavy metal, similar in effects to silver and gold dust. Even then, the WHO investigation in Bosnia said that the effects were localized to within a few meters of the impact site. DU shells are not any more toxic or volatile than any other sort of chemicals used by the military such as some high performance fuels and explosives.
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it isnt the radioactivity of the DEPLETED URANIUM that does the damage, it is the uranium DUST itself.
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pikeshot1600
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Posted: 26-Feb-2006 at 14:48 |
Originally posted by malizai_
I think depleted uranium deserves a thread of its own. It is a declaration of war against humanity. |
Well, I assume you have heard of thermonuclear hydrogen warheads, chemical and biological weapons. DU hardly compares.
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Genghis
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Posted: 26-Feb-2006 at 14:52 |
Originally posted by Zagros
Originally posted by Genghis
Originally posted by malizai_
I think depleted uranium deserves a thread of its own. It is a declaration of war against humanity. |
Depleted Uranium isn't radioactive to any large degree, that's why it's halflife is 9 billion years. The only health problems come from the fact that it is a heavy metal, similar in effects to silver and gold dust. Even then, the WHO investigation in Bosnia said that the effects were localized to within a few meters of the impact site. DU shells are not any more toxic or volatile than any other sort of chemicals used by the military such as some high performance fuels and explosives.
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it isnt the radioactivity of the DEPLETED URANIUM that does the damage, it is the uranium DUST itself.
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But it's honestly no worse than all sorts of other things that are used in warfare. Things like fuels and lubricants are much worse.
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Zagros
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Posted: 26-Feb-2006 at 14:55 |
no it is worse. I would compare it to inhaling a gaseous heavy metal.
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malizai_
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Posted: 26-Feb-2006 at 18:23 |
This is y i am worried. A lot of people getting killed again. I have every right to hold my reserveration, as to the good intentions of the americabn administration in the region. Once bitten twice shy.
http://www.bushflash.com/signals.html
sums it up.
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SearchAndDestroy
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Posted: 26-Feb-2006 at 19:06 |
If only Kerry got into office, more loss of life could have been prevented...
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"A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government." E.Abbey
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malizai_
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Posted: 26-Feb-2006 at 19:58 |
Originally posted by SearchAndDestroy
If only Kerry got into office, more loss of life could have been prevented... |
It would have definately been better than this mess.
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Genghis
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Posted: 26-Feb-2006 at 22:12 |
Originally posted by Zagros
no it is worse. I would compare it to inhaling a gaseous heavy metal. |
Well, that's what it is, but in the long term it's like any other heavy metal in the soil and water, something that's very common with other weapons, and additives to weapons.
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Mira
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Posted: 27-Feb-2006 at 00:53 |
Are you people serious when you argue about the lesser of (two or more) evils? DU being the lesser evil doesn't justify the use and damage! Can you be more sympathetic to those who were/are affected by it, please? It's like telling a person, "So what if you lost an eye because I poked a pen in it. You have your other eye. At least you're not completely blind."
That's absolutely ridiculous!
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pikeshot1600
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Posted: 27-Feb-2006 at 10:08 |
Originally posted by malizai_
Originally posted by SearchAndDestroy
If only Kerry got into office, more loss of life could have been prevented... |
It would have definately been better than this mess.
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Hogwash. Kerry would have the same mess on his hands. What do you think he could have done as C-in-C? Just leave?
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Genghis
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Posted: 27-Feb-2006 at 10:23 |
Originally posted by Mira
Are you people serious when you argue about the lesser of (two or more) evils? DU being the lesser evil doesn't justify the use and damage! Can you be more sympathetic to those who were/are affected by it, please? It's like telling a person, "So what if you lost an eye because I poked a pen in it. You have your other eye. At least you're not completely blind."
That's absolutely ridiculous!
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Are you being serious when you talk about your Care Bear love everyone solution to the problem?
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Member of IAEA
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Mira
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Posted: 27-Feb-2006 at 10:26 |
Originally posted by Genghis
Are you being serious when you talk about your Care Bear love everyone solution to the problem? |
Love-everyone?
You must be kidding.
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Genghis
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Posted: 27-Feb-2006 at 10:30 |
Originally posted by Mira
Originally posted by Genghis
Are you being serious when you talk about your Care Bear love everyone solution to the problem? |
Love-everyone?
You must be kidding.
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Fine
Are you being serious when you talk about your Care Bear love-everyone-but-the-USA-the-one-and-only-source-of-evil-in -the-world solution to the problem?
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