http://www.guardian.co.uk/
As
far as I know, the US has not clearly acknowledged the causes of Gulf
War Syndrome, or "a chronic multisymptom disorder affecting returning
military veterans and civilian workers of the Persian Gulf War.[1][2][3] A wide range of acute and chronic symptoms have been linked to it, including fatigue, muscle pain, cognitive problems, rashes and diarrhea.[4] Suggested causes have included depleted uranium, sarin gas, smoke from burning oil wells, vaccinations, combat stress and psychological factors, though only pyridostigmine (an antitoxin for nerve agents) and organophosphate pesticides have been conclusively linked.[6]" Compensation for G.W.S. wasn't approved until 2001, and it's not a lot of money.
http://www.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
Uranium is a very dense metal and if you put it on the tip of munitions, it penetrates armor better. Of course it's cheaper to use spent (aka depleted) uranium from used reactor fuel, even if it's toxic. So these shells hit Iraqi tanks, exploded, and the uranium vaporized and could be inhaled/ingested by nearby people. The incidence of rare cancers and respiratory diseases rose significantly among vets. The US performed "conclusive studies" that there were no adverse health effects from radioactive depleted uranium munitions that were used in the theater. But UK courts and medical research did find a link (British forces did not use uranium weapons). What gall for the US to claim that exposure to an unregulated radioactive weapon is totally safe. They just don't want to get sued. If it's so safe, then why don't generals and Congressmen go live near Yucca Mountain?
http://www.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
Uranium is a very dense metal and if you put it on the tip of munitions, it penetrates armor better. Of course it's cheaper to use spent (aka depleted) uranium from used reactor fuel, even if it's toxic. So these shells hit Iraqi tanks, exploded, and the uranium vaporized and could be inhaled/ingested by nearby people. The incidence of rare cancers and respiratory diseases rose significantly among vets. The US performed "conclusive studies" that there were no adverse health effects from radioactive depleted uranium munitions that were used in the theater. But UK courts and medical research did find a link (British forces did not use uranium weapons). What gall for the US to claim that exposure to an unregulated radioactive weapon is totally safe. They just don't want to get sued. If it's so safe, then why don't generals and Congressmen go live near Yucca Mountain?
At least Gulf War I was mostly fought outside
of population centers, so fewer people were exposed. But during Gulf War
II, the fighting was heavily urban. Despite complaints about uranium
weapons, they were used again. Uranium has a very long half-life and the
material doesn't just disappear. It gets scattered everywhere, leeches
into the soil and ground water, and may get into food too like
Fukushima. Fallujah saw some of the most intense fighting of the war,
and local hospitals have seen a spike in birth defects, as first
reported in peer-reviewed scientific journals and the WHO in 2009-10.
Iraq is a fragile state and their war-ravaged medical infrastructure
can't handle this influx of new special-needs patients. Also, the
families are unlikely to be able to afford the care that their kids
need.
http://thefallujahproject.org/
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