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Réf. GRIP DATA : G1035 Date d'insertion : 10/06/2003 |
at a meeting of the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium, on June 10, 2003.
Copyright (C) 2003 by IDUST.
Contact:
damacio@idust.net
Website: www.idust.net
The International
Depleted Uranium Study Team (IDUST) is a non-governmental organization (NGO) of
international researchers, activists and scientists dedicated to stopping the
use of Depleted Uranium U-238 (DU) in military weapons and in commercial
products. Our focus is to increase public awareness and understanding of both
the problems associated with DU in weapons and in commercial products and the
need to enforce existing international humanitarian and human rights law that
prohibit the use of DU in military weapons. Through our global education
campaign and advocacy group networking, we believe we can achieve the
elimination of this highly toxic and radioactive material that is being used
across the globe.
My name is
Damacio Lopez, and I am the director of IDUST. An automobile accident in 1985
forced me to abandon my career as a professional golfer and to spend several
months in recovery back in my hometown of Socorro, New Mexico, USA. While there,
my convalescence was frequently disturbed by tremendous explosions taking place
less than three kilometers from my parents' home. After each explosion, a black
cloud of smoke would rise and come over our home and over the small town of
Socorro. I began to research what was causing that black cloud of smoke. It
turned out to be open air testing of weaponry containing depleted uranium, or
DU. And that discovery is what brings me here to speak with you. I will address
some of the historical, political, legal and health issues concerning the use of
DU in weaponry. Of course, the use of DU in commercial products contains the
same elements of urgency.
Depleted uranium
is the radioactive and highly toxic waste product that remains after natural
uranium metal has been put through the “enrichment” process. Natural uranium
metal contains only 0.71% of the fissionable uranium U-235 isotope that is
necessary for nuclear reactor fuel and for nuclear bombs. This concentration is
too low for its effective use in either application. The enrichment process
divides the metal into two groups, concentrating the U-235 isotope in one and
depleting it in the other. The first batch is called “enriched uranium” and
is sent off to be used by the military and nuclear industries. The second batch,
in which the U-235 isotope has been depleted to a concentration of 0.25%, is
called “depleted uranium”, or DU. It is composed of 99.75% of the uranium
U-238 isotope and still maintains 60% of the radioactivity found in the natural
uranium metal. Over the past 55 years, over 500.000.000 kilograms of DU waste
have been accumulated at nuclear processing facilities and nuclear power plants
in the United States,
Although by
itself DU emits only alpha and gamma radiation (which is similar to X-rays),
over a period of a few weeks radioactive decay products build up and permanently
contaminate the DU. These short-lived decay products, thorium Th-234 and
protactinium Pa-234, each decay through emission of beta and gamma radiation.
Thus for each alpha particle emitted from a sample of DU, two beta particles and
three gamma ray photons are also emitted. The significance of this fact will
become apparent in the section below that discusses the various health risks
involved with exposure to DU.
Of additional
significance is the confirmed fact that DU munitions contain depleted uranium
obtained from “reprocessing” plants, not just enrichment facilities. When
spent nuclear fuel is removed from nuclear reactors, where it has undergone
years of neutron bombardment, it is sent to a reprocessing facility where such
elements as plutonium, americium, and neptunium are extracted. Minute quantities
of these highly toxic, non-natural radioactive materials, along with the
non-naturally occurring uranium isotope U-236 (which occurs only inside a
nuclear reactor), remain as contaminants. Numerous medical scientists have found
traces of U-236 in the urine of veterans of the 1991 Gulf War ten years after
the conflict. Thus what is being called “depleted uranium” nowadays might
better be referred to as “Polluted DU”
DU is one of the
densest elements known, being 1.75 times as dense as lead. This fact alone makes
it an attractive substance for use in armor plating for tanks and for
projectiles designed to penetrate heavy armor. In addition, DU is a pyrophoric
metal. Thus when a projectile made of DU strikes a heavily armored tank, the
force of impact causes the DU to ignite and burn at such intense temperature
that the projectile literally melts its way through the armor. Once inside the
tank, the burning metal typically ignites fuel or armaments and creates a
secondary explosion that destroys the tank and kills the crew.
In the process of
this conflagration, sub-microscopic particles of uranium oxide ceramics are
produced, creating an aerosol of radioactive particles that are smaller than 5
microns in diameter. Studies have shown that between 10% and 75% of the DU in
the penetrator can be converted to these minute particles. Particles smaller
than 5 microns can become permanently lodged deep within the lungs when inhaled.
And because these uranium oxide ceramics have very low solubility, they remain
in the body for decades.
Other weapons in
which DU may be found include cruise missiles, both as counterweights for
control surfaces and as penetrator warheads, and in the so-called “bunker
buster” bombs that gained notoriety in Afghanistan and in the “Shock and
Awe” campaign against Baghdad in 2003. The US government and others maintain
that the purpose for using DU is to pierce armor and other uses involving its
heavy metal and pyrophoric qualities. However, DU has a dual use because it does
in fact poison personnel and civilian populations alike.
DU penetrators
were used extensively in the First Gulf War in 1991. The U.S. Department of
Defense has acknowledged that 320 tons of DU munitions were expended, whereas
the nuclear research foundation LAKA, of Holland, estimates that the total
amount of DU used in Iraq and Kuwait exceeded 800 tons. The International
Committee of Radiological Protection estimates that enough DU was used “to
cause 500,000 potential deaths, if it were inhaled."
DU munitions were
also used by the U.S. and U.K. in Kosovo and Bosnia. There is evidence that they
may have been used in Afghanistan. They have definitely been used in the recent
invasion of Iraq by the U.S. and U.K. forces. And unless effective international
action is taken, more devestating weapons such as mini-nukes will follow.
Unfortunately, if
the past is any guide, local civilian populations are unlikely to be warned when
DU weapons are used even if DU contaminates their food or water supplies. Prior
to the Gulf War, the US army was aware of the potential for DU contamination to
cause health problems among civilian populations. Yet the Department of Defense
did nothing to warn the inhabitants of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Iraq about DU
contamination of their air, soil and water. Rather, US army reports expressed
more concern about public outcry and future restrictions on the use of DU
weapons than about contaminating lands at home and abroad and poisoning soldiers
and civilians.
These weapons
have also been tested since the 1970’s at domestic firing ranges and bombing
sites in many countries including the United States, United Kingdom, Japan and
Puerto Rico to name a few. Every time DU has been used it has left contamination
and human suffering.
The first use of
uranium in munitions occurred in World War II. Albert Speer, author of Inside
the Third Reich and former Nazi Munitions Minister, makes this statement
concerning the shortage of ammunition material in Nazi Germany and the
subsequent use of their uranium stock as solid-core ammunition: "In the
summer of 1943, wolframite imports from Portugal were cut off, which created a
critical situation for the production of solid-core ammunition. I thereupon
ordered the use of uranium cores for this type of ammunition."
For the first time in history, solid-core ammunition made of radioactive
material was used in military combat.
Also in 1943, the
US War Department proposed research into the "Use of Radioactive Material
as a Military Weapon" to General L.R. Grove who headed the Manhattan
Project in Los Alamos, New Mexico. One of the possible military uses of
radioactive materials against enemy personnel would be as a gas warfare agent.
The material would be ground into particles of microscopic size and would be
distributed in the form of dust or smoke by ground-fired projectiles, land
vehicles, airplanes, or aerial bombs. In this form, it would be inhaled by
personnel. It could also be dissolved in liquid. In 1990 the U.S. Army Foreign
Service and Technology Center warned of the possibility that, “conventional
explosives could be used by threat force to disseminate radioactive materials
(e.g., from reactor waste or radium and radioactive isotopes of cesium and
cobalt from radiotherapy sources) on the battlefield.”
Secret human
radiation experiments began in 1944 to better understand the effects of
radiation weapons on human health and the environment; experiments involving
intentional environmental releases of radiation were designed to test human
health effects of ionizing radiation. The experiments continued until 1974. The
US government deliberately dropped radioactive materials from planes or released
it on the ground in New Mexico and other states. In 1947 a secret memo from the
US Atomic Energy Commission had this self- incriminating statement about medical
experiments on human subjects: "It is desired that no document be released
which refers to experiments with humans and might have adverse affects on public
opinion or result in legal suits. Documents covering such work field should be
classified 'secret.'"
In the 1970's
weapons containing depleted uranium began to be tested and developed on firing
ranges and bombing sites across the US by the military and their civilian
defense contractors. One such test site is Socorro, New Mexico, home to the New
Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, a publicly supported state
university, where DU open-air testing began in 1972. The DU work is carried out
by one of the school's divisions, the Energetic Materials Research and
Technology Center (EMRTC), formerly known as the Terminal Effects Research and
Analysis Group (TERA). Military and private defense contractors also test DU
there. This test site is at the top of Socorro Mountain, from which water wells
supply drinking water for the city of Socorro. Socorro's 8,000-member community
is less than three kilometer downgrade and downwind from the test site. An
unusual number of hydrocephalus cases appeared during the 1980s in Socorro.
Three of New Mexico's 19 cases of hydrocephalus recorded between 1984 and 1988
occurred in tiny Socorro; during that same period a large increase in cancer
mortality was also observed.
DU penetrator
manufacturing sites in the U.S. have also had their share of problems from
wide-spread contamination and resulting elevated incidence of cancer. The
National Lead site in Colonie, NewYork was ultimately closed completely after DU
was detected some 25 miles downwind from the plant. The plant near Concord,
Massachusetts is now an Environmental Protection Agency Superfund Site,
consuming millions of dollars for cleanup. The Jonesborough, Kentucky plant has
also exhibited higher than normal cancer rates among its employees.
Is there any
evidence that these radiation weapons have caused negative health effects to
soldiers and civilians? In the United States over 250,000 veterans returning
from the 1991 Gulf War have reported to Veterans' Hospitals asking for help in
what has become known as the Gulf War Syndrome. Over 8,000 of these veterans
have died. 206,000 of the 697,000 veterans of the Gulf War have filed claims for
veterans' benefits based on service-related injuries and illnesses, over 159.000
have been granted disability payment. Many
NATO troops stationed in Kosovo and Bosnia have become ill and dozens have died
in what is being called the Balkan Syndrome.
In Iraq over 1.5
million soldiers and civilians have died of unnatural causes since the 1991 Gulf
War, one-third of them children under the age of 5. Leukemia, cancer, birth
defects and rare diseases have increased at an alarming rate in this country.
Studies conducted by Iraqi scientists have found higher levels than that
permitted by international standards for U-238 and its products in drinking
water of various city water supplies and in the Tigris River. Vegetables, fish
and meat in southern Iraq are showing levels of radiation contamination as well.
In the US, officials have conducted studies that clearly show that DU enters the
food chain and contaminates water. DU has a half-life of 4.5 billion years. If
not cleaned up, it will thus continue to harm all forms of life in contaminated
areas till the end of time.
What indications
do we have that these illnesses are related to DU? Some understanding of how DU
emissions may harm human health can be drawn from existing knowledge of how
radiation in general affects human health. Dr. Marvin Resnikoff, a noted
American particle physicist, writes: "When inhaled, uranium increases the
probability of lung cancer. When ingested, uranium concentrates in the bone.
Within the bone, it increases the probability of bone cancer, or, in bone
marrow, leukemia. Uranium also resides in the soft tissue, including the gonads,
increasing the probability of genetic health effects, including birth defects
and spontaneous abortions."
A 1995 article in
the prestigious International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology
included this information on DU health hazards in the First Gulf War:
"Depleted uranium particles can be inhaled easily in smoke resulting from
the impact of armor-piercing projectiles on hard targets and the aerosolization
of uranium into small particles. If even one small particle (less than five
microns in diameter, 5-millionths of a meter, the size of cigarette ash) is
trapped in the lungs, surrounding tissues can be exposed up to 272 times the
maximum permitted dose for workers in the radiation industry."
In January, 2003,
the European Committee on Radiation Risk (ECRR) released their first report,
“Health Effects of Ionizing Radiation Exposure at Low Doses for Protection
Purposes”, Chris Busby, editor. The 46 scientists who collaborated in the
preparation of this report affirm through well-documented research the
considerably higher risks to human health that are associated with exposure to
ionizing radiation from a radioactive particle embedded within living tissue.
The “linear/no-threshold” model that is currently used by governmental
organizations to define exposure limits is shown to be wholly inadequate for
these cases.
In addition to
presenting a radiation hazard, DU is also a highly toxic substance. As with most
heavy metals, it can disrupt the normal operation of many proteins that are
essential for normal body functioning. For example, uranium’s interference
with renal proteins in the kidneys has been known for many years and has been
widely documented. In 2002, the Royal Society (UK) issued a report stating that
it could be possible for tank crews sustaining “friendly fire” from a DU
penetrator could absorb enough DU into their bodies to experience complete
kidney failure within two days.
Also in 2002,
researchers in Durham, North Carolina (USA) discovered that exposure to uranium
(as uranyl acetate) produced sensorimotor deficits in rats. Interesting that
lethargy is one of the common symptoms reported by 1991 Gulf War veterans. Some
researchers have recently come to suspect that chemical toxicity and radiation
work synergistically to enhance the devastation caused by internal exposure to
DU.
Alexandra C.
Miller, et alia, of the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute, in
Bethesda, Mariland, USA, demonstrated another avenue of chemical toxicity with
DU, namely its effectiveness as a catalyst for destructive chemical reactions.
Her in-vitro studies showed that DU at pH 7 can induce oxidative DNA damage
through catalytic interaction with a cellular oxygen species, suggesting that in
a living cell, DU can induce carcinogenic lesions through its chemical toxicity
alone.
John F. Kalinich,
also of the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute, found that in-vitro
treatment of mouse a macrophage cell line with depleted uranium (as uranyl
chloride) resulted within 24 hours in observable events associated with
apoptosis (cell death), including morphological changes and DNA fragmentation.
Jose L. Domingoa,
of the “Rovira i Virgili" University in Reus, Spain, reported in
Reproductive Toxicology in 2001 a detailed literature review covering research
that demonstrated that uranium is a developmental toxicant when given orally or
subcutaneously (SC) to mice. Decreased fertility, embryo/fetal toxicity
including teratogenicity, and reduced growth of the offspring have been observed
following uranium exposure at different gestation periods. Data on the toxic
effects of depleted uranium on reproduction and development were also reviewed.
Inhaled uranium
oxide particles have been shown to reside in the lungs for decades, causing
chronic exposure of surrounding lung tissue to low-level but continuous
radiation dose. During this time, the particles dissolve very slowly into the
bloodstream, from which molecules of uranium oxides can then be deposited in
bone tissue, gonads and lymphatic tissue. Thus it is not surprising that inhaled
DU can ultimately be responsible for leukemia, sexual disorders, and genetic
abnormalities in a victim’s offspring.
The facts, are
straightforward. DU is an anti-personnel weapon that is designed to cause
superfluous injury and unnecessary suffering. If we do not act soon to ban the
use of DU in weapons, humans yet unborn are going to pay a fearsome price.
Radiation from DU will affect the human gene pool, bequeathing to our
descendents countless inherited defects.
The Pentagon,
NATO, and the British Ministry of Defense have always downplayed the danger of
DU, saying it was "less radioactive than uranium ore”, pointing out that
natural uranium is part of our environment and accounts for a certain level of
background radiation to which we are exposed day in and day out. The tacit and
totally unproven assumption behind this statement is that background radiation
is harmless. However, lung cancer, leukemia, lymphomas and birth defects have
been with us since the dawn of time. We have no idea what risk factors (i.e.
deaths per 100,000 from a particular cancer or disease) are associated with
background radiation. Could they be as high as 500 deaths per 100,000 per year
(0.5%)? If so, can we justify adding 50 more deaths per 100,000 by intentionally
increasing the radiation to which we are all exposed by “only” 10%? The data
for making these decisions is simply not available.
Another specious
argument is that, due to the density of uranium oxide aerosol particles, they
cannot travel more then a few tens of meters from the site of impact where they
were created. However, DU particles were regularly detected in instruments 25
miles downwind of a DU penetrator fabrication facility in Colonie, New York.
Radiation detectors in Greece and Bulgaria showed a spike in readings in the
days following DU use in Kosovo. Though extremely dense, these fine particles
can easily acquire a static charge and become attached to ambient dust particles
and hitch-hike great distances. The effective perimeter of concern for DU
contamination is much, much greater than military sources would like us to
believe. The exposed civilians from even limited engagements must therefore
number in the millions.
One might wonder
why the military is so anxious to downplay the great risks associated with DU.
It is true that anti-tank penetrators made of DU are remarkably effective. It is
also true that armor plate made of DU is virtually impenetrable except when
struck by a DU penetrator. And finally, because of the great stockpile of DU, as
a raw material it is available to manufacturers at virtually no cost, so it is
cheap.
There may be
other reasons as well. First, DU munitions have become a major commodity in the
world’s arms trade (see below), and arms manufacturers and dealers are
powerful lobbies in many of the world’s nations. Second, an admission now that
DU is indeed a hazardous material and its use seriously contaminates both the
environment and civilian populations could result in astronomical financial
liabilities. Who should be responsible for the cleanup of battlefields and
testing sites where DU has been used? Who should be responsible for medical
treatment and health care of hundreds of thousands of civilians suffering from
exposure to DU? And finally, what legal liability in terms of international war
crimes might such an admission incur?
The U.S. is not
alone in making DU weapons. The United Kingdom, Russia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia,
Pakistan, Thailand, Israel, France and others have followed the U.S. lead in
developing DU-containing weapon systems for their inventories and selling them
in the world's arms market. Legislation in the U.S. made it permissible to sell
the M-833 or comparable anti-tank shells containing DU penetrators to these NATO
countries: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy,
Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Turkey and the United Kingdom.
Major non-NATO allies included were Australia, Egypt, Israel, Japan, Korea and
Taiwan.
How is it
possible that these illegal weapons can be sold in the world's arms market? The
U.S. International Security and Development Cooperative Act of 1980 states that
DU may be sold upon a finding that an export of uranium depleted in the isotope
U-235 is incorporated in defense articles or commodities solely to take
advantage of the high density or pyrophoric characteristics unrelated to its
radioactivity. Such exports shall be exempt from the provisions of the Atomic
Energy Act of 1954 and from the Nuclear Non- proliferation Act of 1978. The U.S.
is subverting these laws by simply saying that they are not using the uranium
for its radiation effects, which are poisonous. But DU is a dual use weapon.
Once in the environment, it is inevitable that it will poison personnel through
inhalation and ingestion, causing illness and, in some cases, a lingering death.
The United
Nations Sub-commission on Human Rights in its 1996 session condemned weaponry
containing depleted uranium as a weapon of mass destruction and indiscriminate
use, both against members of the armed forces and against civilian populations.
The Commission spoke of these weapons not only as resulting in death, misery and
disability, but also as being incompatible with existing norms. The
Sub-commission was also concerned about the long-term consequences on human life
and the environment following use of DU on the battlefield.
In a 1996
advisory opinion, the International Court of Justice affirmed that under
Humanitarian Law, “States must never use weapons that are incapable of
distinguishing between civilian and military targets.” The use of weapons
containing DU violates Humanitarian Law, which prohibits indiscriminate or
willful killing. Willful killing is a grave breach (war crime) under the
"grave breach" article in each of the four Geneva Conventions.
Regarding Protocol Additional I: Articles 51 and 52 prohibit targeting the
civilian population or engaging in military operations likely to have
indiscriminate and undue effect on the civilian population. Article 85 makes
violations of Articles 51 and 52 grave breaches (war crimes).
The UN
Sub-commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities is
preparing a report on weapons containing DU. This report was originally to be
completed in 1998 but the Rappateur assigned to present the report was absent.
The report was again scheduled for presentation in 1999, 2000, and 2001 and in
each case the Rappateur assigned the responsibility of presenting the report was
either absent or not prepared. In 2002, Sik Yuen was scheduled to submit the
report. He was subsequently voted off the Sub-commission and was not re-elected
to the Sub-commission as a result of intensive lobbying by the U.S. and U.K.
However, to the consternation of the U.S., he submitted his report anyway. And
the 2002 Sub-commission voted to have him do a follow-up (due 2003) in spite of
the fact that he was no longer on the Sub-commission. The report is now due at
the August 2003 session with Justice Sik Yuen from Mauritius as Special
Rapporteur.
Can battlefields
and test ranges be cleaned? To clean up contaminated soil would require the
removal of up to 12 inches of the top soil in Iraq and Kuwait that has hundreds
of square miles contaminated with DU. This could easily cost tens of billions of
dollars. To clean the water and air would be impossible. Last summer the New
York Times reported on a DU clean-up effort in a tiny cove in Montenegro where
the US fired 88 rounds of DU bullets on the last day of the Kosovo war (no one
knows why). The Montenegro government, without any help from the US or NATO, has
closed several acres and is trying to decontaminate the area. Wearing protective
gear, several workers are sweeping the area for radioactivity, removing and
packaging for storage huge amounts of contaminated soil. The effort will take
years. All this because of 88 rounds of DU bullets, a trifle compared to the
tons of DU used in Iraq and Kuwait. In the state of Indiana, it is estimated
that it will cost between four and five billion dollars to clean up 500 acres at
the recently closed Jefferson Proving Ground, where an estimated 152,000 pounds
of DU has been used in tests over the years.
The controversy
over DU use pits military interests against the health of citizens and soldiers
around the world. The military's decision to use DU in spite of its obvious
health risks displays a blatant disregard for human life and well being, and
will create long-term financial consequences for producers, users, and victims
of DU alike. By virtue of the world’s huge stockpile of DU, it is clearly the
world's largest radioactive waste problem. The use of DU in bullets, tank armor
on battlefields, and DU test ranges throughout the world proliferates
radioactive waste globally, endangering the health of soldiers and civilians
alike.
The use of DU
weapons places an unacceptable and excessive risk on human health and the
environment. We must move quickly to implement the recommendations below to stop
this senseless tragedy.
Establish
and enforce an international agreement that bans the military use of DU in
all its forms, including its use in bombs, cruise missiles, munitions and
armor.
Require
that all nations involved in the production, testing and/or use of DU
munitions mitigate the environmental impact of their activities by
conducting a full-scale and thorough cleanup of all sites and battlefields
contaminated by their use of DU.
Encourage
all governments to review their regulations and policies relating to the
handling and disposal of radioactive waste materials and to establish
appropriate cleanup procedures of sites contaminated with DU and other
radioactive substances. These policies should include assurances that all
personnel, whether civilian or military, working around DU be given adequate
education and issued appropriate radiation protection to minimize possible
health risks from radiation exposure.
Conduct
full-scale, independent epidemiological studies of military personnel and
their families, of war veterans and their families, and of civilians who
have been exposed to DU, with the goal of determining more precisely the
toxic and radiological effects of exposure to DU as well as the combined
effects. Family studies should include examination for evidence of
infertility, miscarriage, and birth abnormalities due to exposure to DU.
Civilians to be included in these studies should include populations located
near battlefields where DU munitions were used and civilian personnel living
at or near DU manufacturing facilities and DU munitions test sites.
Establish
a peer review committee of leading radiation health experts from the
civilian sector that would act as a "Citizens Watchdog Authority"
over all governmental and military studies conducted in compliance with
recommendation #4 above. Such a peer review committee could ensure that
appropriate rules of research are applied, that the studies are free from
bias, and that they fully account for the latency of the radiological health
effects of DU in the human body. The studies should be conducted over the
life span of each affected person.
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