A forwarded letter lifted from the transcultural psychology list. I don't
know who Bertell is, but it bothers me still further that NATO's humanitarian
bombs are leaving a leaving a lasting impact in more ways than one. So goes
the science of weaponry.
"Thy crown and scepter I will sieze
and regulate all my members in stern severity
and cast thee out into the indefinite
Where nothing lives, there to wander.
And if thou returnst weary
Weeping at at the theshold to Eternity,
[I shall] never recieve thee more.
Thy self destroying beast formed Science shall be thy eternal lot"
-William Blake
Forwarded message begins..........................................jk
Date: Sun, 18 Apr 1999 14:25:54 EDT
From: Rosalie Bertell
Military Toxics Project;
Subject: Kosovo: Use of depleted uranium Date: 31
March 31 1999 20:56PM
Dear Catherine and others,
I am an Epidemiologist, not a physicist (although I have taught
college level physics). My specialty is in higher mathematics, with
applications in the radiobiology and the biomedical sciences.
You can quote me on the following comment on the crisis in Kosovo:
Depleted (DU) uranium is one of the largest categories of radioactive
waste produced for the nuclear weapons and nuclear reactor industry.
It is highly toxic to humans, both chemically as a heavy metal and
radiologically as an alpha particle emitter which is very dangerous
when taken internally.
Recently it has been substitute for lead in bullets and missiles by
the US
and UK, and was first used extensively by the West in the Gulf War.
It is most likely a major contributor to the Gulf War Syndrome
experienced both by the veterans and the people of Iraq.
When used in war, the DU bursts into flame from the impact when it
hits a target. It can pierce tanks and armoured cars, releasing
inside of them a deadly radioactive aerosol of uranium, unlike
anything seen before. It can kill everyone in a tank. This ceramic
aerosol is much lighter than uranium dust. It can travel in air tens
of kilometres from the point of release, or be stirred up in dust and
resuspended in air with wind or human movement. It is very small and
can be breathed in by anyone: a baby, pregnant woman, the elderly, the
sick. This radioactive ceramic can stay deep in the lungs for years,
irradiating the tissue with powerful alpha particles within about a 30
micron sphere, causing emphysema and/or fibrosis. The ceramic can
also be swallowed and do damage to the gastro-intestinal tract. In
time, it penetrates the lung tissue and enters into the blood stream.
It can be stored in liver, kidney, bone or other tissues, again for
years, irradiating all of the delicate tissues located near its
storage place. It can effect the blood, which is the basis of our
immune system, and do damage to the renal system as it is eventually
excreted in the urine. It can also initiate cancer or promote cancers
which have been initiated by other cancinogens.
In October 1998 the WHO undertook a two year study of the increasing
cancer rates, especially leukemia in young children, which have been
note in southern Iraq where most of the war took place. The WHO report
is not yet out, but newer data from Iraq tells the story of even more
dramatic increases in cancer rates, especially among the Iraqi
veterans who participated in the war. In the West, thousands of
veterans are recognized as seriously ill with an unknown syndrome, and
we have been able to document DU in their urine as late as 7 or 8
years after the war. There is no natural source of DU to explain this
phenomena!
It is imperitive that we all denouce this radiation and toxic
chemical warfare! It has now been used by the US and Britain against
Iraq and in Bosnia. It is now being used in Kosovo (NATO announcement
in Europe, 30 March 1999). It has been condemned by the United
Nations Human Rights Tribunal (August 1996 Session of the UN
Commission on Human Rights, Sub-Commission on the Prevention of
Discrimination and Protection of Minorities). The Human Rights
Commission has requested that the Secretary General prepare a written
report on DU and certain other weapons of mass destruction (Resolution
1997/36, which also established a UN Rapporteur to take over the study
of DU and other weapons of mass destruction on behalf of the UN).
The damage being done will not only cause incredible and unending
suffering to today's victims, but the genetic damage it may cause can
be passed on to their offspring. Such weapons and war itself need to
be condemned as utter barbarianism!
This is certainly not to be interpreted as condoning so called ethnic
cleasing or any of the nationalistic actions of the Yugoslave
government. However, as one of the Professors at the University of
Toronto said, "I can offer a different and more effective policy, but
I would not start from here". This Kosovo action is resulting from
deep seated conflicting ideas of "World Order" - that proposed by
NATO's vision of itself as a world police force, and that of the OSCE
(Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) which sees
security rising out of honest cooperation and legal resolution of
conflicting opinions.
Rosalie Bertell, Ph. D., GNSH
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