Branka Jovanovic
Franca Rozmana 18,
11000 Belgrade,
tel. 444- , 444-9494
E-mail: branka_j@ yutarget.com
branka_j@ yahoo.com
Belgrade 1999-04-02
Dear friends,
We are forwarding to you the information from Rosalie Bartell. And it goes as
follows:
<<<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.
Concentrated like this, it can kill everyone in a tank. This ceramic aerosol
is much lighter than uranium dust. It can disperse 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 gastrointestinal 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 carcinogens.
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 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
condemed 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
President, ACS (1998-2000)
President IICPH (1984+)
710-264 Queens Quay West
Toronto ON M5J 1B5 CANADA
Tel: 1-416-260-0575
Fax: 1-416-260-3404
Email: IICPH@compuserve.com
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