Depleted uranium: How dangerous is it?

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straightalker

Senior member
Dec 21, 2005
515
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(my comments) This guy is the expert on DU. HE IS ON THE RADIO, tv and every other form of media telling the true story of the DU nightmare. People who say DU is nothing to be concerned about simply do not take in the reality of radiation's effects on human beings.

July 24, 2006 Dr. Doug Rokke, PhD., former Director, U.S. Army Depleted Uranium project

The delivery of at least 100 GBU 28 bunker busters bombs containing depleted uranium warheads by the United States to Israel for use against targets in Lebanon will result in additional radioactive and chemical toxic contamination with consequent adverse health and environmental effects throughout the middle east.

Today, U.S., British, and now Israeli military personnel are using illegal uranium munitions- America's and England's own "dirty bombs" while U.S. Army, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of Defense, and British Ministry of Defence officials deny that there are any adverse health and environmental effects as a consequence of the manufacture, testing, and/or use of uranium munitions to avoid liability for the willful and illegal dispersal of a radioactive toxic material - depleted uranium.

The use of uranium weapons is absolutely unacceptable, and a crime against humanity. Consequently the citizens of the world and all governments must force cessation of uranium weapons use. I must demand that Israel now provide medical care to all DU casualties in Lebanon and clean up all DU contamination.

U.S. and British officials have arrogantly refused to comply with their own regulations, orders, and directives that require United States Department of Defense officials to provide prompt and effective medical care to "all" exposed individuals. Reference: Medical Management of Unusual Depleted Uranium Casualties, DOD, Pentagon, 10/14/93, Medical Management of Army personnel Exposed to Depleted Uranium (DU) Headquarters, U.S. Army Medical Command 29 April 2004, and section 2-5 of U.S. Army Regulation 700-48. Israeli officials must not do so now.

They also refuse to clean up dispersed radioactive Contamination as required by Army Regulation- AR 700-48: "Management of Equipment Contaminated With Depleted Uranium or Radioactive Commodities" (Headquarters, Department Of The Army, Washington, D.C., September 2002) and U.S. Army Technical Bulletin- TB 9-1300-278: "Guidelines For Safe Response To Handling, Storage, And Transportation Accidents Involving Army Tank Munitions Or Armor Which Contain Depleted Uranium" (Headquarters, Department Of The Army, Washington, D.C., JULY 1996). Specifically section 2-4 of United States Army Regulation-AR 700-48 dated September 16, 2002 requires that:
(1) "Military personnel "identify, segregate, isolate, secure, and label all RCE" (radiologically contaminated equipment).
(2) "Procedures to minimize the spread of radioactivity will be implemented as soon as possible."
(3) "Radioactive material and waste will not be locally disposed of through burial, submersion, incineration, destruction in place, or abandonment" and
(4) "All equipment, to include captured or combat RCE, will be surveyed, packaged, retrograded, decontaminated and released IAW Technical Bulletin 9-1300-278, DA PAM 700-48" (Note: Maximum exposure limits are specified in Appendix F).

The previous and current use of uranium weapons, the release of radioactive components in destroyed U.S. and foreign military equipment, and releases of industrial, medical, research facility radioactive materials have resulted in unacceptable exposures. Therefore, decontamination must be completed as required by U.S. Army Regulation 700-48 and should include releases of all radioactive materials resulting from military operations.

The extent of adverse health and environmental effects of uranium weapons contamination is not limited to combat zones but includes facilities and sites where uranium weapons were manufactured or tested including Vieques; Puerto Rico; Colonie, New York; Concord, MA; Jefferson Proving Grounds, Indiana; and Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. Therefore medical care must be provided by the United States Department of Defense officials to all individuals affected by the manufacturing, testing, and/or use of uranium munitions. Thorough environmental remediation also must be completed without further delay.

I am amazed that fifteen years after was I asked to clean up the initial DU mess from Gulf War 1 and over ten years since I finished the depleted uranium project that United States Department of Defense officials and others still attempt to justify uranium munitions use while ignoring mandatory requirements. I am dismayed that Department of Defense and Department of Energy officials and representatives continue personal attacks aimed to silence or discredit those of us who are demanding that medical care be provided to all DU casualties and that environmental remediation is completed in compliance with U.S. Army Regulation 700-48. But beyond the ignored mandatory actions the willful dispersal of tons of solid radioactive and chemically toxic waste in the form of uranium munitions is illegal (http://www.traprockpeace.org/karen_parker_du_illegality.pdf)
and just does not even pass the common sense test and according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, DHS, is a dirty bomb. DHS issued "dirty bomb" response guidelines, http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/fr-cont.html
, on January 3, 2006 for incidents within the United States but ignore DOD use of uranium weapons and existing DOD regulations. These guidelines specifically state that: "Characteristics of RDD and IND Incidents: A radiological incident is defined as an event or series of events, deliberate or accidental, leading to the release, or potential release, into the environment of radioactive material in sufficient quantity to warrant consideration of protective actions. Use of an RDD or IND is an act of terror that produces a radiological incident." Thus the use of uranium munitions is "an act or terror" as defined by DHS. Finally continued compliance with the infamous March 1991 Los Alamos Memorandum that was issued to ensure continued use of uranium munitions can not be justified.

In conclusion: the President of the United States- George W. Bush, the Prime Minister of Great Britain-Tony Blair, and the Prime Minister of Israel Olmert must acknowledge and accept responsibility for willful use of illegal uranium munitions- their own "dirty bombs"- resulting in adverse health and environmental effects.
 

jrenz

Banned
Jan 11, 2006
1,788
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Originally posted by: straightalker
(my comments) This guy is the expert on DU. HE IS ON THE RADIO, tv and every other form of media telling the true story of the DU nightmare. People who say DU is nothing to be concerned about simply do not take in the reality of radiation's effects on human beings.

Wait... didn't you just say in other arguments that the media brainwashes us and is biased?
I'm really starting to think that you're just some random script that was written to post random DU stuff... as it's pretty obvious you can't analyze any information that's put in front of you.

I'll second the motion to ban.
 

straightalker

Senior member
Dec 21, 2005
515
0
0
Originally posted by: jrenz
Originally posted by: straightalker
(my comments) This guy is the expert on DU. HE IS ON THE RADIO, tv and every other form of media telling the true story of the DU nightmare. People who say DU is nothing to be concerned about simply do not take in the reality of radiation's effects on human beings.

Wait... didn't you just say in other arguments that the media brainwashes us and is biased?
I'm really starting to think that you're just some random script that was written to post random DU stuff... as it's pretty obvious you can't analyze any information that's put in front of you.

I'll second the motion to ban.
What's the matter jrenz, ...Dr. Doug Rokke too good a man for saving our USA Troops for you to slander and discredit?

Your's is a blatant attack on the defenders of the well being of our USA soldiers. I love my USA soldiers who defend us. I defend them.

You can go you know where jrenz.
 

Gibsons

Lifer
Aug 14, 2001
12,530
35
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Originally posted by: jrenz
Fiction: DU is ?depleted? in the amount of U235 and is therefore less radioactive than the uranium in our natural environment.
--- big snip ---

The WHO study did not test human samples.
A 1998 study conducted by Dr. Livengood showed that DU contamination transforms normal bone cells into tumorous ones.

Somehow I doubt that this test was done on humans.

I read the abstract and sorta scanned over the paper.

Of course they didn't test humans, they tested cultured cells. The cells they tested could hardly be called "normal bone cells," by any broad definition. They used an immortalized cell line derived from a human osteosarcoma. Such tests are typically done using fibroblasts, not bone cells. I've no idea why they used bone cells.

They tested DU uranyl chloride, not elemental uranium. For comparison/control they compared it to nickel sulfate and lead acetate. Nickel sulfate lead acetate were perhaps slightly less carcinogenic than DU uranyl chloride (margin of error makes it a bit hard to judge in some parts of the data).
 

straightalker

Senior member
Dec 21, 2005
515
0
0
Always the most flack from the enemy when you are over the most vulnerable targets.

Fire away. DU is good for you. Put some on your corn flakes for breakfast to add some extra vitamins and minerals. Mercury is delicious as well.
 

jrenz

Banned
Jan 11, 2006
1,788
0
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Originally posted by: straightalker
...

Your's is a blatant attack on the defenders of the well being of our USA soldiers.

More of an attack on those who care more about political goals than facts.

I love my USA soldiers who defend us. I defend them.

Quite the conumdrum you are faced with then. I'm a soldier, yet I continue to disprove your attacks on DU.
 

jrenz

Banned
Jan 11, 2006
1,788
0
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Originally posted by: straightalker
Always the most flack from the enemy when you are over the most vulnerable targets.

Fire away. DU is good for you. Put some on your corn flakes for breakfast to add some extra vitamins and minerals. Mercury is delicious as well.

Now you're just being idiotic. Nobody here has suggested that DU is *good* for you, like any other heavy metal. Would you suggest we sprinkle lead on our food?
 

BrownTown

Diamond Member
Dec 1, 2005
5,314
1
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Originally posted by: LunarRay
Originally posted by: BrownTown
Its somewhat skewed logic to say that just because Agen Orange was bad and the governemtn said it was OK that everything the government says is OK is also bad. IT is possible DU is bad, but based on current sources, nto likely. Also, if there is a problem it would have to be due to the chemical properties, the radiation is just too low do be dangerous.

Also, jsut out of interest, I was under the impression that Agent Orange wasn't bad for people, it was comtaminates introduced in the production that were the problem.

well.. AO is DDT plus other interesting components. It is a defoilant, I suppose among other things... My point was that we not only had it dropped on us some were constantly in touch with it in various ways. The laundry folks who cleaned the clothes to the folks who ingested it are all, if alive still, suffering the consequences..

Agent Orange is not DDT. Teh chemicals used in Agent Orange are still used to day and are not poisionous. DDT is still used today and is not poisionous to humans. The problem with Agent Orange is that a side reaction can also preoduce small amounts of dioxin posions which are very toxic and last in fatty tissues for decades. Why would you even think DDT was in Agent Orange, its a Herbicide, and DDT is a pesticide...
 

spelletrader

Senior member
May 4, 2004
583
0
0
Originally posted by: straightalker
(my comments) This guy is the expert on DU. HE IS ON THE RADIO, tv and every other form of media telling the true story of the DU nightmare. People who say DU is nothing to be concerned about simply do not take in the reality of radiation's effects on human beings.

July 24, 2006 Dr. Doug Rokke, PhD., former Director, U.S. Army Depleted Uranium project

The delivery of at least 100 GBU 28 bunker busters bombs containing depleted uranium warheads.....


Someone put this idiot on the radio? The GBU 28 does not contain any amounts of DU, at all, what so ever.

Some fun facts.

The average human being will be exposed to between 300 and 360 m/r per year of radiation. This is combined from natural (200 m/r per year) and man made (100 to 160 m/r per year) sources. Of course this varies depending on many factors, including the place you live (higher above sea level = more radiation) how often you travel (frequent fliers = more radiation), even how many people you sleep next to.

The chances of the average human getting cancer are 20%. Depending on which study you like to read.

Radiation workers are permitted to be exposed to a maximum of 5000 m/r per year, with the average worker being exposed to about 1000 m/r per year.

Radiation workers that have been exposed to 5000 m/r per year for 20 or more years have their risk of cancer increased to 20.01%.

Want to be safe from DU? Don't eat any and you'll be just fine.

If you ever find yourself in a former war zone, or military range complex where you suspect DU was used just make sure you wash up before eating/smoking/picking your nose etc.

There are many many worse hazards to our environment that are used on a larger scale and more frequent basis, I suggest people focus their efforts on those rather then another passing fad of a cause that DU is.