The US military at NTS and Dept of Energy (DOE) thought they had devised a capitalist friendly solution to the ecological and human health problems of nuclear waste diposal. Since the Yucca Mountain project is losing it's credibility after every seismic tremor in Nevada's basin and range geology, the DOE and military used reductionist logic to promote spent fuel cells to be manufactured into military weapons and tank armor. The only problem is that the military elites forgot to tell all the young US soldiers and Iraqi civilians they were supposedly rescuing from Saddam about the serious health risks from exposure to radioactive depleted uranium..

The term depleted appears to be harmless, though the spent nuclear fuel cells used to manufacture depleted uranium are still radioactive, and if ingested in airborne dust can bind to DNA and cause genetic mutations, leading to birth defects and deformities in children and people exposed..

"Depleted uranium - what is left over when the highly radioactive isotopes of uranium are removed - is widely used by the military. Anti-tank weapons, tank armor and ammunition rounds are just some of the applications. "The health effects of uranium really haven't been studied since the Manhattan Project (the development of the atomic bomb in the early 1940s). But now there is more interest in the health effects of depleted uranium. People are asking questions now," Stearns said.

Her research may shed light on the possible connection between exposure to depleted uranium and Gulf War Syndrome, or to increased cancers and birth defects in the Middle East and Balkans. And closer to home, questions continue to be asked about environmental exposure to uranium from mine tailings; heavily concentrated around Native American communities. "When the uranium mining boom crashed in the '80s, there wasn't much cleanup," Stearns said. Estimates put the number of abandoned mines on the Navajo Nation in Arizona at more than 1,100."

above article "Uranium's Effect on DNA Established @;

http://www.beyondtreason.com/news.html

This information may be slow in reaching the US public due to corporate media filters, though when GW Bush began his invasion of Iraq scientists were already knowledgeable of DU risks and warned the US government not to open Pandora's box of DU aerosol fragments. This is evidenced by the 2003 DU weapons conference where scientists throughout the globe discussed the risks of DU weapons and issued statements condemning the US military for use of DU weapons in the previous Iraq war under Bush Sr., where US soldiers were labeled with PTSD or "Gulf War Syndrome" and the VA was prevented from disclosing or testing for DU exposure. Needless to say human rights monitors documented the Iraqi population's increase in birth defects and cancer following their exposure to DU weapons..

Again, this was public knowledge in 2003, though the US government under Bush Jr. chose to ignore this info when invading Iraq..

"The acute symptoms above have been reported by Gulf War veterans, including post-conflict military personnel exposed to targets contaminated by DU. The slower onset illness and disorders have been reported by Gulf veterans, and doctors and health researchers who have worked with civilians exposed to DU in Iraq. Leukemia, cancers and birth deformities are on an increase among international soldiers and policemen who served in Bosnia, and among local population exposed to DU ammunition. The rates of all cancers in Sarajevo between 1995 and 2000 increased from 46 to 264 per 100,000 according to a Sarajevo registry report of January 2001 [www.llrc.org].

As the contaminants spread over the years, so will the health problems. Low but chronic exposure risks may arise from air, water or food contamination in areas surrounding a population. The contaminants could build up and bio-accumulate over years from the initial fallout. Local terrain, ecosystem, meteorological conditions, agricultural practice and food habits are some of the factors that would determine the secondary exposures and doses."

more details of DU effect on human body @;

http://www.uraniumweaponsconference.de/background.htm

Several activists have devoted years to petitioning, protesting and locking down to stop the slow genocide of radioactive depleted uranium weapons released in the civilian populations of Iraq, Afganistan, and elsewhere..

Many nuclear non-proliferation activists also urge the US governemnt to cease and desist in any further uranium enrichment programs, shut down nuclear facilities and clean up the radioactive contamination from DU weapons fragments scattered throughout Iraq..

"The U.S. military should clean up depleted uranium ammunition scattered across Iraq to prevent future health problems such as cancer and birth defects"

more on nuclear non-proliferation @;

http://www.helencaldicott.com/articles.htm

also;

DU is poison dust;

http://www.iacenter.org/poison-dust.htm

database on nuclear non-proliferation articles of interest, Nuclear Information and Resource Service;

http://www.nirs.org/

This author finds it disgusting that the Bush/Cheney regime has the nerve to point fingers at Iran when the US nuclear weapons stockpile is literally through the roof. The US has so many nuclear weapons and nuclear waste left over from the 'Cold War' that some of them are leaking into the watershed of north american rivers. To echo the statements of Arhundati Roy, neither Iran, Israel, India and especially not the US should have nuclear weapons. However, world leaders listening to Ms. Roy's wisdom and common sense about the dangers of nuclear weapons is not the current trend..

"India and Pakistan have nuclear bombs now and feel entirely justified in having them. Soon others will too. Israel, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Norway, Nepal (I'm trying to be eclectic here), Denmark, Germany, Bhutan, Mexico, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, Burma, Bosnia, Singapore, North Korea, Sweden, South Korea, Vietnam, Cuba, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan… and why not? Every country in the world has a special case to make. Everybody has borders and beliefs.

And when all our larders are bursting with shiny bombs and our bellies are empty (deterrence is an exorbitant beast), we can trade bombs for food. And when nuclear technology goes on the market, when it gets truly competitive and prices fall, not just governments but anybody who can afford it can have their own private arsenal - businessmen, terrorists, perhaps even the occasional rich writer (like me). Our planet will bristle with beautiful missiles. There will be a new world order. The dictatorship of the pro-nuke elite.

But let us pause to give credit where it's due. Who must we thank for all this? The men who made it happen. The Masters of the Universe. Ladies and gentlemen, the United States of America! Come on up here folks, stand up and take a bow. Thank you for doing this to the world. Thank you for making a difference. Thank you for showing us the way. Thank you for altering the very meaning of life."

more thoughts from Arundhati Roy @;

http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0307-02.htm

So many people are opposed to nuclear weapons manufacture and no matter how sensible, poetic or logical our words to end nuclear weapons proliferation the elites in government and weapons defense contracters don't listen..

What can people do short of bringing back the guillotine and throwing the tyrants who wish to kill us all off from their thrones of power??

Am urging anyone who serves or has friends and/or family who serve in the military (US, Israel, India, etc..) to defect and resist any personal exposure to DU weaponry. Either go AWOL and live a healthy life free of cancer or enlist and serve to return home with cancer and genetic mutations from DU exposure. Those who already served can encourage the public to educate themselves and the VA about the physical realities of DU exposure and expose the cover up ordered from the ruling administration, even if the people need to storm the office of the CIC. While we're waiting for the Maoists to come rescue US people from Bush/Cheney regime's facsism, maybe we can plan a military coup here..

"Finally, in January 1998, the Pentagon's Office of the Special Assistant for Gulf War Illnesses published the following statement: "Combat troops or those working in support generally did not know that DU contaminated equipment, such as enemy vehicles struck by DU rounds, required special handling. The failure to properly disseminate such information to troops at all levels may have resulted in thousands of unnecessary exposures."

Despite this belated recognition of a serious health risk, the military has still not agreed to fund an epidemiological study that would compare the health of vets exposed to DU with those who weren't exposed."

http://www.citizen-soldier.org/CS09-uranium.html