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SCOURGE THE URANIUM DEPLETED Depleted uranium munitions cause environmental contamination and adverse health effects, but US Officials are in denial, refusing to implement clean-up protocols or provide appropriate medical care to victims. Dr Doug Rokke presented this paper at the UNESCO Conference on "The Child: A Victim of War and A Messenger of Peace", held on May 24-25, 2001, in Athens, Greece. ABSTRACT epleted uranium (DU) munitions have been used in combat because they are extremely effective. However, in winning these battles we have contaminated air, water and soil. Consequently children, women and men have inhaled, ingested or had wounds contaminated with uranium. Uranium is a heavy metal and radioactive poison. In this paper, Dr Rokke—the health physicist originally tasked by the United States Army to clean up the DU mess—will discuss: What is depleted uranium? How is DU used by the military? Where and when has DU been used? What did we find immediate- ly after Operation Desert Storm (ODS) friendly-fire and combat incidents? How did the Depleted Uranium Project get started and what were its objectives? What adverse health effects have been observed, recognised, treated and documented? Based on all previous research and the Depleted Uranium Project, what were the recommendations? What has occurred? What should happen next? In summary: medical care must be provided to all DU casualties; environmental reme- diation must be completed; and DU munitions must be banned. Official denials about DU's serious health effects Medical evidence—and especially the birth defects in children born to parents in areas with DU contamination—is an issue of growing concern. Depleted uranium (uranium- 238) as well as other contaminants of war have been implicated. Today, 10 years after the Gulf War, warriors and non-combatants are exhibiting serious adverse health effects from exposure to depleted uranium munitions contamination, Iraq's chemical and biological weapons and released industrial chemicals. While health effects are linked to complex exposures, I would like to focus on depleted uranium or DU. Today, United States, British, Canadian and NATO officials continue to state specifi- cally that there are no known adverse health effects in those of us in the US Department of Veterans Affairs Depleted Uranium medical project. That is a lie, as has been proven by our own medical records based on diagnosis of medical problems completed by our per- sonal primary care physicians. A press report from January 10, 2001, reported that "Defense Secretary William Cohen stated that DU was no more dangerous than leaded paint", and a US Army briefer assure reporters that it was "safe enough to eat". I do not know of any physician who would insinuate that either lead paint or uranium is safe to eat. The children of the world have been poisoned by lead and now by depleted uranium. While government officials continue to deny any relationship between uranium expo- sures and adverse health effects, uranium miners and casualties of war who were expose to uranium contamination are exhibiting the same adverse health effects. Although the Radiation Exposure and Compensation Act of 1990 was supposed to provide compensa- tion payments to these Americans, a report on the front page of the New York Times o: March 27, 2001, described how these individuals were sick and waiting for payments because of inadequate budgetary allocations. I find it very disturbing that while one portion of the US government recognises the serious adverse health effects of uranium exposure, US Department of Defense officials by Doug Rokke, PhD © 2001 2787 C.R. 1200E Rantoul, Illinois 61866 Telephone: +1 (217) 643 6205 Email: Dlind49@aol.com 2787 C.R. 1200E Rantoul, Illinois 61866 Telephone: +1 (217) 643 6205 Email: Dlind49@aol.com JUNE — JULY 2003 NEXUS = 11 by Doug Rokke, PhD © 2001 www.nexusmagazine.com