Oggetto: CADU News - May 2000
Data: Wed, 12 Jul 2000 14:03:32 +0100
Da: Greater Manchester and District CND <gmdcnd@...>
...
Dear All
We have been having some problems with send attachments to E-Mails, so
here's the newsletter as a simple cut and paste effort.
As usual, please feel free to use the articles in this newsletter, but,
always give CADU credit for them
Thanks
Clare Frisby
CADU News May 2000
Issue Number Four
Campaign Against Depleted Uranium,
1) NATO fudges on DU in Kosov@
2) NATO report on DU in Kosov@
3) Yugoslav claims more DU rounds were used
4) Gulf War Veterans
5) Vieques Update
6) DU, NATO, UN and the WHO
7) Mariam Appeal Day for the People of Iraq
8) What is DU in YU action?
9) Depleted Uranium Protesters Convicted of Trespass
10) DU Tank Armour Production Part of Major US Department of Energy
Investigation
11) German Greens Begin Anti-DU initiative.
12) DU found in Scrap Yard
13) CADU Petition
14) What is CADU?
15) CADU Website - volunteer wanted
16) CADU International Conference on Depleted Uranium 4 - 5 November
Manchester
17) BAe Systems wins DU contract
18) IMPORTANT - Affiliate to CADU to receive CADU News
1) NATO FUDGES ON DU IN KOSOV@
NATO finally responded to a request from UN Secretary General, Kofi
Annan,
for information on use of depleted uranium munitions (DU) during the
conflict in the Balkans last year. However, not only did NATO take 5
months to respond to Kofi Annan, in typically uninformative manner they
provided as little information as they could get away with. This in
itself
is indicative of the way in which NATO views both its own role and
status
in world affairs, and that of the UN.
NATO’s secretary-general, George Robertson wrote to Kofi Annan saying
that
American A-10 ground attack aircraft used armour-piercing depleted
uranium
rounds against Serb armoured vehicles during NATO’s 78-day air campaign
last spring. The ammunition was part of the aircraft’s standard load.
"DU (depleted uranium) rounds were used whenever the A-10 engaged armour
during Operation Allied Force, therefore, it was used throughout Kosovo,
during approximately 100 missions."
The NATO letter said U.S. jets had fired approximately 31,000 rounds of
depleted uranium during the war against Yugoslavia. That translates to
about 10 1/2 tons — or 21,000 pounds — of ammunition, experts say.
By comparison, the United States and Britain fired 630,000 pounds of
depleted uranium in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq during the Gulf War,
according to the Pentagon.
The UN’s Annan had requested the information on depleted uranium targets
last October. A U.N. team sent to Kosovo last summer to investigate the
habitability of the region after the war could not assess the threat
posed
by depleted uranium contamination, because the Pentagon and NATO refused
to
divulge where the ammunition had been fired.
NATO has now provided a map of where DU was used with their letter, (see
above) but the map is totally inadequate as it is in no way detailed
enough
to assess environmental pollution caused by DU
"The major focus of these operations was in an area west of the
Pec-Dakovica-Prizren highway, in the area surrounding Klina, in the area
around Prizen and in an area to the north of a line joining Suva Reka
and
Urosevac," the letter said.
Robertson noted in NATO’s letter that the map was not complete, saying
"many missions using DU also took place outside of these areas." He
concluded: "At this moment it is impossible to state accurately every
location where DU ammunition was used."
The Pentagon has tried to downplay the risks of exposure to depleted
uranium dust and debris since the 1991 Persian Gulf War.
Dan Fahey, of the Military Toxics Project in the US, said the map raised
questions about the safety of people living in areas contaminated by
depleted uranium dust and debris, as well as the health of peacekeeping
troops and relief workers.
"It is NATO’s responsibility, and specifically the responsibility of the
United States, to go in there and start doing a clean-up, especially
considering the fact we were fighting the war to protect the civilian
populations and enable them to live in their land free of external
harm,"
Pentagon spokesman Vic Warzinski said depleted uranium contamination was
"not that major of a threat" in Kosovo.
For more information, try Website:
www.homepage.jefnet.com/gwvrl/
2) NATO Report on DU and Kosov@
A draft special report, from the Civilian Affairs Committee of the NATO
Parliamentary Assembly released a report which makes interesting reading
for those of us involved in the DU issue. Rapporteur, Volker Kroning of
Germany suggests in this report that the lawfulness of the use of DU in
Kosov@ could be challenged under International Humanitarian Law.
The report, entitled ‘Kosovo and International Humanitarian Law’
examines
which aspects of NATO’s intervention may have clashed with International
Humanitarian Law (IHL), and what NATO members can do to improve the
application and enforcement of this law by all members of the
international
community.
The relevant section, ‘The Use of Certain Weapons’ begins by stating
that
"one of the most controversial aspects of NATO’s intervention in Kosovo
was
the use of certain types of weapons, in particular cluster bombs and
depleted uranium (DU) munitions". In relation to DU specifically, the
report has the following to say:-
"Depleted uranium is 0.7 times as radioactive as naturally
occurring
uranium, and has a half-life of 4.5 billion years. While the type of
radiation emitted by depleted uranium (alpha particles) has little
penetrative capabilities, DU attacks often result in the dispersion of
fine
radioactive dust, which, when inhaled, is likely to be trapped in the
(DU
is insoluble), where it can have a more serious effect. Furthermore, DU
bears many of the same poisonous characteristics as other heavy metals
such
as lead, whose effects are known to be hazardous. So far, although
scientific inquiries into the toxicity of DU are underway, there is
insufficient information to conclude that DU munitions have a
long-lasting
nefarious effect which could affect civilian populations. Nevertheless,
in
light of media coverage of its use in both the Gulf War and Kosovo, of
the
imposition of safety guidelines issued to KFOR soldiers, and indications
that DU promotes growth of cancerous cells in lab cell cultures, the
lawfulness of its use could challenged under IHL.
One of the chief problems is that spent DU munitions may be a source of
danger long after hostilities have ceased. Should DU munitions be
recognised as posing a lasting radioactive and chemical poisoning
threat,
their prohibition may be invoked through Article 23(a) of the 1907 Hague
Convention, which prohibits the use of poison. Even if DU munitions are
recognised as radioactively and/or chemically harmful, whether they
qualify
as poison is a
debatable issue. Another issue is whether DU munitions qualify, as they
do
in the opinion of some, as a type of nuclear weapon. The question then
is
the use of nuclear weapons is permissible under IHL, although no
international legal instrument specifically prohibits them. In the eyes
of
many legal experts, as well as the International Court of Justice, the
requirement to avoid attacks of an indiscriminate nature (Art. 51/4 and
51/5 of PI) intrinsically prohibits the use of nuclear weapons, as well
as
the use of weapons which have lasting environmental pollution effects."
[Italics are mine]
The report concludes that NATO’s reliance on air power, to fulfil its
‘zero-casualty’ aim is "if not legally, then morally objectionable". The
report goes on to quote Henry Kissinger (of all people) "What kind of
humanism expresses its reluctance to suffer military casualties by
devastating the civilian economy of its adversary for years to come"
The full report can be seen on the following NATO Website:
www.naa.be/publications/comrep/1999/as245cc-e.html
By Cath at CADU
3) Yugoslav study claims more DU rounds were used
In a report from the Yugoslav Defence Ministry, issued last month, it
was
claimed that NATO in fact used far more rounds of depleted uranium than
was
admitted by western leaders. Gen. Slobodan Petkovic, Deputy Defence
Minister, who presented the report said NATO used about 50,000 rounds
containing depleted uranium, whereas the letter from NATO to the United
Nations earlier this year mentioned only about 30,000 (see front page).
A team of Yugoslav experts undertook the study of all the environmental
effects of the NATO air strikes. They say NATO warplanes used depleted
uranium rounds on eight sites in Yugoslavia during the alliance's 78-day
bombing campaign last year.
The locations contaminated by the depleted uranium and described in the
75-page document include six sites in Serbia and one in Montenegro,
Serbia's smaller partner in the Yugoslav federation.
The eighth location is in Kosovo, Serbia's southern province. The region
is
now run by U.N. and NATO peace keepers, preventing examination of the
contamination by a Yugoslav team.
The Yugoslav authorities accuse Nato of polluting the soil, air and
water
through its attacks on oil refineries and chemical factories. Petkovic
said
most of the rounds were fired on Kosovo along the border with Albania.
For
the first time, the Yugoslav army has admitted that radioactive
materials
were dropped outside Kosovo as well. Petkovic said the areas had been
sealed off and Yugoslav experts had detected radioactivity well above
safe
levels. Some of the affected areas are said to be in parts of southern
Serbia, where there is a high ethnic Albanian population.
4) Gulf War Veterans
In view of the conclusion to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly Report (see
page 2), which states that NATO’s zero-casualty war is ‘morally
objectionable’, it is worth noting that this ‘zero’ isn’t quite what it
seems. During the Gulf War of 1991, only 49 British soldiers were killed
-
testimony to the new era of modern warfare which relies heavily on air
power, and weapons such as DU munitions.
However, since this time, over 400 Gulf War veterans have died. Only 40
out of the 35,000 British forces in the Gulf have been tested for DU
poisoning; but all have tested positive. This is the new warfare - when
the war is over, the killing continues. And this killing is entirely
indiscriminate.
5) VIEQUES UPDATE
In the last CADU news we reported on the situation in Vieques, an island
in
Puerto Rico, where the US Navy has been testing munitions including DU
for
50 years. Locals had been camped out on the testing ranges to prevent
the
US military from re-commencing testing there. As CADU news goes to
press,
the latest on the situation is featured below:
"On May 4 federal authorities began to arrest the people conducting
Civil
Disobedience in Vieques. This has been considered as an offence of the
U.S. Government against the will of the people of Vieques and Puerto
Rico
that took back their land for one full year to prevent the bombing and
shelling of the Island. The U.S. Government's response to the demands
for
Human Rights of the people of Vieques was a military invasion of Vieques
that was met with no resistance by the protesters that from the outset
had
vowed to non-violence Civil Disobedience.
The diverse group of protesters that have been arrested is composed by
grassroots community leaders and members of the community at-large,
religious leaders, elected officials from Puerto Rico and the US,
including
two members of the U.S. Congress and members of the Puerto Rican
Legislature; leaders of the Puerto Rican Independence party, students,
union members, and known artists. Spirits where high and protesters
were
calm as they promised to be back to prevent the resumption of the
bombings.
The struggle of David versus Goliath has reached a new stage and will
surely continue and intensify until the final goal of a Navy-free
Vieques
is achieved.
This is the moment to put forward all planned activities of protest or
to
plan protest events in your community. Today and tomorrow many protests
will take place in U.S. and Puerto Rico."
The protesters in Vieques have called for supporters to write to Clinton
to
condemn the use of force by the federal authorities to remove the
protesters. - President Clinton, The White House, Washington DC 20500.
More information from their Website on www.viequeslibre.org
6) DU, NATO, UN and the WHO!
The following is an unedited article from the San Francisco Examiner, of
May 1st, reproduced here because it offers some insight into DU on the
world stage.
'Depleted uranium': A tale of poisonous denial
By Robert James Parsons
GENEVA - When a United Nations agency announced that NATO had officially
confirmed using depleted-uranium munitions in Kosovo, the story hit the
world's media, then quickly faded.
The agency went on record as saying that there was too little
information
for firm conclusions but no cause for serious concern. The Pentagon
officially echoed this, and attention shifted elsewhere.
For those following the story, this was another episode in a game of
hide-and-don't-tell that the U.S. government has been playing for years,
both at home and abroad. But as the game continues, there is cause for
serious concern.
The U.S. government denies there is anything harmful about depleted
uranium
that would prevent its use in battle situations anywhere. Numerous
independent experts say depleted uranium is deadly and will pollute
indefinitely those areas struck by the munitions. They blame it for
most
of the illnesses of Persian Gulf war syndrome.
The Military Toxics Project, a non-governmental organisation that has
been
tracking depleted uranium for years, has just published an update. Dan
Fahey, its author and the project's research director for depleted
uranium,
draws primarily on declassified government documents and public
statements,
building a grim indictment of irresponsibility that is nothing short of
criminal.
Since the first use of depleted uranium in the Iraq war (a use that
continues today with the bombing of the no-fly zones), the controversy
has
spread into the international arena, including the United Nations.
During the Kosovo war, the Pentagon brought out a RAND Corporation think
tank study to prove once and for all that depleted uranium is harmless.
Independent experts, contesting the use of depleted uranium in Kosovo
and
Serbia, protested.
Later, in a paper entitled "Fear of Falling," Fahey analysed the study
in
detail, showing it to be a sham. Yet the U.S. government still cites it
as
a proof that the depleted uranium problem has been laid to rest.
But NATO's admission, even unofficial, of depleted uranium use in the
Kosovo war alarmed aid agencies operating there.
The World Health Organisation was asked to investigate. The WHO,
however,
has an agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency giving the
latter the last word over anything touching public health and radiation.
A fact sheet on depleted uranium announced as in the works, was
cancelled.
(The Atomic Energy Agency was set up in '50s by the nuclear powers of
the
time to push the nuclear industry on a public wary of living with
nuclear
waste and with radiation in general. The United States plays a dominant
role within it. Holding the only mandate in the U.N. system to promote a
part of the private sector, it has been repeatedly denounced by
non-governmental organisations as incompatible with the ideals expressed
in
the U.N. charter.)
An initial U.N. mission to Yugoslavia in May produced a report of
serious
contamination by depleted uranium. The report's sponsor, the United
Nations
Environment Program's director, Klaus Toepfer, suppressed it - under
pressure from Washington, according to inside sources. It nonetheless
eventually leaked out.
The program's Balkans Task Force brought out a major study in October,
but
the section on depleted uranium had been whittled down from 72 pages to
two
on orders from Toepfer, again apparently under pressure from Washington.
The task force had tried to involve the WHO, but the Atomic Energy
Agency,
in keeping with the agreement, excluded the WHO from the radiation
appraisal. Measuring was done using Geiger counters incapable of
detecting
the particular alpha radiation that depleted uranium emits, and none was
found.
Meantime, in August, the WHO had announced it was undertaking a
"generic"
(general) study of depleted uranium, but no details were available. In
March, it became known that the study was under the WHO's Dr. Michael
Repacholi, an electromagnetic field expert, who, it has since been
discovered, has delegated it to Barry Smith, a consultant in England,
who
is a geologist.
Faced with the Atomic Energy Agency's opposition to studying radiation
and
health, the WHO has opted to study DU as a heavy metal pollutant.
This is hardly of help to those exposed to tons of virtually
indestructible
radioactive dust particles, including the international aid agencies
awaiting an official pronouncement from the WHO.
The recent NATO confirmation of depleted uranium use in Kosovo, complete
with a map, should have finally sounded the alarm.
After being put on hold for six months by NATO, the task force finally
had
something specific and official, but the pressure was on to play it
down.
The publication of the map in a Geneva daily on the day that the task
force
was meeting to decide on strategy forced its hand.
When the task force chairman, former Finnish environmental minister
Pekka
Haavisto, called a press conference to disclose the map and its
accompanying letter, it was Toepfer's spokesperson, the man who had cut
out
the 70 pages from the October report, not Haavisto's, who orchestrated
the
event.
Not surprisingly, Haavisto was kept on a leash. Hence the announced
conclusion: no cause for serious concern.
But there are indications that not everybody agrees.
The UN’s High Commissioner for Refugees, the main coordinator of aid to
Kosovo, has quietly decided to refrain from sending pregnant staff to
Kosovo, to offer those assigned there the option of going elsewhere and
to
put a note into the personnel files of those sent there - to facilitate
compensation claims for illnesses that might develop from depleted
uranium
contamination.
The German and Dutch governments, whose occupation zones coincide with
the
areas hardest hit by depleted uranium, according to NATO's map, have
ordered their soldiers not to eat anything outside their post mess
halls,
especially not from the surrounding countryside. This echoes independent
experts' claims that the dust has entered the food chain of the region.
Dutch soldiers stationed last fall in part of the same heavily hit area
(around Prizren) had to hand in all clothing and equipment, which was
then
shipped back to the Netherlands sealed in heavy-duty plastic.
The government claimed asbestos contamination, but a Dutch military
source
points to DU, noting that the vehicles, also sent back, ended up in a
radiation decontamination plant.
Fahey's "Don't Look, Don't Find" discusses a U.S. Army report issued
well
before the Gulf War: "Though no anti-DU movement existed at the time,
the
Army predicted that DU munitions might be removed from the arsenal by
political force once the health and environmental impacts of DU were
widely
known."
Although the U.S. government seems intent on keeping those impacts
unknown,
the public is finding out. Mariam Appeal Day for the People of Iraq.
7) Mariam Appeal Day for the People of Iraq
by Cat Euler
Over 1,000 people attended the immensely successful Mariam Appeal
conference in London last month. Iraqi artists displayed the amazing
range
of creativity for which the Tigris and Euphrates region has long been
known. Middle Eastern food and music added to the celebration of
culture
which must continue, despite the horrendous effects of sanctions and
depleted uranium. This is when human beings reach their finest hour: to
create, to live, to survive with dignity and art in the midst of
deprivation and death. It is an inspiration to all of us.
Both the showing of the Hugh Livingstone video, The Ultimate Bullet, and
the DU workshop which followed, were also well attended, with some 50
people at each. The video is a sobering and well documented account of
the
journey of a US Gulf War vet to Iraq to meet with Iraqi veterans of the
same war, to discover the similar sufferings which both have
experienced.
It is a good teaching tool for those of you who are organising local
meetings on depleted uranium.
I began the workshop with some overheads showing the US DoD map of the
extensive area of southern Iraq where DU munitions were used. I quickly
discovered the difference between presenting information on DU to people
who have no thought that they or their loved ones might be contaminated,
and presenting the same information to people who have relatives living
in
Basra. Rather than being concerned with theoretical or strictly
scientific
information about isotopes, the questions on practical matters came
thick
and fast. "My nephew lives in Basra, are all the buildings there
contaminated?" "Is it possible to clean it up?" "Is there any hope for
us?" I tried to answer these moving questions as simply and accurately
as
possible. It is unlikely, I said, that the heaviest contamination
travels
more than a few dozen or, at most, hundred metres from the point of
impact.
However, we have documented evidence that DU particles can travel on
the
winds as far as 40 km. Further documented measurements need to be
carried
out in order to establish the maximum distance. We can’t know how much
contamination exists in Basra without a full radiological survey. There
are probably spots which have greater and lesser or no contamination.
Yes,
I said, it may be possible to ‘clean it up’ in the sense that it can be
isolated from the human environment for a long time if it is properly
buried. However, the known methods would cost billions of pounds for an
extensive geographical area, and the recently announced chemical binding
methods, though perhaps less costly, are untried. I feel as though I
don’t
have enough information on their effect on both soluble and insoluble
dust
particles. I said the US and British governments should take
responsibility
for funding the clean up. I said it was important that people in the
area
drank distilled water whenever possible, but the look of despair on some
people’s faces told me how impossible it seemed in conditions of
sanctions
to obtain even this. Yes, I said, I always believe there is hope, that
while there is life there is always hope. I must believe this, and why
not?
The people from the region are deeply concerned, and do not have
sufficient
information. Their concerns and fears were echoed by many I spoke to
during a trip to Belgrade last month. Women do not know how their babies
will be affected; they do not know where the contamination is, and they
must continue living and surviving in sanctions-deprived circumstances
despite the fear that comes with not knowing. I now hold very close to
my
heart the difference between providing information to the interested and
providing information to the victims. In Serbia, too, the music and art
continue.
Other DU activists also contributed valuable information at the
workshop.
One woman told us of her constant letters to members of parliament and
the
civil service. She had been told, in one response, that the Department
for
International Development (DfID) was in partnership with the World
Health
Organisation (WHO) to carry out cancer and other health surveys in Iraq.
However, they were only looking at health effects and had no plans to
look
at causation, and no plans to survey DU contamination. This attitude on
the part of WHO, also expressed at the UN, may very well be related to
the
1959 agreement WHO signed with the International Atomic Energy Authority
(IAEA), which mandates mutual agreement for overlapping research
interests,
and agrees on secrecy for ‘sensitive’ information.
8) What is DU in YU action?
DU in YU is non-government, non-profit organisation that gathers people
that are willing to act in anti DU campaign in Yugoslavia.
Also, it covers wider problems of ecology and danger from nuclear and
radioactive sources.
DU in YU action centre is located in Nis, second biggest town in
Yugoslavia, 250 km southern of Belgrade, and only 50 km eastern from
Kosovo. The DU danger is very real here, although DU probably hadn't
been
used in the town itself (the nearest location where DU traces were found
is
Nis Airport, located 5 km from town centre). The biggest threat to the
citizens of Nis came from the south; more that 80% of food that people
of
Nis consume came from zones of high risk: Vranje, Bujanovac, Presevo,
Leskovac, Prokuplje, areas where it's confirmed that DU had been used.
We
will try to inform people of Nis about DU in our local environment, as
well
as citizens of towns where DU was used. We plan to organise public
lectures, TV and radio campaign, and to demand from our authorities to
protect the sites where DU is found. We would also try to make an
international impact as the only NGO in Yugoslavia whose main task is to
protect people from DU. We also hope that we can make a network
of local ecological organisations in southern Serbia, and, in future, on
the national level.
We will try to cooperate with all relevant people and institutions in
Serbia as well as from abroad. We've already got a response from some
nuclear physicist from "Vinca Nuclear Institute" in Belgrade, Prof. Dr
Vladimir Ajdacic among the others.
We are looking forward to any kind of co-operation and help from all
organisations and people that are working on DU topic.
Our address is: Bul. Februar 65a, 18000 Nis, Yugoslavia
Phone: 381 18 43 166, Fax: 381 18 43 828
You can contact us on the following e-mail addresses:
nikolab@... - Nikola Bozinovic
mina_zdravkovic@... - Mina Zdravkovic
9) DEPLETED URANIUM PROTESTERS CONVICTED OF TRESPASS
Minnetonka, Sixty-three human rights, peace and anti-war activists were
convicted of trespass following a 2 1/2-hour bench trial in Hennepin
County
District Court here.
The group walked onto the property of Alliant Techsystems, Inc. Nov. 1,
1999 to protest the company’s manufacture of depleted uranium-238 (DU)
weapons.
The demonstrators, were all fined $25, except for ten who spent more
than
eight hours in custody after their arrest. They were sentenced to time
served.
Char Madigan, a peace activist with Minnesota Alliant Action and the
Midwest Institute for Social Transformation, said the defendants had
"won
the lowest fine ever," in the long series of protests at the company's
gates.
Judge Gary Larson appeared to listen patiently as seven of the
defendants
testified as representatives of the larger group. Several testified to
the
international and U.S. Air Force laws that forbid the use of poison or
poisoned weapons in war. The argument was presented as an affirmative
defence known as a "claim of right." Trespass is permitted in Minnesota
law
if the defendant can show that some higher authority allows the
intrusion.
In spite of testimony regarding the international treaties and U.S.
military law that prohibit the government from employing weapons such as
"poison gas and all analogous materials, liquids or devices," or weapons
that "kill our wound treacherously" or that "cause serious or long-term
damage to the natural environment," the Judge ruled that the claim of
right
had not been established.
The Constitution of the United States holds that treaty law is the
"supreme
law of the land" and that it binds "every judge in every state."
Alliant Techsystems assembled 15 million so-called PGU-14 rounds, a
"depleted uranium penetrator" for the A-10 Warthog, the U.S./NATO plane
used to shoot DU munitions into Kosovo in 1999, and into Iraq in 1991.
10) DU TANK ARMOR PRODUCTION PART OF MAJOR US Department of Energy (DOE)
INVESTIGATION
The Department of Energy next month plans to finalise an extensive
report
that investigates whether workers were subjected to greater exposure
hazards than previously thought in the recycling of uranium for use in
various projects, including the creation of tank armour.
The DOE is trying to track the flow, over nearly 50 years, of recycled
uranium throughout the DOE complex and its characteristics to determine
possible health and environmental issues, according to a memo from DOE
Deputy Secretary Glauthier. The project, called the Historical
Generation
and Flow of Recycled Uranium in the DOE Complex but commonly known as
the
mass balance project, will identify any additional exposure hazards
related
to recycled uranium and estimate the number of workers exposed. DOE
needs
to determine "whether radioactive fission products and plutonium in the
uranium feed or waste streams existed in concentrations that present a
potential health or environmental concern," Glauthier said in the memo.
Transuranic materials such as plutonium and neptunium are more
radioactive
than natural uranium.
In part, the project looks at material sent to the Specific
Manufacturing
Capabilities (SMC) facility at DoE’s Idaho National Engineering Lab to
determine whether potential additional worker exposures exist due to
transuranic contamination. The SMC facility received metallic depleted
uranium (DU) from DOE plants in Ohio and Colorado, and from that
manufactured tank armour for the military, DOE sources say.
DOE officials say they have dismissed concerns over whether tank armour
itself is more dangerous to soldiers due to the possible transuranic
contamination. A DOE source says this is because the level of
transuranic
materials that would be present is minuscule. The department is also
characterising metallic DU at Paducah and its Fernald, OH, facility,
which
commercial facilities could have received to make DU rounds. In a Jan.
20
letter to an environmental group regarding the project, DOE names three
commercial businesses that produced DU rounds. The Fernald Environmental
Management Project is now "compiling data on the depleted uranium and
the
shipment of this material," the letter says.
DOE launched the massive project last fall, in response to workers and
the
public's concern over potential effects on workers at the department's
Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Kentucky.
>From the US Dept. of Defence Website, thanks to Dan Fahey for posting
11) GERMAN GREENS BEGIN ANTI-DU INITIATIVE
The parliamentary group of the Greens in the Federal German Parliament
on
May 17 announced the start of an initiative for the ban of DU weapons.
The
initiative comprises the following steps:
1) formulation of a parliamentary motion (together with the Social
Democrats) for the ban of DU weapons; the motion would at the same time
instruct the Federal Government to work for an international ban of DU
weapons,
2) the Federal Government shall try to make NATO release more detailed
information on DU use in Kosovo,
3) sufficient protective measures are to be taken in the areas concerned
from DU weapons use,
4) the Ministry of Defence shall conduct preventive measures for
the
protection of German soldiers in Kosovo, and shall instruct them on
possible compensation claims.
This is clearly excellent news for all anti-DU campaigners, and we hope
that other parliamentarians in other countries follow this lead. For
anyone who is interested and can read German, the full text of the
announcement is on the web, at
http://www.gruene-fraktion.de/aktuell/neu/index-uran.htm
12) DU found in Scrap Yard
A rubbish tip manager in Suffolk, England, thought the large lump of
metal
he found in a skip might have some scrap value - until he found that he
had
been carrying 20lb of depleted uranium in his van for 6 months.
According
to a report in the national newspapers, Nicholas Remblance had forgotten
all about the metal until his van set off the Geiger counter at a
weighbridge. Firemen in protective clothing and experts from the nuclear
power station in Sizewell were brought in to investigate and the yard
was
sealed off. Initial tests on Mr Remblance indicated he had not been
affected, but further investigations will be carried out in a few weeks
time. The Environment Agency has ordered an investigation into how the
block turned up in Mr Remblance’s scrap yard.
13) CADU Petition
Enclosed in CADU news this month is a copy of a petition which we would
like supporters to get signatures for. Please photocopy and distribute
-
if you don’t have access to photocopying facilities, we can send you
more.
We hope to have thousands of signatures by the autumn, and add to the
growing pressure on the government to ban DU. The petitions should be
returned to us by the end of October, as we will be collecting them
together to hand in during the international conference on 4th November
(see inside). However, please get them to us as soon as they are
completed,
particularly if signatories have ticked the box requesting more
information
- then we can respond quickly.
14) What is CADU?
The Campaign Against Depleted Uranium is a small, mainly voluntary group
based in Manchester, England which was set up in 1999 to campaign for a
ban
on depleted uranium weapons. We are linked to both European and
international networks opposed to DU. We produce a briefing pack,
leaflets,
other resources and have a display available for loan. Groups and
individuals can affiliate to CADU and will receive this newsletter
quarterly. CADU’s aims are:-
n To fight for a global ban on the manufacture, export, testing and use
of
DU weapons.
n To fight for recognition by the Ministry of Defence that these weapons
are connected with illnesses among Gulf War Veterans and civilians in
Iraq
and elsewhere.
n To put pressure on governments to take responsibility for
environmental
decontamination in areas where they have used DU.
15) CADU Website - volunteer wanted!
CADU now has its own Website, as we said in the last newsletter. The
address is www.cadu.com - easy to remember. We have only just got this
Website up so please bear with us if we have teething problems - we are
new
to this technology. If any of our supporters has web technology skills,
and would like to volunteer to be responsible for maintaining and
updating
our Website - we would love to hear from you. It would really help us
out,
as we are over-stretched as it is. It is a job which could be done
fairly
easily from any part of the country - so get in touch if you think you
may
be the person to help.
16) CADU International Conference on Depleted Uranium 4th - 5th
November 2000
Note change of date due to venue difficulties
Bringing Together Speakers and
Campaigners from All Over the World
We hope this international conference will be an opportunity not
only to
provide accessible information to those not familiar with the issue, but
also provide a working platform for activists to collaborate on key
global
strategies for removing the threat of depleted uranium from all peoples,
and for putting pressure on governments to respond appropriately to this
threat.
The conference will begin at 9am on Saturday 4 November and
conclude at 5
pm on Sunday. The plenary sessions will include speakers from Iraq,
Serbia, and veterans groups. Scientists will present the latest
information on the testing programmes and medical effects. Workshops on
the huge range of issues related to DU include: law, the nuclear
industry,
UN work, government responses, Gulf War and Balkans veterans, clean up
operations, practical support for those affected, the role of the World
Health Organisation and the IAEA, environmental effects, non-violent
protest actions, etc. There will be time for questions from the floor as
well as spontaneously organised workshops.
Speakers already confirmed include: Dr Rosalie Bertell, Doug Rokke,
Military Toxics Project, Dr Chris Busby of the Low Level Radiation
Project,
Bernice Boermans of IALANA, Prof. Malcolm Hooper of the University of
Sunderland
Leaflets with registration details will be available shortly, and
conference programmes will be sent out with your registration pack.
For further information contact Cat Euler, Conference Organiser, at the
CADU office
17) BAE Systems wins DU contract
Jane’s Defence Weekly reported several months ago, that the Ministry of
Defence (UK) selected the Royal Ordnance Division of British Aerospace
Systems to provide the 120mm CHARM 3 Training Round (the name for the DU
bullet) for use in the Challenger battle tanks in service with the
British
Army. It reports that they will be produced at Royal Ordnance
facilities
in Birtley and Glascoed, in a contract worth up to £100 million.
Do any readers live near any of these production plants, or have any
more
information about them? Please get in touch.
17) IMPORTANT - Affiliate to CADU to receive CADU News
We are asking our supporters to now affiliate formally to CADU by
completing the form below. Affiliation means you will automatically
receive
CADU news quarterly. Alternatively, individuals or groups can affiliate
by
becoming ‘Supporting Subscribers’, by contributing a minimum of £2 per
month or £24 per year regularly to CADU, and filling in the standing
order
form below & send it back to us.
Thanks to everyone who has been keeping our campaign going with your
kind
donations. (If you have recently donated and feel that this should
count
as your annual affiliation fee, please write a note to such effect on
the
form)
I would like to affiliate to CADU (please print out and send back by
snail
mail - E-Mail affiliations are free but the extra income from postal
affiliations is always welcome)
Name
Address
The affiliation rates (including 1 copy of CADU News quarterly) are: -
£5 individuals per year £20 groups per year
* I enclose a cheque for for yearly affiliation
* Or, I have filled in the standing order form below for my yearly
affiliation (it is much easier for CADU if affiliators could pay by
standing order, just enter £5 or £20 below)
Account Name Account Number
Bank Name Sort
Code
Bank Address
I authorise the payment of £ every month / year (delete as
appropriate)
starting from (enter date), until
further notice, to Campaign Against
Depleted Uranium, (bank sort code 08-92-99, Account number 65042867)
Co-op
bank, Kings Valley Yew St, Stockport, Cheshire SK4 2JU
Signed Date
****************************************************************************
**************************************
Greater Manchester and District Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
(GM&DCND),
One World Centre, 6 Mount Street, Manchester, M2 5NS, UK
Tel: +44 (0)161 834 8301, Fax: +44 (0)161 834 8187, E-Mail:
gmdcnd@...
***NEW CADU CONTACT DETAILS PLEASE READ CAREFULLY***
The Campaign Against Depleted Uranium (CADU) can also be contacted at
the
above address and fax number, BUT the phone number is: +44 (0)161 834
8176
The CADU web site is: www.cadu.org.uk
*Should you wish to receive the quarterly CADU mailing by E-Mail please
send a message to the above E-Mail address*
****************************************************************************
****************************************
Data: Wed, 12 Jul 2000 14:03:32 +0100
Da: Greater Manchester and District CND <gmdcnd@...>
...
Dear All
We have been having some problems with send attachments to E-Mails, so
here's the newsletter as a simple cut and paste effort.
As usual, please feel free to use the articles in this newsletter, but,
always give CADU credit for them
Thanks
Clare Frisby
CADU News May 2000
Issue Number Four
Campaign Against Depleted Uranium,
1) NATO fudges on DU in Kosov@
2) NATO report on DU in Kosov@
3) Yugoslav claims more DU rounds were used
4) Gulf War Veterans
5) Vieques Update
6) DU, NATO, UN and the WHO
7) Mariam Appeal Day for the People of Iraq
8) What is DU in YU action?
9) Depleted Uranium Protesters Convicted of Trespass
10) DU Tank Armour Production Part of Major US Department of Energy
Investigation
11) German Greens Begin Anti-DU initiative.
12) DU found in Scrap Yard
13) CADU Petition
14) What is CADU?
15) CADU Website - volunteer wanted
16) CADU International Conference on Depleted Uranium 4 - 5 November
Manchester
17) BAe Systems wins DU contract
18) IMPORTANT - Affiliate to CADU to receive CADU News
1) NATO FUDGES ON DU IN KOSOV@
NATO finally responded to a request from UN Secretary General, Kofi
Annan,
for information on use of depleted uranium munitions (DU) during the
conflict in the Balkans last year. However, not only did NATO take 5
months to respond to Kofi Annan, in typically uninformative manner they
provided as little information as they could get away with. This in
itself
is indicative of the way in which NATO views both its own role and
status
in world affairs, and that of the UN.
NATO’s secretary-general, George Robertson wrote to Kofi Annan saying
that
American A-10 ground attack aircraft used armour-piercing depleted
uranium
rounds against Serb armoured vehicles during NATO’s 78-day air campaign
last spring. The ammunition was part of the aircraft’s standard load.
"DU (depleted uranium) rounds were used whenever the A-10 engaged armour
during Operation Allied Force, therefore, it was used throughout Kosovo,
during approximately 100 missions."
The NATO letter said U.S. jets had fired approximately 31,000 rounds of
depleted uranium during the war against Yugoslavia. That translates to
about 10 1/2 tons — or 21,000 pounds — of ammunition, experts say.
By comparison, the United States and Britain fired 630,000 pounds of
depleted uranium in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq during the Gulf War,
according to the Pentagon.
The UN’s Annan had requested the information on depleted uranium targets
last October. A U.N. team sent to Kosovo last summer to investigate the
habitability of the region after the war could not assess the threat
posed
by depleted uranium contamination, because the Pentagon and NATO refused
to
divulge where the ammunition had been fired.
NATO has now provided a map of where DU was used with their letter, (see
above) but the map is totally inadequate as it is in no way detailed
enough
to assess environmental pollution caused by DU
"The major focus of these operations was in an area west of the
Pec-Dakovica-Prizren highway, in the area surrounding Klina, in the area
around Prizen and in an area to the north of a line joining Suva Reka
and
Urosevac," the letter said.
Robertson noted in NATO’s letter that the map was not complete, saying
"many missions using DU also took place outside of these areas." He
concluded: "At this moment it is impossible to state accurately every
location where DU ammunition was used."
The Pentagon has tried to downplay the risks of exposure to depleted
uranium dust and debris since the 1991 Persian Gulf War.
Dan Fahey, of the Military Toxics Project in the US, said the map raised
questions about the safety of people living in areas contaminated by
depleted uranium dust and debris, as well as the health of peacekeeping
troops and relief workers.
"It is NATO’s responsibility, and specifically the responsibility of the
United States, to go in there and start doing a clean-up, especially
considering the fact we were fighting the war to protect the civilian
populations and enable them to live in their land free of external
harm,"
Pentagon spokesman Vic Warzinski said depleted uranium contamination was
"not that major of a threat" in Kosovo.
For more information, try Website:
www.homepage.jefnet.com/gwvrl/
2) NATO Report on DU and Kosov@
A draft special report, from the Civilian Affairs Committee of the NATO
Parliamentary Assembly released a report which makes interesting reading
for those of us involved in the DU issue. Rapporteur, Volker Kroning of
Germany suggests in this report that the lawfulness of the use of DU in
Kosov@ could be challenged under International Humanitarian Law.
The report, entitled ‘Kosovo and International Humanitarian Law’
examines
which aspects of NATO’s intervention may have clashed with International
Humanitarian Law (IHL), and what NATO members can do to improve the
application and enforcement of this law by all members of the
international
community.
The relevant section, ‘The Use of Certain Weapons’ begins by stating
that
"one of the most controversial aspects of NATO’s intervention in Kosovo
was
the use of certain types of weapons, in particular cluster bombs and
depleted uranium (DU) munitions". In relation to DU specifically, the
report has the following to say:-
"Depleted uranium is 0.7 times as radioactive as naturally
occurring
uranium, and has a half-life of 4.5 billion years. While the type of
radiation emitted by depleted uranium (alpha particles) has little
penetrative capabilities, DU attacks often result in the dispersion of
fine
radioactive dust, which, when inhaled, is likely to be trapped in the
(DU
is insoluble), where it can have a more serious effect. Furthermore, DU
bears many of the same poisonous characteristics as other heavy metals
such
as lead, whose effects are known to be hazardous. So far, although
scientific inquiries into the toxicity of DU are underway, there is
insufficient information to conclude that DU munitions have a
long-lasting
nefarious effect which could affect civilian populations. Nevertheless,
in
light of media coverage of its use in both the Gulf War and Kosovo, of
the
imposition of safety guidelines issued to KFOR soldiers, and indications
that DU promotes growth of cancerous cells in lab cell cultures, the
lawfulness of its use could challenged under IHL.
One of the chief problems is that spent DU munitions may be a source of
danger long after hostilities have ceased. Should DU munitions be
recognised as posing a lasting radioactive and chemical poisoning
threat,
their prohibition may be invoked through Article 23(a) of the 1907 Hague
Convention, which prohibits the use of poison. Even if DU munitions are
recognised as radioactively and/or chemically harmful, whether they
qualify
as poison is a
debatable issue. Another issue is whether DU munitions qualify, as they
do
in the opinion of some, as a type of nuclear weapon. The question then
is
the use of nuclear weapons is permissible under IHL, although no
international legal instrument specifically prohibits them. In the eyes
of
many legal experts, as well as the International Court of Justice, the
requirement to avoid attacks of an indiscriminate nature (Art. 51/4 and
51/5 of PI) intrinsically prohibits the use of nuclear weapons, as well
as
the use of weapons which have lasting environmental pollution effects."
[Italics are mine]
The report concludes that NATO’s reliance on air power, to fulfil its
‘zero-casualty’ aim is "if not legally, then morally objectionable". The
report goes on to quote Henry Kissinger (of all people) "What kind of
humanism expresses its reluctance to suffer military casualties by
devastating the civilian economy of its adversary for years to come"
The full report can be seen on the following NATO Website:
www.naa.be/publications/comrep/1999/as245cc-e.html
By Cath at CADU
3) Yugoslav study claims more DU rounds were used
In a report from the Yugoslav Defence Ministry, issued last month, it
was
claimed that NATO in fact used far more rounds of depleted uranium than
was
admitted by western leaders. Gen. Slobodan Petkovic, Deputy Defence
Minister, who presented the report said NATO used about 50,000 rounds
containing depleted uranium, whereas the letter from NATO to the United
Nations earlier this year mentioned only about 30,000 (see front page).
A team of Yugoslav experts undertook the study of all the environmental
effects of the NATO air strikes. They say NATO warplanes used depleted
uranium rounds on eight sites in Yugoslavia during the alliance's 78-day
bombing campaign last year.
The locations contaminated by the depleted uranium and described in the
75-page document include six sites in Serbia and one in Montenegro,
Serbia's smaller partner in the Yugoslav federation.
The eighth location is in Kosovo, Serbia's southern province. The region
is
now run by U.N. and NATO peace keepers, preventing examination of the
contamination by a Yugoslav team.
The Yugoslav authorities accuse Nato of polluting the soil, air and
water
through its attacks on oil refineries and chemical factories. Petkovic
said
most of the rounds were fired on Kosovo along the border with Albania.
For
the first time, the Yugoslav army has admitted that radioactive
materials
were dropped outside Kosovo as well. Petkovic said the areas had been
sealed off and Yugoslav experts had detected radioactivity well above
safe
levels. Some of the affected areas are said to be in parts of southern
Serbia, where there is a high ethnic Albanian population.
4) Gulf War Veterans
In view of the conclusion to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly Report (see
page 2), which states that NATO’s zero-casualty war is ‘morally
objectionable’, it is worth noting that this ‘zero’ isn’t quite what it
seems. During the Gulf War of 1991, only 49 British soldiers were killed
-
testimony to the new era of modern warfare which relies heavily on air
power, and weapons such as DU munitions.
However, since this time, over 400 Gulf War veterans have died. Only 40
out of the 35,000 British forces in the Gulf have been tested for DU
poisoning; but all have tested positive. This is the new warfare - when
the war is over, the killing continues. And this killing is entirely
indiscriminate.
5) VIEQUES UPDATE
In the last CADU news we reported on the situation in Vieques, an island
in
Puerto Rico, where the US Navy has been testing munitions including DU
for
50 years. Locals had been camped out on the testing ranges to prevent
the
US military from re-commencing testing there. As CADU news goes to
press,
the latest on the situation is featured below:
"On May 4 federal authorities began to arrest the people conducting
Civil
Disobedience in Vieques. This has been considered as an offence of the
U.S. Government against the will of the people of Vieques and Puerto
Rico
that took back their land for one full year to prevent the bombing and
shelling of the Island. The U.S. Government's response to the demands
for
Human Rights of the people of Vieques was a military invasion of Vieques
that was met with no resistance by the protesters that from the outset
had
vowed to non-violence Civil Disobedience.
The diverse group of protesters that have been arrested is composed by
grassroots community leaders and members of the community at-large,
religious leaders, elected officials from Puerto Rico and the US,
including
two members of the U.S. Congress and members of the Puerto Rican
Legislature; leaders of the Puerto Rican Independence party, students,
union members, and known artists. Spirits where high and protesters
were
calm as they promised to be back to prevent the resumption of the
bombings.
The struggle of David versus Goliath has reached a new stage and will
surely continue and intensify until the final goal of a Navy-free
Vieques
is achieved.
This is the moment to put forward all planned activities of protest or
to
plan protest events in your community. Today and tomorrow many protests
will take place in U.S. and Puerto Rico."
The protesters in Vieques have called for supporters to write to Clinton
to
condemn the use of force by the federal authorities to remove the
protesters. - President Clinton, The White House, Washington DC 20500.
More information from their Website on www.viequeslibre.org
6) DU, NATO, UN and the WHO!
The following is an unedited article from the San Francisco Examiner, of
May 1st, reproduced here because it offers some insight into DU on the
world stage.
'Depleted uranium': A tale of poisonous denial
By Robert James Parsons
GENEVA - When a United Nations agency announced that NATO had officially
confirmed using depleted-uranium munitions in Kosovo, the story hit the
world's media, then quickly faded.
The agency went on record as saying that there was too little
information
for firm conclusions but no cause for serious concern. The Pentagon
officially echoed this, and attention shifted elsewhere.
For those following the story, this was another episode in a game of
hide-and-don't-tell that the U.S. government has been playing for years,
both at home and abroad. But as the game continues, there is cause for
serious concern.
The U.S. government denies there is anything harmful about depleted
uranium
that would prevent its use in battle situations anywhere. Numerous
independent experts say depleted uranium is deadly and will pollute
indefinitely those areas struck by the munitions. They blame it for
most
of the illnesses of Persian Gulf war syndrome.
The Military Toxics Project, a non-governmental organisation that has
been
tracking depleted uranium for years, has just published an update. Dan
Fahey, its author and the project's research director for depleted
uranium,
draws primarily on declassified government documents and public
statements,
building a grim indictment of irresponsibility that is nothing short of
criminal.
Since the first use of depleted uranium in the Iraq war (a use that
continues today with the bombing of the no-fly zones), the controversy
has
spread into the international arena, including the United Nations.
During the Kosovo war, the Pentagon brought out a RAND Corporation think
tank study to prove once and for all that depleted uranium is harmless.
Independent experts, contesting the use of depleted uranium in Kosovo
and
Serbia, protested.
Later, in a paper entitled "Fear of Falling," Fahey analysed the study
in
detail, showing it to be a sham. Yet the U.S. government still cites it
as
a proof that the depleted uranium problem has been laid to rest.
But NATO's admission, even unofficial, of depleted uranium use in the
Kosovo war alarmed aid agencies operating there.
The World Health Organisation was asked to investigate. The WHO,
however,
has an agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency giving the
latter the last word over anything touching public health and radiation.
A fact sheet on depleted uranium announced as in the works, was
cancelled.
(The Atomic Energy Agency was set up in '50s by the nuclear powers of
the
time to push the nuclear industry on a public wary of living with
nuclear
waste and with radiation in general. The United States plays a dominant
role within it. Holding the only mandate in the U.N. system to promote a
part of the private sector, it has been repeatedly denounced by
non-governmental organisations as incompatible with the ideals expressed
in
the U.N. charter.)
An initial U.N. mission to Yugoslavia in May produced a report of
serious
contamination by depleted uranium. The report's sponsor, the United
Nations
Environment Program's director, Klaus Toepfer, suppressed it - under
pressure from Washington, according to inside sources. It nonetheless
eventually leaked out.
The program's Balkans Task Force brought out a major study in October,
but
the section on depleted uranium had been whittled down from 72 pages to
two
on orders from Toepfer, again apparently under pressure from Washington.
The task force had tried to involve the WHO, but the Atomic Energy
Agency,
in keeping with the agreement, excluded the WHO from the radiation
appraisal. Measuring was done using Geiger counters incapable of
detecting
the particular alpha radiation that depleted uranium emits, and none was
found.
Meantime, in August, the WHO had announced it was undertaking a
"generic"
(general) study of depleted uranium, but no details were available. In
March, it became known that the study was under the WHO's Dr. Michael
Repacholi, an electromagnetic field expert, who, it has since been
discovered, has delegated it to Barry Smith, a consultant in England,
who
is a geologist.
Faced with the Atomic Energy Agency's opposition to studying radiation
and
health, the WHO has opted to study DU as a heavy metal pollutant.
This is hardly of help to those exposed to tons of virtually
indestructible
radioactive dust particles, including the international aid agencies
awaiting an official pronouncement from the WHO.
The recent NATO confirmation of depleted uranium use in Kosovo, complete
with a map, should have finally sounded the alarm.
After being put on hold for six months by NATO, the task force finally
had
something specific and official, but the pressure was on to play it
down.
The publication of the map in a Geneva daily on the day that the task
force
was meeting to decide on strategy forced its hand.
When the task force chairman, former Finnish environmental minister
Pekka
Haavisto, called a press conference to disclose the map and its
accompanying letter, it was Toepfer's spokesperson, the man who had cut
out
the 70 pages from the October report, not Haavisto's, who orchestrated
the
event.
Not surprisingly, Haavisto was kept on a leash. Hence the announced
conclusion: no cause for serious concern.
But there are indications that not everybody agrees.
The UN’s High Commissioner for Refugees, the main coordinator of aid to
Kosovo, has quietly decided to refrain from sending pregnant staff to
Kosovo, to offer those assigned there the option of going elsewhere and
to
put a note into the personnel files of those sent there - to facilitate
compensation claims for illnesses that might develop from depleted
uranium
contamination.
The German and Dutch governments, whose occupation zones coincide with
the
areas hardest hit by depleted uranium, according to NATO's map, have
ordered their soldiers not to eat anything outside their post mess
halls,
especially not from the surrounding countryside. This echoes independent
experts' claims that the dust has entered the food chain of the region.
Dutch soldiers stationed last fall in part of the same heavily hit area
(around Prizren) had to hand in all clothing and equipment, which was
then
shipped back to the Netherlands sealed in heavy-duty plastic.
The government claimed asbestos contamination, but a Dutch military
source
points to DU, noting that the vehicles, also sent back, ended up in a
radiation decontamination plant.
Fahey's "Don't Look, Don't Find" discusses a U.S. Army report issued
well
before the Gulf War: "Though no anti-DU movement existed at the time,
the
Army predicted that DU munitions might be removed from the arsenal by
political force once the health and environmental impacts of DU were
widely
known."
Although the U.S. government seems intent on keeping those impacts
unknown,
the public is finding out. Mariam Appeal Day for the People of Iraq.
7) Mariam Appeal Day for the People of Iraq
by Cat Euler
Over 1,000 people attended the immensely successful Mariam Appeal
conference in London last month. Iraqi artists displayed the amazing
range
of creativity for which the Tigris and Euphrates region has long been
known. Middle Eastern food and music added to the celebration of
culture
which must continue, despite the horrendous effects of sanctions and
depleted uranium. This is when human beings reach their finest hour: to
create, to live, to survive with dignity and art in the midst of
deprivation and death. It is an inspiration to all of us.
Both the showing of the Hugh Livingstone video, The Ultimate Bullet, and
the DU workshop which followed, were also well attended, with some 50
people at each. The video is a sobering and well documented account of
the
journey of a US Gulf War vet to Iraq to meet with Iraqi veterans of the
same war, to discover the similar sufferings which both have
experienced.
It is a good teaching tool for those of you who are organising local
meetings on depleted uranium.
I began the workshop with some overheads showing the US DoD map of the
extensive area of southern Iraq where DU munitions were used. I quickly
discovered the difference between presenting information on DU to people
who have no thought that they or their loved ones might be contaminated,
and presenting the same information to people who have relatives living
in
Basra. Rather than being concerned with theoretical or strictly
scientific
information about isotopes, the questions on practical matters came
thick
and fast. "My nephew lives in Basra, are all the buildings there
contaminated?" "Is it possible to clean it up?" "Is there any hope for
us?" I tried to answer these moving questions as simply and accurately
as
possible. It is unlikely, I said, that the heaviest contamination
travels
more than a few dozen or, at most, hundred metres from the point of
impact.
However, we have documented evidence that DU particles can travel on
the
winds as far as 40 km. Further documented measurements need to be
carried
out in order to establish the maximum distance. We can’t know how much
contamination exists in Basra without a full radiological survey. There
are probably spots which have greater and lesser or no contamination.
Yes,
I said, it may be possible to ‘clean it up’ in the sense that it can be
isolated from the human environment for a long time if it is properly
buried. However, the known methods would cost billions of pounds for an
extensive geographical area, and the recently announced chemical binding
methods, though perhaps less costly, are untried. I feel as though I
don’t
have enough information on their effect on both soluble and insoluble
dust
particles. I said the US and British governments should take
responsibility
for funding the clean up. I said it was important that people in the
area
drank distilled water whenever possible, but the look of despair on some
people’s faces told me how impossible it seemed in conditions of
sanctions
to obtain even this. Yes, I said, I always believe there is hope, that
while there is life there is always hope. I must believe this, and why
not?
The people from the region are deeply concerned, and do not have
sufficient
information. Their concerns and fears were echoed by many I spoke to
during a trip to Belgrade last month. Women do not know how their babies
will be affected; they do not know where the contamination is, and they
must continue living and surviving in sanctions-deprived circumstances
despite the fear that comes with not knowing. I now hold very close to
my
heart the difference between providing information to the interested and
providing information to the victims. In Serbia, too, the music and art
continue.
Other DU activists also contributed valuable information at the
workshop.
One woman told us of her constant letters to members of parliament and
the
civil service. She had been told, in one response, that the Department
for
International Development (DfID) was in partnership with the World
Health
Organisation (WHO) to carry out cancer and other health surveys in Iraq.
However, they were only looking at health effects and had no plans to
look
at causation, and no plans to survey DU contamination. This attitude on
the part of WHO, also expressed at the UN, may very well be related to
the
1959 agreement WHO signed with the International Atomic Energy Authority
(IAEA), which mandates mutual agreement for overlapping research
interests,
and agrees on secrecy for ‘sensitive’ information.
8) What is DU in YU action?
DU in YU is non-government, non-profit organisation that gathers people
that are willing to act in anti DU campaign in Yugoslavia.
Also, it covers wider problems of ecology and danger from nuclear and
radioactive sources.
DU in YU action centre is located in Nis, second biggest town in
Yugoslavia, 250 km southern of Belgrade, and only 50 km eastern from
Kosovo. The DU danger is very real here, although DU probably hadn't
been
used in the town itself (the nearest location where DU traces were found
is
Nis Airport, located 5 km from town centre). The biggest threat to the
citizens of Nis came from the south; more that 80% of food that people
of
Nis consume came from zones of high risk: Vranje, Bujanovac, Presevo,
Leskovac, Prokuplje, areas where it's confirmed that DU had been used.
We
will try to inform people of Nis about DU in our local environment, as
well
as citizens of towns where DU was used. We plan to organise public
lectures, TV and radio campaign, and to demand from our authorities to
protect the sites where DU is found. We would also try to make an
international impact as the only NGO in Yugoslavia whose main task is to
protect people from DU. We also hope that we can make a network
of local ecological organisations in southern Serbia, and, in future, on
the national level.
We will try to cooperate with all relevant people and institutions in
Serbia as well as from abroad. We've already got a response from some
nuclear physicist from "Vinca Nuclear Institute" in Belgrade, Prof. Dr
Vladimir Ajdacic among the others.
We are looking forward to any kind of co-operation and help from all
organisations and people that are working on DU topic.
Our address is: Bul. Februar 65a, 18000 Nis, Yugoslavia
Phone: 381 18 43 166, Fax: 381 18 43 828
You can contact us on the following e-mail addresses:
nikolab@... - Nikola Bozinovic
mina_zdravkovic@... - Mina Zdravkovic
9) DEPLETED URANIUM PROTESTERS CONVICTED OF TRESPASS
Minnetonka, Sixty-three human rights, peace and anti-war activists were
convicted of trespass following a 2 1/2-hour bench trial in Hennepin
County
District Court here.
The group walked onto the property of Alliant Techsystems, Inc. Nov. 1,
1999 to protest the company’s manufacture of depleted uranium-238 (DU)
weapons.
The demonstrators, were all fined $25, except for ten who spent more
than
eight hours in custody after their arrest. They were sentenced to time
served.
Char Madigan, a peace activist with Minnesota Alliant Action and the
Midwest Institute for Social Transformation, said the defendants had
"won
the lowest fine ever," in the long series of protests at the company's
gates.
Judge Gary Larson appeared to listen patiently as seven of the
defendants
testified as representatives of the larger group. Several testified to
the
international and U.S. Air Force laws that forbid the use of poison or
poisoned weapons in war. The argument was presented as an affirmative
defence known as a "claim of right." Trespass is permitted in Minnesota
law
if the defendant can show that some higher authority allows the
intrusion.
In spite of testimony regarding the international treaties and U.S.
military law that prohibit the government from employing weapons such as
"poison gas and all analogous materials, liquids or devices," or weapons
that "kill our wound treacherously" or that "cause serious or long-term
damage to the natural environment," the Judge ruled that the claim of
right
had not been established.
The Constitution of the United States holds that treaty law is the
"supreme
law of the land" and that it binds "every judge in every state."
Alliant Techsystems assembled 15 million so-called PGU-14 rounds, a
"depleted uranium penetrator" for the A-10 Warthog, the U.S./NATO plane
used to shoot DU munitions into Kosovo in 1999, and into Iraq in 1991.
10) DU TANK ARMOR PRODUCTION PART OF MAJOR US Department of Energy (DOE)
INVESTIGATION
The Department of Energy next month plans to finalise an extensive
report
that investigates whether workers were subjected to greater exposure
hazards than previously thought in the recycling of uranium for use in
various projects, including the creation of tank armour.
The DOE is trying to track the flow, over nearly 50 years, of recycled
uranium throughout the DOE complex and its characteristics to determine
possible health and environmental issues, according to a memo from DOE
Deputy Secretary Glauthier. The project, called the Historical
Generation
and Flow of Recycled Uranium in the DOE Complex but commonly known as
the
mass balance project, will identify any additional exposure hazards
related
to recycled uranium and estimate the number of workers exposed. DOE
needs
to determine "whether radioactive fission products and plutonium in the
uranium feed or waste streams existed in concentrations that present a
potential health or environmental concern," Glauthier said in the memo.
Transuranic materials such as plutonium and neptunium are more
radioactive
than natural uranium.
In part, the project looks at material sent to the Specific
Manufacturing
Capabilities (SMC) facility at DoE’s Idaho National Engineering Lab to
determine whether potential additional worker exposures exist due to
transuranic contamination. The SMC facility received metallic depleted
uranium (DU) from DOE plants in Ohio and Colorado, and from that
manufactured tank armour for the military, DOE sources say.
DOE officials say they have dismissed concerns over whether tank armour
itself is more dangerous to soldiers due to the possible transuranic
contamination. A DOE source says this is because the level of
transuranic
materials that would be present is minuscule. The department is also
characterising metallic DU at Paducah and its Fernald, OH, facility,
which
commercial facilities could have received to make DU rounds. In a Jan.
20
letter to an environmental group regarding the project, DOE names three
commercial businesses that produced DU rounds. The Fernald Environmental
Management Project is now "compiling data on the depleted uranium and
the
shipment of this material," the letter says.
DOE launched the massive project last fall, in response to workers and
the
public's concern over potential effects on workers at the department's
Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Kentucky.
>From the US Dept. of Defence Website, thanks to Dan Fahey for posting
11) GERMAN GREENS BEGIN ANTI-DU INITIATIVE
The parliamentary group of the Greens in the Federal German Parliament
on
May 17 announced the start of an initiative for the ban of DU weapons.
The
initiative comprises the following steps:
1) formulation of a parliamentary motion (together with the Social
Democrats) for the ban of DU weapons; the motion would at the same time
instruct the Federal Government to work for an international ban of DU
weapons,
2) the Federal Government shall try to make NATO release more detailed
information on DU use in Kosovo,
3) sufficient protective measures are to be taken in the areas concerned
from DU weapons use,
4) the Ministry of Defence shall conduct preventive measures for
the
protection of German soldiers in Kosovo, and shall instruct them on
possible compensation claims.
This is clearly excellent news for all anti-DU campaigners, and we hope
that other parliamentarians in other countries follow this lead. For
anyone who is interested and can read German, the full text of the
announcement is on the web, at
http://www.gruene-fraktion.de/aktuell/neu/index-uran.htm
12) DU found in Scrap Yard
A rubbish tip manager in Suffolk, England, thought the large lump of
metal
he found in a skip might have some scrap value - until he found that he
had
been carrying 20lb of depleted uranium in his van for 6 months.
According
to a report in the national newspapers, Nicholas Remblance had forgotten
all about the metal until his van set off the Geiger counter at a
weighbridge. Firemen in protective clothing and experts from the nuclear
power station in Sizewell were brought in to investigate and the yard
was
sealed off. Initial tests on Mr Remblance indicated he had not been
affected, but further investigations will be carried out in a few weeks
time. The Environment Agency has ordered an investigation into how the
block turned up in Mr Remblance’s scrap yard.
13) CADU Petition
Enclosed in CADU news this month is a copy of a petition which we would
like supporters to get signatures for. Please photocopy and distribute
-
if you don’t have access to photocopying facilities, we can send you
more.
We hope to have thousands of signatures by the autumn, and add to the
growing pressure on the government to ban DU. The petitions should be
returned to us by the end of October, as we will be collecting them
together to hand in during the international conference on 4th November
(see inside). However, please get them to us as soon as they are
completed,
particularly if signatories have ticked the box requesting more
information
- then we can respond quickly.
14) What is CADU?
The Campaign Against Depleted Uranium is a small, mainly voluntary group
based in Manchester, England which was set up in 1999 to campaign for a
ban
on depleted uranium weapons. We are linked to both European and
international networks opposed to DU. We produce a briefing pack,
leaflets,
other resources and have a display available for loan. Groups and
individuals can affiliate to CADU and will receive this newsletter
quarterly. CADU’s aims are:-
n To fight for a global ban on the manufacture, export, testing and use
of
DU weapons.
n To fight for recognition by the Ministry of Defence that these weapons
are connected with illnesses among Gulf War Veterans and civilians in
Iraq
and elsewhere.
n To put pressure on governments to take responsibility for
environmental
decontamination in areas where they have used DU.
15) CADU Website - volunteer wanted!
CADU now has its own Website, as we said in the last newsletter. The
address is www.cadu.com - easy to remember. We have only just got this
Website up so please bear with us if we have teething problems - we are
new
to this technology. If any of our supporters has web technology skills,
and would like to volunteer to be responsible for maintaining and
updating
our Website - we would love to hear from you. It would really help us
out,
as we are over-stretched as it is. It is a job which could be done
fairly
easily from any part of the country - so get in touch if you think you
may
be the person to help.
16) CADU International Conference on Depleted Uranium 4th - 5th
November 2000
Note change of date due to venue difficulties
Bringing Together Speakers and
Campaigners from All Over the World
We hope this international conference will be an opportunity not
only to
provide accessible information to those not familiar with the issue, but
also provide a working platform for activists to collaborate on key
global
strategies for removing the threat of depleted uranium from all peoples,
and for putting pressure on governments to respond appropriately to this
threat.
The conference will begin at 9am on Saturday 4 November and
conclude at 5
pm on Sunday. The plenary sessions will include speakers from Iraq,
Serbia, and veterans groups. Scientists will present the latest
information on the testing programmes and medical effects. Workshops on
the huge range of issues related to DU include: law, the nuclear
industry,
UN work, government responses, Gulf War and Balkans veterans, clean up
operations, practical support for those affected, the role of the World
Health Organisation and the IAEA, environmental effects, non-violent
protest actions, etc. There will be time for questions from the floor as
well as spontaneously organised workshops.
Speakers already confirmed include: Dr Rosalie Bertell, Doug Rokke,
Military Toxics Project, Dr Chris Busby of the Low Level Radiation
Project,
Bernice Boermans of IALANA, Prof. Malcolm Hooper of the University of
Sunderland
Leaflets with registration details will be available shortly, and
conference programmes will be sent out with your registration pack.
For further information contact Cat Euler, Conference Organiser, at the
CADU office
17) BAE Systems wins DU contract
Jane’s Defence Weekly reported several months ago, that the Ministry of
Defence (UK) selected the Royal Ordnance Division of British Aerospace
Systems to provide the 120mm CHARM 3 Training Round (the name for the DU
bullet) for use in the Challenger battle tanks in service with the
British
Army. It reports that they will be produced at Royal Ordnance
facilities
in Birtley and Glascoed, in a contract worth up to £100 million.
Do any readers live near any of these production plants, or have any
more
information about them? Please get in touch.
17) IMPORTANT - Affiliate to CADU to receive CADU News
We are asking our supporters to now affiliate formally to CADU by
completing the form below. Affiliation means you will automatically
receive
CADU news quarterly. Alternatively, individuals or groups can affiliate
by
becoming ‘Supporting Subscribers’, by contributing a minimum of £2 per
month or £24 per year regularly to CADU, and filling in the standing
order
form below & send it back to us.
Thanks to everyone who has been keeping our campaign going with your
kind
donations. (If you have recently donated and feel that this should
count
as your annual affiliation fee, please write a note to such effect on
the
form)
I would like to affiliate to CADU (please print out and send back by
snail
mail - E-Mail affiliations are free but the extra income from postal
affiliations is always welcome)
Name
Address
The affiliation rates (including 1 copy of CADU News quarterly) are: -
£5 individuals per year £20 groups per year
* I enclose a cheque for for yearly affiliation
* Or, I have filled in the standing order form below for my yearly
affiliation (it is much easier for CADU if affiliators could pay by
standing order, just enter £5 or £20 below)
Account Name Account Number
Bank Name Sort
Code
Bank Address
I authorise the payment of £ every month / year (delete as
appropriate)
starting from (enter date), until
further notice, to Campaign Against
Depleted Uranium, (bank sort code 08-92-99, Account number 65042867)
Co-op
bank, Kings Valley Yew St, Stockport, Cheshire SK4 2JU
Signed Date
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Greater Manchester and District Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
(GM&DCND),
One World Centre, 6 Mount Street, Manchester, M2 5NS, UK
Tel: +44 (0)161 834 8301, Fax: +44 (0)161 834 8187, E-Mail:
gmdcnd@...
***NEW CADU CONTACT DETAILS PLEASE READ CAREFULLY***
The Campaign Against Depleted Uranium (CADU) can also be contacted at
the
above address and fax number, BUT the phone number is: +44 (0)161 834
8176
The CADU web site is: www.cadu.org.uk
*Should you wish to receive the quarterly CADU mailing by E-Mail please
send a message to the above E-Mail address*
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