DU ALERT//: WHO 'suppressed' scientific study into depleted uranium cancer fears in Iraq

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WHO 'suppressed' scientific study into depleted uranium cancer fears inIraq - [sunday Herald]Radiation experts warn in unpublished report that DU weapons used by Alliesin Gulf war pose long-term health riskBy Rob Edwards, Environment Editorhttp://www.sundayherald.com/4009622 February 2004An expert report warning that the long-term health of Iraq's civilianpopulation would be endangered by British and US depleted uranium (DU)weapons has been kept secret.The study by three leading radiation scientists cautioned that children andadults could contract cancer after breathing in dust containing DU, which isradioactive and chemically toxic. But it was blocked from publication by theWorld Health Organisation (WHO), which employed the main author, Dr KeithBaverstock, as a senior radiation advisor. He alleges that it wasdeliberately suppressed, though this is denied by WHO.Baverstock also believes that if the study had been published when it wascompleted in 2001, there would have been more pressure on the US and UK tolimit their use of DU weapons in last year's war, and to clean upafterwards.Hundreds of thousands of DU shells were fired by coalition tanks and planesduring the conflict, and there has been no comprehensive decontamination.Experts from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) have so far notbeen allowed into Iraq to assess the pollution."Our study suggests that the widespread use of depleted uranium weapons inIraq could pose a unique health hazard to the civilian population,"Baverstock told the Sunday Herald."There is increasing scientific evidence the radio activity and the chemicaltoxicity of DU could cause more damage to human cells than is assumed."Baverstock was the WHO's top expert on radiation and health for 11 yearsuntil he retired in May last year. He now works with the Department ofEnvironmental Sciences at the University of Kuopio in Finland, and wasrecently appointed to the UK government's newly formed Committee on Radioactive Waste Management.While he was a member of staff, WHO refused to give him permission topublish the study, which was co-authored by Professor Carmel Mothersill fromMcMaster University in Canada and Dr Mike Thorne, a radiation consultant .Baverstock suspects that WHO was leaned on by a more powerful pro-nuclear UNbody, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)."I believe our study was censored and suppressed by the WHO because theydidn't like its conclusions. Previous experience suggests that WHO officialswere bowing to pressure from the IAEA, whose remit is to promote nuclearpower," he said. "That is more than unfortunate, as publishing the studywould have helped forewarn the authorities of the risks of using DU weaponsin Iraq."These allegations, however, are dismissed as "totally unfounded" by WHO."The IAEA role was very minor," said Dr Mike Repacholi, the WHO coordinatorof radiation and environmental health in Geneva. "The article was notapproved for publication because parts of it did not reflect accurately whata WHO-convened group of inter national experts considered the best sciencein the area of depleted uranium," he added.Baverstock's study, which has now been passed to the Sunday Herald, pointedout that Iraq's arid climate meant that tiny particles of DU were likely tobe blown around and inhaled by civilians for years to come. It warned that,when inside the body, their radiation and toxicity could trigger the growthof malignant tumours.The study suggested that the low-level radiation from DU could harm cellsadjacent to those that are directly irradiated, a phenomenon known as "thebystander effect". This undermines the stability of the body's geneticsystem, and is thought by many scientists to be linked to cancers andpossibly other illnesses.In addition, the DU in Iraq, like that used in the Balkan conflict, couldturn out to be contaminated with plutonium and other radioactive waste .That would make it more radioactive and hence more dangerous, Baverstockargued."The radiation and the chemical toxicity of DU could also act together tocreate a 'cocktail effect' that further increases the risk of cancer. Theseare all worrying possibilities that urgently require more investigation," hesaid.Baverstock's anxiety about the health effects of DU in Iraq is shared byPekka Haavisto, the chairman of the UN Environment Programme's Post-ConflictAssessment Unit in Geneva. "It is certainly a concern in Iraq, there is nodoubt about that," he said.UNEP, which surveyed DU contamination in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2002, iskeen to get into Iraq to monitor the situation as soon as possible. It hasbeen told by the British government that about 1.9 tonnes of DU was firedfrom tanks around Basra, but has no information from US forces, which arebound to have used a lot more.Haavisto's greatest worry is when buildings hit by DU shells have beenrepaired and reoccupied without having been properly cleaned up.Photographic evidence suggests that this is exactly what has happened to theministry of planning building in Baghdad.He also highlighted evidence that DU from weapons had been collected andrecycled as scrap in Iraq. "It could end up in a fork or a knife," hewarned."It is ridiculous to leave the material lying around and not to clear it upwhere adults are working and children are playing. If DU is not taken careof, instead of decreasing the risk you are increasing it. It is absolutelywrong."© newsquest (sunday herald) limited. all rights reserved