DU is fairly safe - 3 messages

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I know how we can find out if DU is bad or not----put all these guys including George and the crew into a surroundings where the metal objects around them are made of DU for a year. Since it's so safe they won't have to worry---on the other hand if they're wrong we won't have to worry....it's a win/win....Bill Kingsbury <kingsbry wrote: ------- Forwarded message -------"Bruce Beach" <bbeach<ArkTwoSat, 25 Mar 2006 17:20:46 -0500[Arktwo] DU Doesn't Do itI receive numerous emails concerned about DU (Depleted Uranium),and I have promised to write a newsletter on the subject -so here it is.First what DU is.It is what is left over when uranium is enrichedto make nuclear weapons.Think of it as the

hulls when you shell peas. Anything having to do with radioactivity sounds dangerous to many people -and they sometimes become unnecessarily frightened by it -because they don't understand it.I give the example of an alien from a waterless planet who is sent to our planet as an envoy. "Take me to your leader."Anyway -before he headed for earth he was warned - "Watch out for water - there is a lot on earth and it is easy to drown in it."So - first thing on earth he is invited to sit down for a banquet with the President - and the server starts to pour a goblet of water. "What is that?" asks the alien. "Water", the server says. Jumping up from the table the alien yells - "Are

you trying to kill me?"Similarly, just say to many people that something is radioactive -and they will go into fear mode.In point of fact - many things about us are radioactive.Just living in a brick building will expose one to a certain amount of radiation from the bricks.http://www.hps1.org/glossary/natural.htmSome locations are considerably more radioactive than others. Especially high altitude ones - that receive more radiation from the cosmos with less shielding by the earth's atmosphere.A certain amount of radiation may be good for you.Studies have shown that people living in high altitudes have less incidence of cancer.A coincidental controlled study occurred when some metal scrap from buildings destroyed by the atomic bomb on Japan got into some steel girder construction. The steel was sold

by mistakeand shipped to the US for use in a large housing complex. The occupants in the buildings in the complex that received the radioactive steel had a significantly lower incidence of cancer than those in the buildings in the same complex that received other steel.While this may seem strange -it can be the nature of things.For example -arsenic is a deadly poison -but if your body is completely deprived of arsenic -you will die as a result.There are many trace minerals in our bodies -that probably serve an important purpose - but of which in overdose would be fatal. So back to the DU. People say - "Don't you know that DU has a half-life of FOUR and a Half BILLION YEARS!" http://www.ccnr.org/decay_U238.htmlWell,

yes. That is what makes it so safe.The problem is that people don't understand the nature of half-life.It seems to them that it means that the stuff is going to be around giving off radioactivity for a very long time - and to them that is BAD.Actually, that is GOOD. The stuff that you have to worry about is that which has a relatively short half-life.Really short half-lives are no problem either - because the stuff burns out and is gone in no time.Even most longer radioactive stuff will be gone in two or three weeks after a nuclear warso if you have a fallout shelter it will be safe to come out then.The REAL killers are Strontium (Sr-90, 28 year half-life)andCesium (Cs-137, 30 year half-life). http://tinyurl.com/nn4a8But that is another matter -and one that I have discussed many times

before -regarding agriculture.I totally agree that it is morally wrong to create something that will be a burden to future generations .But - DU isn't that thing.Something that is only giving off half of its energy in 4 1/2 billion years -isn't giving off any radioactivity to speak of.The reason that DU is used - is that it greatly strengthens steel (as used in bullets and armoured tanks).If someone were to offer me a car made out of DU - I would gladly accept it - either for myself or my children and grandchildren to ride around in.There may be other considerations - such as DU in dust as a result of explosions of weaponry. However, there is not much in the way of good scientific evidence to support that - and the damage of the weaponry is the much more serious consideration. On the one side of the issue we hear endless anecdotal stories of

malformed babies born in areas where DU has been used - and of military personnel returning from those areas with what we call Gulf War Syndrome -supposedly as a result of DU.This is mostly just all emotional anti-war propaganda.On the other side of the issue - most people today have a high-level of distrust for 'official' and 'government' information. http://www.nato.int/du/docu/d010123a.htmThe reason is the overwhelming and unreasonable secrecy - the repeated manipulation through propaganda - and the interlink between government funding and research - whether in giant corporations or by academics in universities.It is just very difficult today - to get to what one can consider as being an unbiased truth.But you can forget all the hype about DU with its 4 and a half billion year half-life

as being a threat - because that part isn't. Neither are its 'daughter' elements as they degrade -because they still only have that miniscule amount of radiation available to them in the original four and a half billion yearsand over the same period of time.It is double counting to think otherwise.You are not going to be around that long (except for those of you who expect to rise from the dead and live on the earth forever) -and even then - that is not going to be a problem for you. Brick houses will give off lots more radiation.Better to build them out of DU.Nope, people should concern themselves about REAL problems. Like the number of nuclear weapons in the world -and what the fallout - and later reconstruction will be like - after a nuclear war.It is best to keep things in perspective - and this is one time - with all their good intentions - the

anti-war activists should be ignored - because this destroys their credibility and detracts from efforts to deal with the REAL problems.Peace and love,Bruce DawnSayer _____________Arktwo mailing listArktwohttp://ns.pairowoodies.com/mailman/listinfo/arktwo ===============================================================http://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/forum.cgi?read=52036 Re: HERE IS WHAT GEORGE BUSH JNR SAYS ABOUT DUPosted By: Nine_Of_ElevenFriday, 9 July 2004, 7:43 a.m.The Rumor Mill News Reading RoomIn Response HERE IS WHAT GEORGE BUSH JNR SAYS ABOUT DUIf you would like to engage in an honest debate then youshould do your own research

instead of looking for someoneelse's "ax-to-grind" polemics. The article you posted is notresearch. It is not even an honest polemic based on research.It is "axe-to-grind" political propaganda that uses half-truthand distortion to present a picture it wants to present. Thatis fine if that is what you want to use in the debate, but youshould know that it contains very little in the way of factsto support its claims... First, let's talk about radioactivity and its dangers...primary to the discussion is to first realize that radioactiveelements and radioactivity itself surround us all the time...so let's get over the idea that "radioactivity" is, in and ofitself, a horrible and avoidable environmental danger that isthe "fault" of the United States or Russia or etc. If it werenot for radioactivity in some form or another, we might noteven exist. Like most "ax-to-grind" propagandists the person who

wroteyour article likes to use buzz words and fifty year oldspeculations at the dawning of the nuclear era, to scare theirreader into a stampede of fear and misapprehension. Secondary to this discussion is the realization not only thatradioactivity is all around us, but so is Uranium... Uranium235 -- the most fissionable form of Uranium used as a nuclearfuel in reactors -- occurs in nature as approximately 0.71% ofnaturally occurring uranium. Additionally, so those who readthis debate will understand better, 238 Uranium is used inbreeder reactors to construct the plutonium 239 which is usedin nuclear weapons. Now, understand this, because it is important. Three facts; 1) "naturally occurring uranium contains 235 U at 0.71%". 2) Naturally occurring uranium is more common than once thoughtas oxides and is more common than mercury, silver, molybdenum,arsenic and cadmium. 3)

Depleted Uranium contains 235 U at the rate of 0.2%, orless than 1/3 the same as naturally occurring Uranium. So, atthe very least, unless it is contained in concentrations threetimes higher than the naturally occurring Uranium in everysquare centimeter of earth on the planet, then it does notemit any more radiation than naturally occurring uraniumthrough which human evolution has survived apparently morethan several millions of years. I will post more later as I have time but there is a lot ofmisinformation going on about radioactivity and nuclearmaterials... Resistance is Informed... Nine of Eleven ===============================================================http://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/forum.cgi?read=50875 THE FACTS ABOUT THE HEALTH EFFECTS OF DU Posted By:

Nine_Of_ElevenSunday, 20 June 2004, 11:33 p.m. The Rumor Mill News Reading RoomDU is Depleted Uranium, which for those who are not aware is asubstance used in armor piercing munitions, as well as inarmored shields in many U.S. weapons systems. In keeping withthe left wing propaganda techniques of mis- and disinformationthere have been many and numerous claims that the use of this"radioactive material" in warfare is some kind of huge publichealth risk, and some kind of criminal behavior directed atsome form of genocide. I thought it might be nice to publisha few of the facts associated with Depleted Uranium. First,Uranium is itself a naturally occurring element that exists inevery environment on the planet and always has. There is acertain fixed level of the material in any given square mileof land on the planet and all of it is weakly radioactive.Depleted Uranium is the by

product of the process used toenrich uranium for use in nuclear power plants, and, of coursein nuclear weapons as well. However, depleted uranium is lessradioactive than naturally occurring uranium and, so itseffects, if any, on individual health will be related, not toits radioactivity, but rather on its effects as a heavy metal,such as those like lead, or mercury. These effects would bedose but not time related. There was a big to-do made after the original Gulf War becauseSaddam Hussein pulled out a bunch of birth defected babies andhad his doctors conduct a "study" that linked these birthdefects to the Depleted Uranium used during the Gulf War. This study has since been debunked. The birth defects in question were from a population of peoplewho were more likely to have been exposed to chemical weaponsused during his own war with Iran, as well as with thosechemical weapons he used on

his own populations and soprobably had nothing to do with the DU used during the war. These chemical weapons had far greater proven mutagenic andteratogenic properties than DU has ever demonstrated. However, since the Iraqis raised the issue there have been anynumber of other studies done, both in Europe on soldiers andcivilians wounded during the Bosnia/Kosovo conflict as well aswith Gulf War veterans who were exposed to DU in variouscircumstances during the war and after. The following is asummary of the health effects and concerns that are known as aresult of real scientific evidence and study of DepletedUranium. The following paragraphs were extracted from the broadinformation on DU contained at: http://www.deploymentlink.osd.mil/du_library/ DU - Health Concerns Chemical -- The major health concerns about DU relate

to itschemical properties as a heavy metal rather than to itsradioactivity, which is very low. As with all chemicals, thehazard depends mainly upon the amount taken into the body.Medical science recognizes that uranium at high doses cancause kidney damage. However, those levels are far abovelevels soldiers would have encountered in the Gulf or theBalkans. For a more in depth discussion of DU's chemicaleffects, see the section on Health Effects from the ChemicalToxicity of Depleted Uranium in our Environmental ExposureReport, Depleted Uranium in the Gulf (II). Radiation -- Because depleted uranium emits primarily alpharadiation, it is not considered a serious external radiationhazard. The depleted uranium in armor and rounds is covered,further reducing the radiation dose. When breathed or eaten,small amounts of depleted uranium are carried in the blood tobody tissues and organs;

much the same as the more radioactivenatural uranium. Despite this, no radiological health effectsare expected because the radioactivity of uranium and depleteduranium are so low. For a more in depth discussion of DU'sradiological effects, see the section on Health Effects fromthe Radiological Toxicity of Depleted Uranium in ourEnvironmental Exposure Report, Depleted Uranium in the Gulf(II). What do the experts say on cancer risk? RAND, 1999. "(N)o evidence is documented in the literature ofcancer or any other negative health effect related to theradiation received from exposure to natural uranium, whetherinhaled or ingested, even at very high doses." Department of Health and Human Services, Agency for ToxicSubstances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) in 1999 ToxicologicalProfile for Uranium. "No human cancer of any type has everbeen seen as a result of exposure to natural or

depleteduranium." United Kingdom Royal Society in May 2001. "Even if theestimates of risk are one hundred times too low, it isunlikely that any excess of fatal cancer would be detectedwithin a group of 10,000 soldiers followed over 50 years." European Commission March, 2001 report. "Taking into accountthe pathways and realistic scenarios of human exposure,radiological exposure to depleted uranium could not cause adetectable effect on human health (e.g. cancer)." World Health Organization April, 2001 report. "Theradiological hazard is likely to be very small. No increaseof leukemia or other cancers has been established followingexposure to uranium or DU." European Parliament April, 2001 report. "The fact that thereis no evidence of an association between exposures --sometimes high and lasting since the beginning of the uraniumindustry -- and health damages such as bone cancer,

lymphaticor other forms of leukemia shows that these diseases as aconsequence of an uranium exposure are either not present orvery exceptional." Swedish Military Headquarters Medical Department Study,January 2003. "Questionnaires, analysis of uranium in theurine and matching with the cancer register at the NationalBoard of Health and Welfare failed to reveal any link betweenservice on the Balkans and cancer or any other illness." Infact, average urine uranium levels in two separate groupstroops deployed for six months to the Balkans decreased by 75percent and 90 percent during their deployment. The studyattributed this decrease to the high natural uranium levels inSwedish drinking water supplies. DU Medical Follow-up Policy. On May 30, 2003, new guidancewas issued by OSD/Health Affairs that clarifies who, why,when, and how the military should test for possible depleteduranium during

and after deployment and combat operations. The purpose of the testing is to identify those who may havebeen exposed to significant levels of depleted uranium whiledeployed. After a decade of closely following manydepleted-uranium exposed Gulf War veterans who were enrolledin the Veterans Affairs depleted uranium medical follow-upprogram, the medical community has yet to identify anyuntoward health consequences associated with depleted uraniumexposures on the battlefield. Still, it is important toimplement these new guidelines which standardizes the waydepleted uranium tests are performed; directs the compliancewith an approved medical protocol following sound clinicalpractices; and helps DoD meet its obligations for ensuring thehealth of our deployed personnel. What does medical follow-up tell us? The voluntary Veterans Affairs DU Medical Follow-up Programbegan in 1993-1994 with the

medical evaluations of 33friendly-fire DU-exposed veterans, many with embedded DUfragments. An additional 29 of the friendly-fire victims wereadded to the follow-up program in 1999. In 1998, the scope ofthe program was expanded to include Gulf War veterans who mayhave been exposed to DU through close contact with DUmunitions, inhalation of smoke containing DU particulateduring a fire at the Doha depot, or by entering or salvagingvehicles or bunkers that were hit with DU projectiles. Thepublished results of these medical evaluations indicate thatthe presence of retained DU fragments is the only scenariopredictive of a high urine uranium level, and those withembedded DU fragments continue to have elevated urine uraniumlevels ten years after the incident. It is unlikely that anindividual without embedded DU fragments would have anelevated urine uranium level, and consequently anyuranium-related

health effects. Those individuals with normalurine uranium levels now are unlikely to develop anyuranium-related toxicity in the future, regardless of whattheir DU exposure may have been in the Gulf War. Thoseindividuals with elevated levels of urine uranium ten yearsafter the Gulf War have not developed kidney abnormalities,leukemia, bone or lung cancer, or any other uranium-relatedadverse outcome. The DU Medical Follow-up Program willcontinue to monitor those individuals with elevated urineuranium levels to enable early detection of any adverse healtheffects due to their continued exposure to embedded DUfragments. Resistance is Informed, Nine of Eleven ===============================================================The Rumor Mill News Reading Room http://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/forum.cgi

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