Gulf War vet testifies on radiation

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Sat, 12 Feb 2005 12:17:38 -0800 (PST)

Gulf War vet testifies on radiation

 

 

 

 

02/11/2005

 

Gulf War vet testifies on radiation

 

Gregory B. Hladky , Capitol Bureau Chief

 

HARTFORD — Gulf War veteran Melissa Sterry's voice shook as she told

state lawmakers Thursday about the devastating illnesses she blames on

her contact with depleted uranium ammunition and armor in Kuwait.

 

" On the outside, I look perfectly normal, " said Sterry, a 42-year-old

New Haven resident. " On the inside, my body is destroying itself. "

 

Sterry told lawmakers about her chronic headaches, the pneumonia she

suffers through three or four times a year, muscle spasms, chronic

diarrhea, blood in her urine and stool and the three recorded heart

attacks she has survived.

 

" Eight of us served together, " she said about her buddies in the

National Guard. " There are two of us left alive. ... I'd like to live

to see 45 — most of my friends didn't make it to 30. "

 

Sterry said she is now " in combat " with the U.S. Department of

Veterans Affairs over medical coverage because the government insists

that its studies show depleted uranium " won't cause any long-term

health risks. "

 

Sterry was testifying in support of a bill to require that Connecticut

National Guard troops now serving in Iraq and Afghanistan be properly

screened and treated for depleted uranium contamination. The bill is

still in committee.

 

She warned that the potential for exposure to depleted uranium is far

higher in this war because more of it is being used in ammunition and

armored vehicles and troops are being exposed for far longer periods.

 

Officials from the Department of Veterans Affairs failed to respond to

requests for comment on Sterry's claims about her medical problems.

 

State Rep. Patricia Dillon, D-New Haven, testified that she introduced

the legislation because she has heard from military people all over

the United States that " the people at desk jobs in Washington, D.C.,

are discounting the danger " of depleted uranium contamination.

 

Dillon said the Army already requires that soldiers who come in

contact with depleted uranium ammunition and armored vehicles be

routinely screened and treated for contamination. " Unfortunately, many

people throughout the country who are in the military believe that

this isn't happening, " Dillon said.

 

Last year, the New York Daily News reported that it paid for tests on

nine New York National Guardsmen who had just returned from Iraq, all

of whom were suffering from various illnesses. Four of the soldiers

tested positive for exposure to depleted uranium.

 

In response to the news articles, Army officials tested 600 additional

soldiers and reported that none had tested positive.

 

" They don't want to hear about us, " insisted Sterry, predicting that

the government will respond only " when enough of us die. "

 

Depleted uranium results when enriched uranium is separated from

natural uranium when fuel is made for nuclear reactors.

 

The United States uses depleted uranium, or " DU, " to increase the

effectiveness of anti-tank shells and armor-piercing ammunition and

bombs. DU is also used in armor plating in tanks and other fighting

vehicles. It has been in common use since the Persian Gulf War and

some veterans groups blame DU for " Persian Gulf Syndrome. "

 

" The DU we're using in Iraq is much greater than we used in Gulf War

one, " Dillon said. " I don't want us to repeat the mistakes we made

back then. "

 

The Department of Defense released a study last October that found

that " the health risks from inhaling airborne particles of depleted

uranium are very low. " A five-year study by an independent research

institute paid for by the DOD reported that even " in extreme cases,

exposure to `aerosolized' depleted uranium did not pose a health risk. "

 

Dillon, however, said there are other studies that indicate DU

depletes calcium, affects the kidneys and bones and can have an impact

on a person's DNA.

 

During her testimony before the legislature's Committee on Veterans'

Affairs, Sterry reminded lawmakers that the federal government for

years also denied that the use of the defoliant Agent Orange during

the Vietnam War was a serious health risk. Later studies proved it was.

 

Sterry said she served for six months at a supply base in Kuwait

during the winter of 1991-92. Part of her job with the National

Guard's Combat Equipment Company A was to clean out tanks and other

armored vehicles that had been used during the war, preparing them for

storage.

 

She said she swept out the armored vehicles, cleaning up dust, sand

and debris, sometimes being ordered to help bury contaminated parts.

She said that when the M-8 chemical alarms her unit used were

triggered, the word would come down " to take off our chemical gear,

that the M-8s were malfunctioning. "

 

" According to the government, I was never exposed to DU because I

never drove a tank, " Sterry testified.

 

" There is this perpetual denial that is occurring. "

 

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