U.N. Training Iraqis in Jordan to Measure Radiation from Depleted Uranium

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U.N. Training Iraqis in Jordan to Measure Radiation from Depleted Uranium

 

June 01, 2005 — By Dale Gavlak, Associated Press

 

AMMAN, Jordan — Concerned about depleted uranium and what they say are

increasing cancer rates, Iraqi officials are receiving training from

U.N. experts on techniques to measure radiation levels according to

international standards, a U.N. official Tuesday.

 

Pekka Haavisto, chairman of the U.N. Environment Program's Iraq Task

Force, said the Iraqis were especially concerned about the southern

city of Basra and the surrounding area. He said the Iraqi government

approached UNEP for help.

 

" They did their own studies and found that the cancer risk has

increased by two to three times since the 1991 Gulf War, " Haavisto

told The Associated Press. " These are local studies and have not been

internationally verified so it is difficult to say if the picture is

so black. "

 

Depleted uranium is a heavy metal used in armor-piercing weapons. The

Pentagon maintains that depleted uranium is safe and is about 40

percent less radioactive than natural uranium.

 

The British government has given UNEP detailed information on

locations where it used 1.9 tones of depleted uranium in the south of

Iraq, but UNEP says the U.S. government hasn't come forward with the

same information despite U.N. requests.

 

UNEP is instructing 16 officials from the Iraqi Ministry of Health and

Environment, including both vice-ministers, in how to detect depleted

uranium.

 

" The UNEP is currently providing training and equipment to Iraqi

scientists to measure Beta and Gamma radiation from depleted uranium

sources, " Haavisto said.

 

He said UNEP has carried out studies on depleted uranium found in

munitions used in Kosovo and the Balkan wars but " due to the security

situation in Iraq, we are training Iraqis to conduct the studies

themselves. "

 

Haavisto said the UNEP is concerned that " there has been no proper

clean up in Iraq since wars in 2003 and 1991. There is still depleted

uranium and other chemicals on the ground. Looting has contributed to

the problem, " he said.

 

" Usually hazardous materials must be cleaned up as rapidly as

possible, " he added.

 

He said the UNEP had several other concerns about Iraq, such as the

presence of toxic materials, heavy metals and oil spills that present

environmental and health hazards.

 

UNEP's studies in the Balkans called for monitoring depleted uranium

affected areas, cleanup efforts and clearly marking affected sites.

 

It concluded that that localized contamination can be detected at

contaminated sites and so precaution is needed, while in general,

levels are so low that they do not pose an immediate threat to human

health and the environment.

 

But the Balkans studies also identified a number of uncertainties

requiring further investigation, according to UNEP. These include the

extent to which depleted uranium on the ground can filter through the

soil and eventually contaminate groundwater, and the possibility that

depleted uranium dust could later be re-suspended in the air by wind

or human activity, with the risk that it could be breathed in.

 

UNEP is also involved in environmental management of the Iraqi marshlands.

 

Source: Associated Press