Do military personal and their families know about depleted uranium?

[NAO]

It seems like that would be a MAJOR ISSUE if someone is serving in Iraq or has a family member in Iraq.

I can see how many of the soldiers just buy the official story that depleted uranium is harmless, but some must have doubts. Many of their family members must at least wonder and worry.

Is this why the corporate media blackout on depleted uranium is so utter and complete - so that our troops are not aware of what they are being exposed to?

[Jacobin]

1. I mentioned it to a guy I work with whose son is over there

He just shrugged as if it were just one of those things his son would have to go through to show how tough he was.

Cannon fodder. Willing, gullible, 'patriotic', adventure-seeking folk.

[randr]

2. They will before this is all over

[Ilsa]

7. Maybe not until they have a deformed baby.

My brother said all his buddies cam home after PGW-I and starting making babies right away. A bunch of the babies, almost all, had real health problems or deformities.

A bunch do know because a lot of them banked their sperm before going.

[Solly Mack]

3. Yes, many do. As a matter of fact, it's one of the questions

asked upon return from Iraq during the health screening..

"Do you think you were exposed to DU?"

and my husband and I tell everyone to say "Yes"

cause down the road, should health problems develop...it's on record.

and if it ain't on record...for the military...it doesn't exist...so anyone not answering "Yes", won't be considered at a risk for DU health related problems.

[NAO]

4. But aren't their families freaked out?

All it takes is a Google on 'depleted uranium' to dredge up thousands of sites documenting the horrific effects.

I just can't imagine having a family member serving in Iraq and not being EXTREMELY CONCERNED, like calling the media concerned, calling my congressman, writing letters to the newspaper, making as much noise as possible about this potentially deadly, irreversible, seriously dangerous hazard.

[Solly Mack]

6. Well, most I know are concerned

many will appear unconcerned because it's one of those "rather not think about" fears for them....even when they do think about it privately and just won't discuss it.

It bothers me greatly and I keep records.

Some just don't think that far ahead.

[Silverhair]

14. And all of them are wrong.

Just because thousands of web sites say the earth is flat, doesn't make it so.

The average person doesn't know shit about nuclear physics and is easily frightened by the word "radioactive". So anti-war activists play on that fear by stating that the half-life of DU is 4.5B years. But what that actually means is that DU is very, very stable. The shorter the half life, the more dangerous something is. The stuff with half lives that can be measured in hours (As in some of the fallout after a surface nuke burst.)is very bad stuff.

There are many valid reasons for being against the war, but DU ain't one of them.

At this point many posters will start screaming about birth defects, as if the mere existence of a birth defect is somehow proof that it was caused by DU. Lots of things cause BDs, including nature itself. As far as that is concerned, I personally have a BD (rotated femurs)but I am too old to blame it on nukes. But daddy was a smoker - can I sue the tobacco companies?

[OneBlueSky]

16. no, you're the one who is wrong . . .

DU may be very stable, but when it aerosolizes upon impact it creates a fine radioactive dust that is inhaled by those in the vicinity . . . and settles onto the ground to be stirred up by any future traffic . . . you could probably handle a hunk of DU without any negative effects, but inhaling the dust created when the stuff blows up is another story entirely . . .

[Silverhair]

26. Breathing the dust MAY give you heavy metal poisoning.

That is a very dangerous thing, but is entirely different from radioactive problems.

Consider: Would you want to breathe lead dust? Mercury vapor?

DU, as a radioactive substance, is harmless. As a heavy metal it is a different story.

[anarchy1999]

20. Dearest Silverhair, have you read anything about DU?

Have you been to hear Doug Rokke speak, have you read the whistle blower's account, Dr. Lauren Moret?

http://www.idust.net/Letters/Moret01.htm

There is much more from her.

"There are many valid reasons for being against the war, but DU ain't one of them."

You are so out of touch. I'm sorry, but you are.

A song comes to mind, "Idiot son of an @#%%$".

[Silverhair]

27. Nor is this person believable. Look at this sentence:

"In nearly every talk we gave, a National Guardsman or other military person would tell us that their masks fell off when they tilted their heads."

I have personally worn that gas mask, as did every person in the company that I was in during basic training. Nobody had their mask fall off.

It may anger you, but you can't change basic nuclear physics. A long half live means a stable element.

She also speaks of problems when DU is inhaled. That may indeed be a problem, but it is a heavy metal problem, not a radioactive one. There is a difference.

I doubt that you could breathe ANY fine metal dust without severe health problems.

[OneBlueSky]

30. "There is a difference." . . .

no . . . there is a distinction without a difference . . . the problem is that depleted uranium, used in weaponry, causes severe health problems to those exposed to it . . . whether those health problems are caused because DU is radioactive or because it is a heavy metal is irrelevant to those affected by it . . .

[Silverhair]

31. Most posters try to use the 4.5B half-life as a scare tactic.

That it what I am opposed to.

We should not try to take advantage of people's ignorance. It is dishonorable and will eventually bite us in the ass by costing us credibility.

Because she lied about the gas masks, I don't trust her to be telling the truth about anything.

[tsuki]

5. I think the military is being to learn. I was at the Dem meeting Monday

and mentioned that testing the returning troop for depleted uranium must be a priority. Only the retired military member even knew what I was talking about. (BTW, I am the resident tin foil hatter in my local. When I start on Newt, they run.)

:shrug:

[Ilsa]

8. Alot of soldiers banked their sperm because they had heard

about the high rate of birth defects for many years after coming home.

(Going to war was expensive, between buying their own vests and banking sperm.)

[LynnTheDem]

9. YES we know.

YES vets have been working tirelessly on this issue for years.

YES more US soldiers have died since Gulf War I than died IN Gulf War I...and that was only a few weeks' exposure.

And how many Americans actually give a shit???

Not a whole lot.

[NAO]

10. Has anyone ever got anywhere with the news media?

It really seems like there is an absolute blackout on this issue.

I have NEVER heard the words "depleted uranium" on CNN, MSNBC, FOX, or even that liberal mouthpiece, CBS.

Are vets and military families trying to get media exposure for the issue? Are they hitting brick walls?

[LynnTheDem]

11. 1. Nope.

-Why would Americans give a f*ck about DU poisoning our troops when they don't give a f*ck about the same troops being LIED into a war of choice aggression that is EXACTLY the same as what Hitler did to Poland in 1939; who don't give a f*ck about our troops still being short on ammo, rifles and body armour AFTER TWO YEARS; and who don't even care about the fact that there's not been one single national memorial service FOUR YEARS after troops are still dying in Afghanistan and going on THREE YEARS of troops dying in Iraq.

2. Yes. And yes.

Yes, we're trying. Yes, we're hitting the usual brick walls; US State Media, and a nation of people who just don't give a f*ck about a tiny minority. Out of 290 million Americans, only 1 million are military; why care about a tiny minority of cannon fodder.

[Silverhair]

12. Because it is harmless.

Most people don't know much about science and so when you tell them it has a half life of 4.5 billion years it freaks them out. But what that actually means is that the stuff is EXTEMELY stable. The shorter the half life, the more dangerous something is.

However, DU is a heavy metal, so there could be a separate issue of heavy metal poisoning, similar to the way lead and other heavy metals act.

You can rant all you want to, but you can't change the laws of physics. Physics doesn't know about anybodies politics, it just is.

[NAO]

13. Do You think Bush would let the twins wear DU cross necklaces?

Would Rummy wear cuff-links make of depleted uranium?

If it's truly harmless, why is it not made into nick-knacks and cool extra-heavy paperweights? Why is it not used in industry and consumer goods?

Lead, mercury and other heavy metals are available in many common goods. Depleted uranium is not.

I have trouble believing that it is truly harmless, or even only as harmful as lead and mercury.

[Silverhair]

25. That is because people are afraid of the word "radioactive".

I would have no trouble keeping some on my desk. As jewelry, it would be pretty heavy. Even though a half-life of 4.5B years means strong stability.

[ridgerunner]

15. Maybe you should tell these folks that

http://www.gulfwarvets.com/cgi-bin/forumdisplay.cgi?action=topics&forum=Gulf+War+Illness&number=1&DaysPrune=1000&LastLogin=

I'm sure they would love to hear your opinion that it's harmless.

Here are articles about DU

http://www.gulfwarvets.com/du.htm

[Silverhair]

24. You can't change science with politics.

A long half life is a stable element. That is a fact on the level of a round earth.

[ridgerunner]

32. You still haven't

backed up your claim that it is harmless.

[Silverhair]

33. It is impossible to prove a negative.

And I have admitted that as a heavy metal it poses a danger. But the radioactive danger just isn't there. The level of radioactivity of DU is so slight that it takes 4.5 billion years for half of it to activate.

If you claim that it is dangerous due to the radioactivity level, then you must be the one to prove that claim.

As you are reading this some of the atoms in your body have gone off as tiny A-bombs, various cosmic rays have zipped through you, neutrinos have gone through you like you weren't there (To them - you weren't)and depending on where you live, you may have breathed some radon gas. If you are concerned about the radiation from DU, then you must really be hyper over all of that other radiation.

[ridgerunner]

34. Nope, that doesn't work

You said it was harmless. I never said it was "dangerous due to the radioactivity level" so I have nothing to prove.

How is it harmless?

[Silverhair]

35. OK, I read into your post. I should not have.

When you posted about DU, I assumed that you were talking about the radioactivity, because that meme is what one sees a lot off. So I thought, "Here we go again." I responded to the radioactivity claim.

If you are talking about different aspects of it, I will not argue. If you are talking about the radioactivity, then I will argue.

I still strongly suspect that it is the claim of radioactivity that is behind your post, but a suspicion is not a proof.

[ridgerunner]

36. So are you saying

that you are wrong and that DU is indeed harmful?

[Silverhair]

37. Are you accepting...

that if DU is harmful, it is from heavy metal poisoning and NOT from radioactivity?

[anarchy1999]

21. You dear sir, you are out of line. Period.

The research is stacked against your mouth and your pen.

RIP!

[LynnTheDem]

23. Sure are a lot of scientists and med experts who say YOU are wrong.

Even the US military disagrees with you; have you ever seen the procedures that must be followed before troops are allowed to move/store DU-contaminated items?

[ngGale]

17. DU was being talked about in the Senate before...

the war began - then they stopped and went into denial, again.
They know exactly how dangerous it is. Normal, everyday American's don't because they don't want us to know. Those of us who do know try and explain it, but it's hard to get attention for the DU problem. Picture's are worth a thousand words where DU is concerned.

[Name removed]

18. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[ridgerunner]

22. Thanks n/t

[anarchy1999]

19. No, most of them do not and when you tell them, they do NOT, want

to hear it, not under any uncertain terms.

It's conspiracy, it's lunacy and just stop.

Agent Orange, yeah, well that was Vietnam. Our government wouldn't do something like that again. Ever.

Okay. Sorry.

It's only when their kids get really sick do they start to want to know why. Sad but true.

[0007]

28. I'm a cancer survivor. I go to M.D. Anderson twice a year for

my check ups. M.D. Anderson is the number one cancer center in the world. I'm usually in Houston for two to three days. I've notice on my last two visits an influx of military personnel coming to M.D. Anderson.

Could depleted uranium be the reason?

[0007]

29. I'm a cancer survivor. I go to M.D. Anderson twice a year for

my check ups. M.D. Anderson is the number one cancer center in the world. I'm usually in Houston for two to three days. I've notice on my last two visits an influx of military personnel coming to M.D. Anderson.

Could depleted uranium be the reason?