Study finds toxic metals in dust in Afghanistan

[unhappycamper]

Builder 2nd Class Eric Clark assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 5 is caught in a sandstorm May 4 at Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan. A new Navy study suggests that dust from Afghanistan contains metals that may cause respiratory problems and brain damage.


Study finds toxic metals in dust in Afghanistan
By Andrew Tilghman - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Jul 12, 2010 18:23:04 EDT

Here’s another thing to worry about when you deploy: toxic dust.

A new Navy study suggests that dust from Afghanistan contains metals that may cause respiratory problems and brain damage.

“Afghanistan sand produces neurotoxicity … with potential adverse health effects to our soldiers,” according to a briefing of the study presented at a medical conference in June in Portland, Ore.

The Navy conducted the study in response to anecdotal concerns that the dust and dust storms common in the Middle East may be harmful. The dust samples were taken from Forward Operating Base Salerno near Khost, which was selected because of its relative isolation with no nearby industry that could skew results.

A close analysis of the Afghan dust found traces of manganese, a toxic chemical known to cause Parkinson’s-like symptoms. Other metals found in the sand include silicon, iron, magnesium, aluminum and chromium.

[dixiegrrrrl]

1. So is the dust natually metal heavy or just since the last 30 years of bombing ?

We seem to be creating a disposable military, sending them out in toxic environments like Iraq and
Afghanistan ( not to mention Bosnia, etc) then failing to treat their resultant problems when they come home.

[unhappycamper]

2. Depleted unraniam dust is just one of the hazards.

Barsra, Iraq experienced a spike in birth defects after the invasion of Iraq.

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=3116


Burn pits are another biological hazard.

[Soylent Brice]

3. let's not forget white phosphorous:

Phosphorus claim after fatal air strikes in Afghanistan
(May 2009)

Afghanistan's leading human rights ­organisation is investigating claims that white phosphorus was used during a deadly battle between US forces and the Taliban last week in which scores of civilians may have died.

Nader Nadery, a senior officer at the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, said the organisation was concerned that the chemical, which can cause severe burns, might have been used in the firefight in Bala Baluk, a district in the western province of Farah.

Dr Mohammad Aref Jalali, the head of an internationally funded burns hospital in Herat, said villagers taken to hospital after the incident had "highly unusual burns" on their hands and feet that he had not seen before. "We cannot be 100% sure what type of chemical it was and we do not have the equipment here to find out. One of the women who came here told us that 22 members of her family were totally burned. She said a bomb distributed white power that caught fire and then set people's clothes alight."

more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/may/10/afghanistan-attacks-phosphorus-investigation

[unhappycamper]

5. ..

The United States has been using WP for a looooong time.

[Javaman]

4. That must be some of that "mineral richness" the pentagon was crowing about. nt

[MineralMan]

6. That's pretty much true of dust anywhere.

Those are some of the most common minerals on the planet, except for the chromium. All dust is full of minerals. That's what it is.

"A close analysis of the Afghan dust found traces of manganese, a toxic chemical known to cause Parkinson’s-like symptoms. Other metals found in the sand include silicon, iron, magnesium, aluminum and chromium."

Manganese is common pretty much everywhere, worldwide. Silicon is the primary ingredient in quartz, which makes up most sand. Iron is also one of the most common elements on the planet. If it's dust and it's red, it's iron oxide. Magnesium and aluminum are common, too in most places' dust. Chromium is the only metal mentioned that is less common. It's also one of the most poisonous.

This article is deceptive. Either that or the writer knows nothing about the composition of windblown dust.

[unhappycamper]

7. I don't know.

Depleted Uranium: The Horrific Legacy of Basra

A quick google search of: http://www.google.com/#hl=en&source=hp&q=depleted+uranium+basra&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=CH0iXaII8TKfUDZae7AOV9unGCAAAAKoEBU_QVcbb&fp=36ec6be010d257f turns up about 22,300 entries.

A quick google search of: http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=depleted+uranium+iraq&aq=f&aqi=g5&aql=&oq=depleted+uranium+iraq&gs_rfai=&fp=dd2d1939af06a5a turns up about 237,000 entries.

A quick google search of: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=white%20phosphorus%20iraq&ech=39&psi=YII8TK6oKsWclgeBpPhu12790339517230&um=1&resnum=4&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=iw turns up about 73,900 entries.

[MineralMan]

8. Uranium was not mentioned in the OP, and isn't a common

thing in dust, except perhaps in some areas of Arizona, where oxidized uranium minerals can be found on the surface. Also where uranium is mined, dust associated with mine tailings may have pretty high levels of uranium minerals in it. Very, very dangerous, since inhaled particles of uranium minerals are very likely to produce lung cancers.

Most dust, however, contains most of the ingredients mentioned in the OP.