NATO uranium poisons civilian population
Mon Apr 18, 2011 6:44AM
Interview with Conn Hallinan, Foregin policy and focus, Berkeley
Child born in Afghanistan suffering effects of depleted uranium.
Depleted uranium has been proven to cause serious damage to troops, civilians and the environment, but the US, France and Britain have blocked a UN ban proposal.
In an interview with Press TV, Conn Hallinan, of Foreign Policy and Focus in Berkeley, California, discusses the West's awareness of the immense long-term danger of using depleted uranium in weapons, and its leaching impact, which poisons the environment and water supply for billions of years.
Press TV: Depleted uranium is being used in Libya in NATO weapons. Can you comment on the seriousness of this and on international reaction if any?
Conn Hallinan: Well, in Libya there has almost certainly been use of it because for the American A10 attack planes and AC130s that is their standard anti-armor weapon; they use depleted uranium shells.
It is very dangerous. It has had very bad effects in the first Gulf war, in Iraq, and also in Kosovo to a certain extent.
What people don't realize is while depleted uranium is not highly radioactive, itself, when it explodes, it turns into a powder. It's when the powder is ingested -- either through drinking it or eating it or breathing it in -- that's when the problems start. We know that it damages bone marrow and chromosomes. It is also a very highly toxic metal so it damages kidneys and livers, as well.
The WTO World Health Organization has strongly recommended against using it because it tends to leach into the water table and the problem with this stuff is that it has a half-life of 4.4 billion years. Once it gets into the environment, it's there. And it's basically there forever, leaching into the water system; people are drinking it and bathing in it, and the long term health effects are extremely serious.
Press TV: One of the initial goals of these attacks in Libya was to provide protection for the civilians. How does the depleted uranium issue impact on such aims?
Conn Hallinan: It does the opposite. It puts civilians in extreme danger. To give an example, firstly, you have the troops, themselves. The American troops at the end of the first Gulf war were contaminated with these particles because they encountered American tanks that were hit with friendly fire and also Iraqi tanks that were destroyed with depleted uranium and they climbed on top of them and climbed inside of them, took pictures, etc., and the whole time, they were absorbing this stuff.
Out of the 800,000 troops that served in the Gulf, about 107,000 of them are down with Gulf War Syndrome. There is no question that depleted uranium played a major role in the development of Gulf War syndrome.
The main problem for the civilians is that depleted uranium is extremely heavy -- about the heaviest thing you can imagine, so when it misses a target and doesn't explode, then it goes very deep into the ground -- about 25-30 inches into the ground and when the rain comes that starts leaching into the environment, and possibly, the water supply.
The UN sub-committee has called for a ban on depleted uranium in munitions in violation of the Geneva Convention and UN Charter. And that action was blocked by France, Britain and the US.
The Latin American parliament has established a moratorium on them and there are several NATO countries that refuse to use it -- that is Germany and Italy. And in the case of Belgium, it has actually banned depleted uranium use.
Press TV: It seems that most of the NATO attacks on Libya have been conducted around the areas the revolutionaries are gathered. Your comments on this?
Conn Hallinan: Essentially what America has done is take sides in a civil war. There is a civil war going on and NATO is supporting one side. So they have focused on destroying tanks and artillery and personnel, as well; but the depleted uranium would be aimed at armor exclusively. The reason it's used around the rebels is because they are using it as close support and they're coming in destroying tanks and armored personnel carriers that are advancing on rebel positions.
The uranium is there for 4.4 billion years and that's a long time to have that kind of toxin floating around in the environment.
SC/TG/HRF
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