Google “9/11 Nukes – Radiation-induced cancers”

Could the reason for legal action be that Iraq has given up on the USA voluntarily following WHO guidelines? In the words of Colin Powell, “You break it. You own it.”

I do recommend you keep the personal stuff out of your posts. I care not that you find my posts “enjoyable.” I especially fail to understand why you seem compelled to volunteer that you didn’t “steal” the DU ordinance.

As a civil Law & Motion clerk in the real world I’m always a tad skeptical when people deny an allegation that hasn’t been raised. Technically, from your own admission, you were in possession of stolen property and aided and abetted a thief in the concealment of stolen property.

I hope your Dad grounded you. Yer very lucky I’m not your Dad. I would have made you read some Noam Chomsky;)

All the Best,
Thrash

The recommendations that you listed from WHO are RIGHT-ON! Considering the fact that scientists don’t know if the DU health hazard is heavy-metal, radiological, or both does not mitigate the issue; recommendations in your post should be followed, regardless.

Brad, I do not hold any organization or individual to messiah or religous status; therefore, I do not revert to union-mode and start blame-throwing and name calling. That was one irritating thing that I learned when dealing with union members. They always raised their voices and started to use ad hominem attacks that did not further their argument.

The UN does some really good things, and they do some really corrupt and stupid things. Unions are necessary but somewhat corrupt and have a union-centric view (blinders). The democrat party brings compassion and tolerance to debate; however, they go way to far with redistribution schemes. Republicans have been BETTER (neither good or great) on fiscal policy; however, they are inept.

I must clarify: We did not steal the DU. A friend of mine wondered into a restricted area on base and found it. He got scared when I told him his dad could lose his retirement because of the theft and left it at my house. The material was returned to the proper authorities. The friend and I were about 10. During the Gulf War, my dad explained to me what my friend had found as it related to munitions being used in the Gulf War.

markm

WHO Recommendations

* Following conflict, levels of DU contamination in food and drinking water might be detected in affected areas even after a few years. This should be monitored where it is considered there is a reasonable possibility of significant quantities of DU entering the ground water or food chain.
* Where justified and possible, clean-up operations in impact zones should be undertaken if there are substantial numbers of radioactive projectiles remaining and where qualified experts deem contamination levels to be unacceptable. If high concentrations of DU dust or metal fragments are present, then areas may need to be cordoned off until removal can be accomplished. Such impact sites are likely to contain a variety of hazardous materials, in particular unexploded ordnance. Due consideration needs to be given to all hazards, and the potential hazard from DU kept in perspective.
* Small children could receive greater exposure to DU when playing in or near DU impact sites. Their typical hand-to-mouth activity could lead to high DU ingestion from contaminated soil. Necessary preventative measures should be taken.
* Disposal of DU should follow appropriate national or international recommendations.

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs257/en/

I would suggest that more than 2000 tons of DU ordinance is likely to have produced “…a reasonable possibility of significant quantities of DU entering the ground water or food chain.”

I was handling DU when I was a kid. We had a chunk of it in our garage. It was stolen from an aircraft accident. The DU was used as a counterweight for a stabilator. The material was very, very heavy. I have not suffered any radiation poisening as DU does not emit much harmful radiation. The heavy metal aspect is more dangerous to life than the radioactive aspect.

Here is an opinion:

“Depleted uranium is a heavy metal that is also slightly radioactive. Heavy metals (uranium, lead, tungsten, etc.) have chemical toxicity properties that, in high doses, can cause adverse health effects. Depleted uranium that remains outside the body can not harm you.

“A common misconception is that radiation is depleted uranium’s primary hazard. This is not the case under most battlefield exposure scenarios. Depleted uranium is approximately 40 percent less radioactive than natural uranium. Depleted uranium emits alpha and beta particles, and gamma rays. Alpha particles, the primary radiation type produced by depleted uranium, are blocked by skin, while beta particles are blocked by the boots and battle dress utility uniform (BDUs) typically worn by Service members. While gamma rays are a form of highly-penetrating energy , the amount of gamma radiation emitted by depleted uranium is very low. Thus, depleted uranium does not significantly add to the background radiation that we encounter every day.”

“When fired, or after “cooking off” in fires or explosions, the exposed depleted uranium rod poses an extremely low radiological threat as long as it remains outside the body. Taken into the body via metal fragments or dust-like particles, depleted uranium may pose a long-term health hazard to personnel if the amount is large. However, the amount which remains in the body depends on a number of factors, including the amount inhaled or ingested, the particle size and the ability of the particles to dissolve in body fluids.”

http://www.gulflink.osd.mil/faq/faq_du.jsp

As for the rest of your post, and please take this next line with the humor that was intended, you have a tendency to ricochet of the walls like a bullet fired in a room lined in plate steel!

I do enjoy reading your posts!

markm

When Bush launched his “War on Terrorism” I scoffed and renamed it the “War Among Terrorists.”

If and when a nuke goes off in NY or Washington I won’t feel so much moral outrage as I will recognize blowback. My only hope would be they detonate on K Street.

You wrote: “DU munitions are condidered tactical nukes.”

I believe you wrote this incorrectly; however, I may be mistaken.

Depleted Uranium projectiles do not have fisionable material within them, and they don’t have a triggering device that can create a nuclear chain reaction. Tactical nukes are not dirty bombs; they are true nuclear weapons that create vast amounts of energy by splitting or fusing atoms.

DU is safe to handle as long as the metal does not become a powder mixed with ambient air. It SEEMS the heavy metal aspect is more of a concern than the radioactive aspect.

Wikipedia is NOT a RELIABLE source; however, below is a link to its DU page. The info seems OK as a primer. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depleted_uranium

This next website may be suspect. Please use this info as a primer only. http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/du.htm

I believe that Greg’s analogy with gasoline was lacking. The “radiological” term for DU may not be accurate either; but, for now, science needs to perform lots of work to figure out what the dangerous aspect is from DU, or if their is another environmental factor involved with the birth defects and other health issues.

The US and other nations that use DU munitions should fund studies to provide answers.

markm