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    Scott Ritter: Why is Britain's Uranium Ammo Decision a Big Deal? Archived Message

    Posted by sashimi on March 23, 2023, 4:19 am, in reply to "Re: Macgregor betrays his criminal lack of scientific knowledge - "As far as I can tell, nobody has"

    22 March 2023

    (quote)
    In 1999, NATO fired some 30,000 rounds of depleted uranium munitions in Kosovo
    as part of the military intervention in Kosovo (KFOR). According to Lt. Col
    Alexander Willing, a KFOR spokesman, "NATO's use of DU in the Kosovo conflict
    did not cause any continuing health risk and therefore no further action was
    required on our part," he wrote.

    The KFOR/NATO position is backed up by an assessment conducted by the
    International Atomic Energy Agency, which concluded that "There was no
    detectable, widespread contamination of the ground surface by depleted
    uranium. This means that any widespread contamination is present in such low
    levels that it cannot be detected or differentiated from the natural uranium
    concentration found in rocks and soil. The corresponding radiological and
    toxicological risks are insignificant and even non-existent."

    The KFOR/NATO/IAEA reports, however, were contradicted by a study published by
    the National Institute of Health regarding an increase in hematological
    malignancies (HM) in Kosovo that appear to be linked with DU exposure. This
    report stated that the "incidence of HM increased by 3.19/100,000 persons (82%)"
    in regions where the use of DU ammunition was high.

    "Despite these findings," the report concluded, "this study warrants further
    investigation and does not lead us to a conclusive finding on the existence of a
    causal relationship between the use of DU during the war and the rise in
    incidence of HM in Kosovo."

    The same cannot be said about the use of DU munitions by the United States in
    Iraq. Human Rights Now (HRN), a Japan-based non-governmental organization,
    performed an independent analysis of the impact DU had on the civilian
    population of the city of Fallujah, the scene of heavy combat involving US
    forces who employed DU munitions. According to the HRN report, "an extraordinary
    situation of congenital birth defects" were detected "in both nature and
    quantity. The report concluded that the presence of DU in the environment
    resulting from combat "may be playing a significant role in the observed rate of
    birth defects."

    The US military itself points to the potential health hazard posed by exposure
    to DU. says depleted uranium ammunition is safe, for the most part. "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," the US Military Health Agency notes. "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."
    (/quote)
    -- Cont'd at https://archive.is/rEaQe

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