Depleted Uranium Munitions

Depleted Uranium Situation Requires Action
By President Bush and Prime Minister Blair & U.S. Congress

by Dr. Doug Rokke, Ph.D.,

Former Director of U.S. Army Depleted Uranium Project, Former Gulf War 1 DU assessment team health physicist, Confirmed DU casualty

June 2, 2005

While U.S. and British military personnel continue using uranium munitions- America's and England's own "dirty bombs" U.S. Army, U.S. Department of Energy, and U.S. Department of Defense officials continue to deny that there are any adverse health and environmental effects as a consequence of the manufacture, testing, and/or use of uranium munitions to avoid liability for the willful and illegal dispersal of a radioactive toxic material - depleted uranium. They arrogantly refuse to comply with their own regulations, orders, and directives that require United States Department of Defense officials to provide prompt and effective medical care "all" exposed individuals [Medical Management of Unusual Depleted Uranium Casualties, DOD, Pentagon, 10/14/93, Medical Management of Army personnel Exposed to Depleted Uranium (DU) Headquarters, U.S. Army Medical Command 29 April 2004), and section 2-5 of AR 70-48].

They also refuse to clean up dispersed radioactive Contamination as required by Army Regulation- AR 700-48: "Management of Equipment Contaminated With Depleted Uranium or Radioactive Commodities" (Headquarters, Department Of The Army, Washington, D.C., September 2002) and U.S. Army Technical Bulletin- TB 9-1300-278: "Guidelines For Safe Response To Handling, Storage, And Transportation Accidents Involving Army Tank Munitions Or Armor Which Contain Depleted Uranium" (Headquarters, Department Of The Army, Washington, D.C., JULY 1996).

Specifically section 2-4 of United States Army Regulation-AR 700-48 dated September 16, 2002 requires that:

(1) "Military personnel "identify, segregate, isolate, secure, and label all RCE" (radiologically contaminated equipment).
(2) "Procedures to minimize the spread of radioactivity will be implemented as soon as possible."
(3) "Radioactive material and waste will not be locally disposed of through burial, submersion, incineration, destruction in place, or abandonment" and
(4) "All equipment, to include captured or combat RCE, will be surveyed, packaged, retrograded, decontaminated and released IAW Technical Bulletin 9-1300-278, DA PAM 700-48" (Note: Maximum exposure limits are specified in Appendix F).

The past and current use of uranium weapons, the release of radioactive components in destroyed U.S. and foreign military equipment, and releases of industrial, medical, research facility radioactive materials have resulted in unacceptable exposures. Therefore, decontamination must be completed as required by U.S. Army Regulation 700-48 and should include releases of all radioactive materials resulting from military operations.

The extent of adverse health and environmental effects of uranium weapons contamination is not limited to combat zones but includes facilities and sites where uranium weapons were manufactured or tested including Vieques, Puerto Rico, Colonie, New York, and Jefferson Proving Grounds, Indiana.

Therefore medical care must be provided by the United States Department of Defense officials to all individuals affected by the manufacturing, testing, and/or use of uranium munitions.

Thorough environmental remediation also must be completed without further delay.

I am amazed that fourteen years after I was asked to clean up the initial DU mess from Gulf War 1 and almost ten years since I finished the depleted uranium project that United States Department of Defense officials and many others still attempt to justify uranium munitions use while ignoring mandatory requirements. But beyond the ignored mandatory actions that the willful dispersal of tons of solid radioactive and chemically toxic waste in the form of uranium munitions just does not even pass the common sense test.

Finally, continued compliance with the infamous March 1991 Los Alamos Memorandum that was issued to ensure continued use of uranium munitions cannot be justified.

In conclusion:

The President of the United States- George W. Bush and The Prime Minister of Great Britain-Tony Blair & U.S. Congress must acknowledge and accept responsibility for willful use of illegal uranium munitions- their own "dirty bombs"- resulting in adverse health and environmental effects.

President Bush and Prime Minister Blair also should order:

medical care for all casualties,
thorough environmental remediation,
immediate cessation of retaliation against all of us who demand compliance with medical care and environmental remediation requirements,
and ban the future use of depleted uranium munitions.

References

These references are copies of the actual regulations and orders and other pertinent official documents:

http://www.news-journalonline.com/special/uranium/words073006.htm

http://www.grassrootspeace.org/twomemos.html

http://www.grassrootspeace.org/rokke_du_3_ques.html

http://www.grassrootspeace.org/du_dtic_wakayama_Aug2002.html