Depleted Uranium
 

Hey guys I just want you opinion on the use of DU by the US millitary I couldnt tell you any better than these essays and links so just tell me your thoughts.
I personaly have heard and seen US soldiers that on returning home have had children with radiation caused birth defects. I have also heard that they detected the radiation in London (though that is unconfirmed) so just tell me what you think.

Essay on DU from Anti-Flag’s, For Blood and Empire

Depleted Uranium (i.e. DU): the name implies that it is a nontoxic material, but nothing could be further from the truth. DU is extremely toxic and has a radioactive half-life of 4.5 billion years. Depleted Uranium is the by-product of nuclear energy production. DU is “a very heavy substance, 1.7 times denser than lead, and it is highly valued by armies for its ability to punch through armored vehicles. When a weapon made with a DU tip or core strikes a solid object, like the side of a tank, it goes straight through it and then erupts in a burning cloud of vapor. The vapor settles as dust, which is chemically poisonous and also radioactive.” BBC NEWS January 4, 2001 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/1101447.stm

Rep. McDermott, a medical doctor, psychiatrist and a Vietnam-era veteran, witnessed the devastating effects Agent Orange had on the health of those exposed to it in the Vietnam War, as well as the Pentagon’s denial that Agent Orange was a health hazard. (It is now widely accepted in the scientific community that the Agent Orange used in Vietnam was a hazard to human health.) Just as the Pentagon denied that Agent Orange was harmful to human health, the Pentagon now argues that DU is not harmful. The Pentagon’s argument flies in the face of certain cancer rates in parts of Iraq, which have increased by more than 600% in areas of Southern Iraq where tons of DU was dumped via U.S. armaments in Gulf War One. Faced with a lack of credible scientific research, and troubling questions where human health appears to have been co-opted as a result of the use of DU, Rep. McDermott has introduced a bill in Congress. H.R. 2410 — The Depleted Uranium Munitions Study Act was introduced in the 109th Congress (2005). It calls for in-depth studies to be conducted on DU and its effects on the health of those exposed to it. The bill has 39 co-sponsors comprised of 38 Democrats and one Republican.

SIGN THE PETITION TODAY @:
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MORE ABOUT DEPLETED URANIUM:

The Campaign Against Depleted Uranium (CADU)

Physicians for Social Responsibility Report on Depleted Uranium

1,000 - 2,000 TONS DU Spread Over Iraq’s Cities

Decorated Army Expert On DU: “The use of DU is a war crime”

Re: Depleted Uranium
 

Well, this is the first I've heard about it, so I don't really have a strong opinion yet. However I can say that it sounds horrible, and the U.S. shouldn't use such a poisonous, awful material.

Re: Depleted Uranium
 

What could be MORE American? If you can't do it to your own people...why not piss off another country by taking a radioactive dump in their backyard? I mean, come on! With all the technology the US has, you're telling me we NEED to use DU? O_____________0

As soon as we use up all the Mako energy, and build the ultimate death ray, maybe mankind will finally learn to coexist peaceably.... then again, we should bring it up at the next board meeting...which by the way will be conveniently held the 7th Thursday of the 13th month of the year 2023. :p

Re: Depleted Uranium
 

I couldn't have said it better myself.

Using such substances, it's like using atomic weaponry in disguise! :eek:

Re: Depleted Uranium
 

I also agree with Faust and theyve denied it until now and finally theres just too much evidence to deny. I heard in Vietnam they did the same thing with something called "Agent Orange" I dont know the full story behind that though.
Are all of you from the US? Or elswhere?

Re: Depleted Uranium
 

I thought that uranium was a good thing!?

Re: Depleted Uranium
 

It can be if its used as energy but they are takeing the radioactive remains of what they used as energy and useing it to make bullets

Re: Depleted Uranium
 

I'll be there. =P

Well, I say simply, don't use it. =/

I could care less, because it's not MY problem, it's my NATIONS problem. And the nation doesn't necessarily have to be me. It can be any group of people. So, let us do what we want. If we start a war, fine. It's our fault. =P

Re: Depleted Uranium
 

Agent Orange was the nickname given to a powerful herbicide and defoliant used by the U.S. military in its Herbicidal Warfare program during the Vietnam War. Agent Orange was used from 1961 to 1971, and was by far the most used of the so-called "rainbow herbicides" used during the program. Degradation of Agent Orange (as well as Agents Purple, Pink, and Green) released dioxins, which are alleged to have caused harm to the health of those exposed during the Vietnam War. Agents Blue and White were part of the same program but did not contain dioxins. Studies of populations highly exposed to dioxin indicate increased risk of various types of cancer and genetic defects; the effect of long term low level exposure has not been established. Since the 1980s, several lawsuits have been filed against the companies who produced Agent Orange, among them being Dow Chemical and Monsanto. U.S. veterans obtained $180 million in compensation in 1984, while Australian, Canadian and New Zealand veterans also obtained compensation in an out-of-court settlement the same year. In 1999, 20,000 South Koreans filed a lawsuit in Korea; in January 2006, the Korean Appeal Court ordered Monsanto and Dow to pay $62 million in compensation to about 6,800 people. However, no Vietnamese have obtained compensation, and on March 10, 2005 Judge Jack Weinstein of Brooklyn Federal Court dismissed the lawsuit filed by the Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange against the chemical companies that produced the defoliants/herbicides.

Basically a very weak Mustard Gas that was meant to target the leaves and under growth of a forest/jungle so that guerilla (spelled wrong) warfare would be less affective.

Re: Depleted Uranium
 

Thanks for clearing that up for me

Re: Depleted Uranium
 

I'm from Portugal, and so is Spec. Why do you wat to know though? :p (Sorry if I sound rude, but that's nt my intention :))