Hello group,

I have been following this discussion group for several years, but this is my first post.

With the debate on the danger of depleted uranium, I have been torn.  I have researched the management issues for the huge US stockpile of depleted uranium, which is a major concern for the DOE.  Additionally, I am the family member of a researcher that has evaluated and published some findings searching for the effects of du on health (using bioassays).  It is not an easy thing to evaluate in the laboratory, and a well correlated link between du and some of the observed diseases and syndromes has been evasive even in an empirical sense.  However, with the dramatic increase in the occurrence of congenital defects in children in southern Iraq since the Gulf War, there is an undeniable link to the activities of the U.S. and allies.

For some time, I did not know what to think.  However, after listening to Democracy Now this morning, everything changed.  Plutonium has been found in du shell-impacted targets by the US military, by the US DOE, and by investigators in other countries.  The presence of plutonium and other transuranics in the US du stockpile has been evaluated in the risk assessment and determinations of management strategies.  (see: http://web.ead.anl.gov/uranium/pdf/peerreviewreport.pdf) I am ashamed that I did not interpolate the DOE information last year when I first read it.  Apparently, the DOE notified the Pentagon when they interpolated their findings.

It is disappointing, but not surprising at all, that the Pentagon was aware of the plutonium contamination in the military's du arsenal but continued to deny their responsibility in the suffering and deaths of countless people that have essentially been attacked with resilient disease-causing weapons.

It seems in my adulthood, no day will ever go by when I will not be deeply ashamed of my country's wanton, destructive, and evil actions.

My best regards to the members of this discussion group.  Free the people of Iraq!

-Michael Peterson