Depleted Science in DU Debate?
by our science editor Laura Durnford, 27 November 2000

DU, Depleted Uranium, is used to harden missiles and has been under attack since its first use on the battlefields of the Gulf War in 1991. It's one suspect in the mystery of what causes Gulf War syndrome. Now Canada is being urged to take a leading position against DU, but at the same time, its Government scientists stand accused of misleading ex-servicemen.

At a recent International Conference on Depleted Uranium, held in Manchester, England, delegates called upon Canada to take the lead in a move to get DU banned. But they also criticised Canada's Government scientists, saying they were misleading ex-servicemen who are suffering from Gulf War Syndrome – a variety of mysterious ailments that some are now blaming on Depleted Uranium.

By-Product

DU is a concern because it's a by-product of the process that's used to make nuclear power fuel or nuclear weapons. Although ‘depleted' of its powerfully radioactive component, DU does still contain minute traces of radioactivity. This is not why it's used in missiles though. In fact, DU is 1.7 times more dense than lead and this means that it can form the core of a shell which will easily penetrate steel armour of tanks and other military vehicles. The problem is that when a hardened missile strikes home, around 70% of the DU burns and oxidises, bursting into minute particles that can be inhaled or ingested as dust. This can be harmful because of the residual radioactivity of the DU, possibly leading to cancer, but also because uranium itself, as a heavy metal, is toxic and can lead to kidney failure and other health problems.

But Canadian, as well as British and US military experts have denounced the existence of so-called Gulf War Syndrome. They also say that studies have not shown veterans' health problems to be linked to DU, among other things.

Disputed Results

In Canada in particular, National Defence test results suggest that sick ex-servicemen are not suffering from DU poisoning. The tests looked for Uranium in urine samples. But the science behind these results was questioned by other researchers at the UK meeting. For example, Dr. Malcolm Hooper who's medical advisor to the British Gulf War veterans said, "They've not looked with the right instrumentation. They've not reported accurately their own results and they've used the wrong paradigm to interpret the data." Chris Busby, an epidemiologist from Wales added, "It's a sort of subterfuge perhaps, or at the best it's just a misunderstanding of the reality – because we're not concerned with the amount of Uranium in people's urine, we're concerned with the amount of Uranium particles  lodged in people's lungs."

`Sensationalism´

On the other side of the debate US and Canadian government officials say that scientists who have called for a ban on weapons made with DU are part of the anti-nuclear movement and are using sensationalism to influence the public; Roger Caplan, deputy director of the US Government agency that's looking into Gulf War Syndrome said: "Frankly it's a step-child of the anti-nuke movement. I think it's just basically, ‘we couldn't get the issue passed one way, so let's package it as Gulf War illness, perhaps now the veteran's group will rally behind us.'" And Canada's director of medical policy for the Department of National Defence, Dr. Ken Scott, says he doesn't understand how the critics could come to their conclusions after having seen so little of the information. "Conducting science through the media with results that are not published is not appropriate. There's always a danger of relying on people who may be very well meaning but who don't have the depth of understanding of what it is they're looking at."

Civilians Affected

Whatever the rights or wrongs of the scientific debate over Depleted Uranium and its connection to Gulf War Syndrome, lawyers say there's enough evidence to link the ill health of veterans to the almost 950 thousand DU missiles and shells fired. But it's not only ex-servicemen. Campaigners in Iraq say that almost 250 thousand civilians there have been affected, with the rate of leukaemia among Iraqi children rising sevenfold since the end of the conflict. Dr Hadu Ammash is a doctor in Iraq: "The incidence of cancer is more in the South where the battlefield is, where the still-contaminated areas exist." In addition, DU weapons were also deployed in Kosovo and there are fears that civilians and servicemen who served there may also experience ill effects. Iraqi cancer victims and American former soldiers suffering from Gulf War Syndrome are joining forces to sue the US government over the use of DU missiles. Former British military personnel will also be invited to join the action.

In the meantime, Canada stopped using its own DU weapons two years ago and has taken steps to deal with sick veterans, offering to pay for soldiers to be tested for DU exposure at independent American centres. However, Ottawa, like Washington, has so far rejected calls for a ban on weapons made from Depleted Uranium.