Canada should join Italy, Germany and other NATO partners in determining the health effects of depleted uranium used in munitions, says a prominent critic of defence issues.

There's strong evidence that airborne particles of the radioactive metal used in concrete and armour-piercing bullets and cannon shells has mutagenic and cancer-causing properties when inhaled, says Scott Taylor. Taylor is editor and publisher of the Ottawa-based Esprit de Corps magazine. He was in Edmonton Saturday to publicize a new book on the Kosovo conflict, Inat: Images of Serbia and the Kosovo conflict. National Defence officials have repeatedly insisted that depleted uranium has no health effects. It claims that testing of 107 soldiers who served in the Gulf war showed no evidence of medical problems. Munitions containing depleted uranium were used extensively by U.S. and British forces in the Desert Storm war in Iraq a decade ago. And after initial denials, the British and Americans have also admitted to its use in Bosnia and Kosovo.

Depleted uranium is used in armour-piercing rounds because it is dense and able to penetrate tanks. When it enters the tank, it burns, incinerating the tank crew. It's also used in some tanks' armour plating.  Iraqi doctors blame the hundreds of deformed babies born in southern Iraq since Desert Storm on depleted uranium particles inhaled by civilians.

Taylor last year visited Basra in southern Iraq where such weapons were used most heavily. He toured a "rogues' gallery" of deformed babies whose parents had supposedly been exposed to vapours of exploded shells containing depleted uranium.

"There's hundreds and hundreds of photographs that absolutely turn your stomach. It's kids with two heads, babies born with no skin, organs on the outside. And almost every one of these kids died," he said. Italy has blamed depleted uranium for the death of eight of its peacekeepers who served in the Balkans. It has joined Germany, Greece and Norway in calling for a moratorium in its use in munitions. "The World Health Organization has been (in Iraq), did one quick test and said we need a massive international survey on this issue right now. The one blocking it is the U.S.," he said.

"If Canada and the Americans are going to be serious about this, the first place they should be testing is Basra, Iraq, where they've got leukemia that is at least 10 times what it was 10 years ago. "This is the only urban centre that was exposed to a massive amounts of depleted uranium when the retreating Iraqis were hit by the coalition forces. If you're going to find any sort of link, it's going to be there."

As Germany and other European peacekeeper nations question the use of depleted uranium, "I think it's up to Canadians to push our government to either get on the bandwagon or lead the charge," Taylor said.

Yes, correct research and  correct reporting is needed for the DU issue and its pathway process leading to disease.

The US has basically lied in claiming that urine testing protects against insoluble oxides DU dust harm, because the lung lymph node concentration can become quite high and impair the lungs viral cell denaturing system provided by the macrophages. This effect leads to infections like mycoplasma, virals, and even cancers not being controlled. It is a very long term health effect because the uranium oxides have a very long retention time in the lymph nodes. Add to this the other similar toxics effects and the picture of a major vector of what is driving GW illnesses becomes clear.  Even worse the mechnism for other toxics involves retention factors in bone and fatty tissues that results in similar bioconcentration and metastatic levels of cell toxicants in lymph nodes all around the body, that also impacts the macrophages and the viral DNA denature process. The effect linked to why lymphotropic viruses like HIV are transmitted, as nature does this in all the countries where HIV is epidemic via endemic fluoride in water. All these effects were discovered by an ORNL researcher in 1986, and remained unpublished by ORNL to avoid Oak Ridge toxic liabilities.