The Military in Paradise
The Health Risks Of Depleted Uranium In Hawaii
We strongly urge that studies of excess relative risk from DU exposure be carried out.By Carol Murry Douglas Rokke Lorrin Pang Michael Reimer / February 21, 2017Share21Depleted uranium, or DU, is a serious threat to health in Hawaii, where it was introduced through military activity.During escalating tensions of the Cold War in the 1960s, the U.S. Army tested some forms of atomic weapons at Pohakuloa Training Area on Hawaii Island and at Schofield Barracks on Oahu.The Army acknowledged testing the Davy Crockett weapon system, a battlefield uranium-based atomic bomb. The part tested in Hawaii was a “spotting round,” fired to check the sighting accuracy of the main weapon. On impact, it detonated an explosive charge to release smoke. The spotting round was made of uranium in which some fissionable uranium had been removed, hence the term “depleted uranium,” or DU.Today in Hawaii the Army is still allowed to possess DU only at Pohakuloa Training Area on the Island of Hawaii and Schofield Barracks on Oahu. The use of DU weapons in military practice exposes both military personnel and the public to health risks.This 2014 training exercise at the Pohakuloa Training Area involved Marines firing a Howitzer. The training area also holds expended munitions containing depleted uranium.Wikimedia Commons/Lance Cpl. Aaron Patterson“When DU is used as conventional weaponry, it burns rapidly upon impact, creating a ‘dust’ of inhalable DU oxides,” according to Lorrin Pang. “The specific hazards of inhaled DU oxides are that: 1) radiation is internalized beginning in the lungs, and 2) DU oxides have a slow clearance from the body that is about 50 times longer than clearance of DU non-oxides.”Mike Reimer, a retired nuclear geologist, adds that health messages to the public have not always differentiated between risks of radiation exposure to naturally occurring forms of uranium as opposed to man-made products of DU. This is important because an aerosol derived from natural materials may lodge deep in the inner region of the lung for weeks to years and yet contain only a few atoms of uranium. Yet a similar aerosol derived from a DU source, such as a Davy Crockett spotting round, can contain millions of DU atoms, increasing radiation exposure to lung cells perhaps a million fold. Consequently, there is a markedly elevated health risk from DU exposure.Doug Rokke, a retired Army major who served on the DU Assessment team during the Gulf War says, “Once DU is released into the environment, it will never be safe at all, no matter what is done.”According to Rokke, “DOD documents confirm that a broad spectrum of potential health effects include: lung cancer, respiratory, eye, skin, and genetic abnormalities.”The VA reports DU has also caused sleep problems, neuropsychological and respiratory tract symptoms, chronic fatigue, immune system dysfunction, skin rash, hair loss, aching joints, headaches, abdominal pain, light sensitivity, blurred vision, menstrual disorders, gastrointestinal symptoms, chemical sensitivity, and birth defects in children whose parents were exposed.The Army has acknowledged that Davy Crockett spotting rounds were used in training at PTA and Schofield Barracks. Ongoing military operations, especially the use of high explosives, allow for re-suspension of DU particles.The known hazards of DU and potential risks from re-suspension during additional military operations are the reasons why Army Regulation 700-48 requires that “any area containing any amount of contamination must be secured, identified, labeled, isolated, and steps taken to complete thorough environmental remediation.”The regulation also states that the “identified area shall not be the site of any future military operations and no one shall be allowed to traverse through the area.” However, the Army is not following the regulation.More than 50 years of bombing at PTA, increased traffic on the new Saddle Road passing through PTA, combined with strong winds in the area and occasional flash flooding have provided increased potential pathways of public exposure to DU aerosol particles and potential transport of DU around the island. Furthermore, military and civilian work forces are possibly exposed daily, families and visitors picnic in the area, and a county park and Girl Scout camps are nearby.DU oxides, with their dangerously long half-lives, are created when DU munitions impact their targets and burn/explode. Also, in the cases of PTA and Schofield Barracks, unburned/exploded metallic fragments, including the original “spotting rounds,” will certainly burn/explode when impacted by fragments of conventional weapons and bombs.
Lack Of Transparency
For many years, the military denied any use of DU weaponry at Hawaii training sites. Then it was discovered that Davy Crockett spotting rounds, including DU to increase weight, were used in munitions to establish trajectory validation. Those spotting rounds were, in fact, used at Schofield Barracks on Oahu and Hawaii Island’s Pohakuloa Training Area since the early 1960s.Since initial records were untrue, citizens asked for a survey of the area in case there was more extensive use not documented in records. Even if only non-incendiary DU spotting rounds had been used, subsequent conventional bombing of the DU metal bits could ignite them and create DU-oxide dust. There have been 2 fires on Hawaii’s military training sites in the past year, one of which was in the impact area.
Designing And Carrying Out Needed Actions
We advocate partnership in designing and carrying out preventive actions. Comprehensive, independent testing and monitoring should be done at military expense, in cooperation with groups wishing to cooperate with the Army and State to determine the full extent of radiation contamination related to training sites.The military and state should offer 24 hour DU urine tests to military personnel and citizens, DLNR and other long-term workers working or traveling near training sites who are concerned about possible exposure.We strongly urge that studies of excess relative risk from DU exposure, guided by sound scientific principles, be carried out; that health professionals be made aware of possible symptoms caused by DU exposure; that DOH actively participate in preparation of accurate training materials and alerts for health care professionals; that DOH take a firm position in requiring stringent and transparent testing, as well as monitoring and cleanup of DU on military installations in Hawaii in partnership with community members.Further, investigation of other present and former military ranges in the state, such as Makua military reservation and Kahoolawe Island, should be carried out for possible exposure to DU. Partners must ensure that testing and monitoring is done by effective methods as agreed upon by representatives of affected communities, health professionals, and the military.It should be noted that the Hawaii County Council in July 2008, by a vote of 8-1 passed resolution 639-08, calling for stopping all live-fire at PTA and cleaning up the DU present. The Army should comply with this resolution per AR 700-48 section 2-1a and Task number: 031-503, stating that federal, state and local laws have precedence during peacetime. We hope this article will assist in building partnership in addressing serious health impacts of DU.The late Dr. Rosalie Bertell, well-known expert on health and environmental costs of militarism pointed out that in recent wars in Iraq, Kosovo and Afghanistan, the U.S. and UK used weapons made with depleted uranium, “prolonging the mutilation and killing for generations after the war is over.”Community Voices aims to encourage broad discussion on many topics of community interest. It’s kind of a cross between Letters to the Editor and op-eds. This is your space to talk about important issues or interesting people who are making a difference in our world. Columns generally run about 800 words (yes, they can be shorter or longer) and we need a photo of the author and a bio. We welcome video commentary and other multimedia formats. Send to news@civilbeat.com.
About the Authors
- Carol Murry Carol Murry, a doctor of public health, worked in rural Bangladesh, Thailand, Swaziland, Micronesian outer islands, Bhutan and Palestine. She directed NGOs and was a member of University of Hawaii faculty. Murry has also researched HIV among Pacific Island youth for UNICEF.Use the RSS feed to subscribe to Carol Murry's posts today
- Douglas Rokke Douglas L. Rokke, PhD, is a retired U.S. Army major and manager of the DU Project.Use the RSS feed to subscribe to Douglas Rokke's posts today
- Lorrin Pang Lorrin W. Pang, MD/MPH, is the Maui County District Health Officer with 25 years experience as a Preventive Medicine Officer for the U.S. Army Medical Corps and a consultant to the World Health Organization.Use the RSS feed to subscribe to Lorrin Pang's posts today
- Michael Reimer G. Michael Reimer, PhD, is a retired nuclear geologist and depleted uranium specialist.Use the RSS feed to subscribe to Michael Reimer's posts today
US Terror-Bombed Syria with Toxic Depleted Uranium(DU) WeaponsBy Stephen Lendman
February 20, 2017 "Information Clearing House" - America uses banned depleted uranium (DU) weapons in all its wars, ongoing since first developed during the Vietnam era.The 1925 Geneva Protocol and succeeding Geneva Weapons Conventions prohibited use of chemical and biological agents in any form as weapons of war.Although no Geneva Convention or other treaty specifically bans radioactive uranium weapons, including DU ones, they’re illegal de facto and de jure under the 1907 Hague Convention, prohibiting use of any “poison or poisoned weapons.”DU munitions are radioactive, chemically toxic and poisonous. America is a signatory to the Hague and Geneva Conventions. Using these weapons in combat is a war crime.US Code, Title 50, Chapter 40, Section 2302 defines a WMD as “any weapon or device that is intended, or has the capability, to cause death or serious bodily injury to a significant number of people through the release, dissemination, or impact of (A) toxic or poisonous chemicals or their precursors, (B) a disease organism, or (C) radiation or radioactivity.”Armor-piercing DU munitions enable their ability to penetrate targets, enhancing their destructive capability. On detonation, depleted uranium aerializes, contaminating land, air and water, acting as a miniature dirty bomb.Not For Profit - For Global JusticeGet Our Free Daily NewsletterThe latest News From Information Clearing HouseIt caused an epidemic of cancer, numerous other diseases and serious birth defects in Iraq – including children born with two heads, one eye, and legs grown together.Miscarriages are frequent. Hundreds of newborns had cleft pallets, elongated heads, overgrown or short limbs, and other malformed body parts.Iraq remains a toxic wasteland. So do other US war theaters. The Pentagon admitted using thousands of DU rounds in Syria in 2015, falsely claiming attacks were against ISIS, imperial foot soldiers America created and supports.Pentagon warplanes began terror-bombing Syria in September 2014, conducting thousands of airstrikes, continuing under Trump against infrastructure and government targets.It’s unknown if DU weapons were used throughout this period, as well as against Iraq since US terror-bombing began in June 2014 – on the phony pretext of combating ISIS.Whatever the Pentagon admitted to is likely a small fraction of what it’s done. Its high crimes are notoriously whitewashed.In March 2015, US-led coalition spokesman John Moore lied, saying its warplanes “have not been and will not be using depleted uranium munitions in Iraq or Syria…”Now we know part of the truth. Most of it remains hidden.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached atlendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III." -http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html - Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House.
Who is the Military Protecting exactly?
