Military Data Show Harmful Effects of Consolidated Quantities of Concentrated du Weaponry

[JohnyCanuck]

From Veteranstoday.org:

DU – You Don’t Have To Inhale Or Ingest It For It To Make You Sick

by Elaine A. Hunter

Uranium munitions are being transported countrywide and worldwide without proper HazMat ID because an exemption, DOT-E 9649, the military has through the DOT. Thanks to some very concerned activists, objections were raised to the biannual renewal of said exemption on public docket 18576. The docket has proved to be a heavy metal treasure trove of data from multiple horses’ mouths. The most valuable document posted to that docket was the attachment to a decision letter posted on May18, 2005. Testimony to its value is that the document has since been removed, suppressed from the docket by their legal council after being public information. Some activists still have copies.

Simply put, when a whole bunch of concentrated DU ammo is gathered together in one place, the dynamics are such that gamma rays (measured by an Army Radiation Safety Officer; see docket 18576, 21 Sept 2004 letter from Army’s Crane Army Ammunition Activity, IN), are well above what is allowed by industrial standards. Some workers, both military and civilian are at risk of being radiologically maxed-out for the year in only 100 hours! None of said workers know this and none wear industry-standard badges for measuring their exposure. Here is an excerpt from the attachment to the decision letter mentioned above:

“Pallet contact radiation dose rates are generally twice, and in one case, over four times the regulatory limit for Limited Quantity materials. However, pallet and modal conveyance dose rates at one meter are generally a multiple of three to six time justifiable Limited Quantity classification, and for one sized round, six to eleven times. In the case of this latter round, inappropriate radiation exposures could occur to transport workers by being in the vicinity of the material for just 100 hours per year.”

Radiation safety? Is there any such thing anymore? When I informed a Veteran of this information, he was hopping mad. Neither he nor his exposed co-workers, who were exposed for years had anything to monitor personal exposure.

http://www.veteranstoday.com/2011/07/22/du-you-dont-have-to-inhale-or-ingest-it-for-it-to-make-you-sick/

[HysteryDiagnosis]

1. My former supervisor kept a DU shell, possibly a dud, possibly without charge but still

had the projectile in it... he kept it on a shelf in his office. He developed cancer later on. Are the two related, probably not, did I like standing in his office? No.

[Shandris]

2. I've noticed that concentrations of DU weaponry are often accompanied by...

...exposure to things like facts, truth, and logic in light of the large media-maintained veneer of spin that is cast over most of the world today. :silly:

[JohnyCanuck]

3. I am just thankful I am not a warthog jet-jocky

flying around with my testicles dangling over a “consolidated quantity” of 30mm DU + HEI munitions, regardless of whether or not my "superiors" have assured me its perfectly safe. And lead lined underwear is so hard to find these days.

[Kaleva]

4. Damn. I slept on boxes of DU ammo when I was in the Navy.

I was the work center supervisor for CIWS (which fired 20mm DU ammo) and when in the Persian Gulf, I would sleep on boxes containing thousands of rounds of DU in the ammo magazine right next to the CIWS Control Room. So in case the shit hit the fan, I could man my battle station in far less then a minute.

[mackdaddy]

10. That supposedly voilate the military's own directives manual for DU

Dr. Doug Rokke was a military officer and physicist in charge of writing the handling and decontamination manual and directives for the military in the 80's and 90's. I have listened to several interviews with him. He and his whole team are now dying from DU exposure.

You might want to go to his website and look under "directives" for a full text of the military manual on DU.

http://stopdu.webs.com/

Some of the video links are no longer active, but they may be available elsewhere.


Basically Dr. Rokke says that the DU weapons were originally only to be used for a last ditch keep the Red Army tanks from overrunning Western Europe. But they were so good a destroying armor they kept escalating their use. But a DU round instantly ignites into a superheated plasma cloud from the moment it leaves the barrel of the gun or cannon, and thus make a DU cloud at the source as well as the target.

[JohnyCanuck]

5. kick n/t

[lovuian]

6. Depleted Uranium is extremely dangerous

to OUR troops

[Kaleva]

7. Here's an excerpt from the article:

"A few examples of those who are likely to be at high risk are: anyone who sat on ammo boxes for long periods of time;"

As I mentioned in the other post, I often spent the night sleeping on boxes of DU ammo at night rather then in my rack in the berthing compartment so I'd be right next to the Control Room in case GQ (General Quarters) was sounded.

We had no radiation or gamma ray detectors where we worked and were told it was safe as long as we didn't ingest the ammo.

[JohnyCanuck]

8. Kick n/t

[Octafish]

9. K&R

Democracies don't irradiate innocents.

[JohnyCanuck]

11. Thanks for the K&R n/t

[ensho]

12. and radiation accumulates and doesn't leave the body

cancer