Depleted uranium: who are the victims?
by Joe Kaplinsky
Canadian scientists' findings, that British veterans of the Kosovo war have higher than expected levels of depleted uranium (DU) in their bodies, has set off a wave of concern. NATO countries Italy and Germany have called for a ban on the use of DU weapons.
But what should shock us is not that DU shells, designed to kill, are not 'safe', as Germany and Italy demand. More outrageous is that, while the people of Kosovo and Iraq have to live permanently with DU, it is only when NATO soldiers complain that anybody sees it as a problem.
DU is the leftovers after uranium is enriched for use in nuclear fuel or bombs. The effects of radiation from uranium on human health are well known from many studies, most notably on uranium miners. Uranium poses very little risk so long as it is outside the body. It is more dangerous when inhaled as dust. The DU shells which vaporise on impact are effective at creating such dust. The chemical toxicity of uranium is also well known, though somewhat less well understood.
On balance, however, it seems unlikely that DU has caused many of the problems complained of by veterans. Their exposures appear to have been relatively modest. Cancers, in any case, would be expected to take many years to develop. The possibility that there are effects of chemical toxicity from DU may deserve further research, but as yet there is no compelling support for it.
So what explains the problems experienced by veterans? War - especially in the last century - has always shaken up the participants. Some have coped better than others, and some have always gone to pieces. The social expectations that surround people profoundly influence the way in which they interpret their experiences. Today we see veterans mouthing a script provided by the current cult of victimhood. Physical and psychological problems, no doubt both related and unrelated to their military service, are lumped together, medicalised, and blamed on an official cover-up. But there was no cover-up.
We live in times when distrust of government is pervasive. Even if there were no such substance as DU, we can expect that a denial by government scientists of the dangers of DU would be enough to spark panic. The experience of Gulf War Syndrome - the existence of which has not been established, despite thorough investigation of complaints - suggests that the latest fears over 'Balkan War Syndrome' may prove as insubstantial.
Set against that, the record of the military openness over health risks is even worse than that of the tobacco industry. After winning the Second World War, the British government carried out experiments in military research at Porton Down, in which army volunteers who were told they were helping find a cure for the common cold were poisoned with nerve agents. Several died.
The war in Kosovo, even more than the Gulf War, was a media event fought across TV screens and front pages. The politicians were not only open about launching military action, they revelled in it. Yet it was their actions, broadcast to the world, whose consequences we are now seeing.
The impact of depleted uranium on human health remains controversial. But there can be no doubt about the impact of NATO's bombing campaign upon the countries on the receiving end. While NATO veterans can expect to have their complaints carefully investigated, it may be some time before anybody carries out the research into how to help the real casualties of the West's humanitarian wars.
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