THAT WICKED DEPLETED URANIUM RIDES AGAIN

Ever since the first Gulf war, various Green/Left people (such as the notorious propagandist John Pilger) have been getting their knickers in a knot over depleted uranium -- the uranium that is left after the radioactive part has been extracted. Just the name "uranium" must be thought to sound bad as the Green/Left produce much apparent hysteria about it from time to time -- even claiming that it is dangerously radioactive -- which is precisely what it is not.

The hysteria seems to have died down in recent years but a recent announcement from Italy has revived some far Left passions. The announcement is reproduced below:

According to the Italian Military Health Observatory a total of 109 Italian soldiers have died thus far due to exposure to depleted uranium. The observatory stressed the fact that 41 pct of active personnel casualties relate to disease. According to Domenico Leggiero at the Military Health Observatory, "The total of 109 casualties exceeds the total number of persons dying as a consequence of road accidents. Anyone denying the significance of such data is purely acting out of ill faith, and the truth is that our soldiers are dying out there due to a lack of adequate protection against depleted uranium". Leggiero pointed out the fact that the Senate has to date failed to establish a probe committee on this matter: "it is proof of a worrying lack of oversight on matters which are frankly dramatic". Members of the Observatory have petitioned a urgent hearing "in order to study effective prevention and safeguard measures aimed at reducing the death-toll amongst our serving soldiers".

Just in case there are some people who might wonder what is behind the announcement (one-word answer: Politics), Wayne Lusvardi has prepared a few brief notes on the subject:


Depleted Uranium or Depleted Cranium?

One of the better online sources summarizing the science dealing with this issue is "Depleted Uranium - The Science" by Michael McNeil (Impearls.blogspot.com). Depleted uranium is a heavy metal that is 40% less radioactive than natural uranium. It is used in the manufacture of armor-piercing bullets and anti-tank shells, as well as in the U.S. Abrams tank armor to protect it from such armament. Neither soldiers nor those who work in the munitions industry have shown any adverse medical affects from exposure to depleted uranium. As scientist Robert L. Park has facetiously stated: "I always figured it would be a lot better to be shot with a uranium bullet than a dum-dum -- it should make a good clean hole."

Neither is there any evidence to support that depleted uranium leads to higher incidence of cancer, larger than normal infiltration of uranium into the food chain, or other health problems for civilians or soldiers. Moreover, the infinitesimal amount of depleted uranium in bullets or armor flies in the face of all of what science knows about radiation -- low levels of radiation are beneficial to humans. Hot springs and mineral water resorts have elevated amounts of radioactivity. The city of Ramsar, Iran is on top of a natural radioactive hot spot many, many times more powerful than that of depleted uranium and the populace is no less healthy than in normal areas. A single coast-to-coast vacation airplane flight subjects its passengers to much more radiation than could ever be emitted from constant exposure to depleted uranium. The reported half-life of depleted uranium is one billion years, not 109 years as erroneously reported in many news pieces. The anti-war Left seems fixated with the number 109 when it comes to the issue of depleted uranium (109 deaths, 109 year half life). It makes you wonder if they know the difference.

Those anti-war activists on the political Left who are continually decrying the reasons for the Iraq War as propaganda should look at the their own exaggeration of the facts and junk science before they lay any claim to any moral or scientific high ground on the issue of the war. The problem may be more in a depleted cranium than with depleted uranium. As Mark Twain once wrote: "It isn't what we don't know that causes problems; it's what we think we know that just isn't so."

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Many people would like to be kind to others so Leftists exploit that with their nonsense about equality. Most people want a clean, green environment so Greenies exploit that by inventing all sorts of far-fetched threats to the environment. But for both, the real motive is to promote themselves as wiser and better than everyone else, truth regardless.

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