Cancer bombs

[Heavy_Equipment]

I'm not advocating a political debate thread here.
I'm not a war protester.
I'm not a tree hugger either.

I am upset by this though:
Depleted Uranium weapons *WARNING* Graphic illistrations of deformities.


"Since the end of the first gulf war, cancer in Iraq has increased 700-1000% and deformities 400-600%"


All the Distributed Computing in the world isn't going to fix this.

[ben-the-slacker]

Horrible.

[M_Six]

Monkey muffins. While there is a slight increase in the probability of soldiers in a vehicle struck by DU rounds developing lung cancer, the risk to others is negligible. Try reading something scientific instead of hysterical rantings by someone who knows diddly.

Like this maybe.

Level I, scenario, in which a shell penetrates a vehicle, would be expected to cause 12 excess lung cancer deaths by age 75 if 10,000 soldiers were exposed to depleted uranium.

The second, Level ll, scenario, in which persons enter contaminated vehicles after combat, would cause 0.25 excess lung cancer deaths by age 75 also assuming 10,000 people were exposed.

The third, Level lll, scenario, which includes exposure to soldiers downwind from smoke plumes, would cause only 0.0037 excess lung cancer deaths by age 75 among 10,000 soldiers.

These soldiers face a far greater risk from smoking than they do from DU rounds.

And as for the deformities; let us not forget that Saddam the Scumbag not only spread nasty chemicals all over his people, he ignited oil fields and committed who knows what other acts of pollution. It's too easy to blame the U.S and much harder to look at the real issue. I bet there's a thousand lawyers just itching to get over there and start the lawsuits rolling.

[RADAR1797]

One thing we were worried about when preparing to go into Iraq was oil fires. Not the smoke, but apparently the oil in Iraq has a sulfite compound in it that when burned is a carcinogen. BTW the biggest concern about DU is it is a heavy metal, so it has similar effects to lead.

-RADAR

[M_Six]

Very true. Just as inhaling or ingesting lead particles is dangerous, inhaling or ingesting DU particles would increase one's risk of cancer and other heavy-metal diseases. Unfortunately most soldiers face a far more immediate threat from other types of lead particles, if you get my drift.

[Cruez]

Until I see some actual factual statements... I call it.

Propaganda....

[osprey4]

Originally posted by Heavy_Equipment
Since the end of the first gulf war, cancer in Iraq has increased 700-1000% and deformities 400-600%...

Possibly because prior to the two Gulf Wars, most people were killed by Saddam before they ever had a chance to get cancer.

Seriously, though, since it takes a number of years for cancer to be manifested, even if these numbers weren't so exaggerated, you wouldn't expect the effects from the war to be seen for a few decades.

[ClubMed]

Here is actual factual data:
www.umrc.net

The director of UMRC is a veteran doctor of the war in Iraq of 1991, his research centre is one of the leading institutes studying the effects of DU on the human body and health. I've seen interviews with him in numerous documentaries.

The negative effects of DU are evident based on the conditions of both US soldiers and the victims of bombings in wars where DU material has been used. It doesn't get anymore factual than that.

[Heavy_Equipment]

Well I was certainly hoping the numbers I quoted were wrong.

Obviously it's not as dire as it was made to seem, although, you'll never convince me it's harmless.

At the same time, I see the data, and general concern here is about the soldiers. They weren't what I was concerned about. They made there own choices, and accepted the risks.

[nomaxim]

Gee, I wonder if all those oil well fires Saddam set around that same time might have had something to do with this.

EDIT: Oh, SORRY, already mentioned.