Depleted Uranium Explosions Target US Citizens

[Jcrowley]

Depleted Uranium Poison Explosions Target US Citizens
By Cathy Garger
Jan 23, 2007, 21:13

I Left My Heart In (a 2500 miles radius of) San Francisco

 Continue to contaminate your bed, and you will one night suffocate in your own waste. Your destiny is a mystery to us.

- Chief Seattle leader of the Duwanish tribe
in Washington Territory in an 1854 letter
to U.S. President Franklin Pierce to mark
transfer of ancestral Indian lands to the
United States

<snip>

But now the country is starting to buzz with the word of radioactive open air “testing” near San Francisco. And with such a progressive part of the nation that has historically fought hard for peace, equal rights, racial equality, gay rights, and ecological sustainability? As one could say, the Greater San Francisco Bay area is now again boldly “coming out of the closet” with regard to letting the proverbial cat out of the bag about this “dirty” business of Uncle Sam’s.

But this is not a story entirely about San Francisco’s troubles. Nor is it even all about California. As you will see, this story affects you and me, no matter where we live in the country. California’s tale is only the proverbial tip of the iceberg. The story about your community and mine? Now that’s the heart of this story.

The fiery “hot” issue of Depleted Uranium explosives “testing” has emerged into the spotlight in the San Francisco Bay area recently all because of some people who live in a city called Tracy.  That’s how anything important usually starts - when just a few people who are fed up enough get together and become vocal enough and publicly put up a fuss.

No wonder why they’re upset. Only a few miles away from them on a federally owned 7,000 acre parcel of land in the Altamont Hills at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in San Joaquin and Alameda Counties, California, radioactive explosives containing Depleted Uranium are being shot out into the open air at a location called Site 300. Yes, Depleted Uranium is being exploded across the street from a motorbike recreational area. Site 300 is only a few miles away from where people live.

What started all the ruckus was that on November 13 a new permit, issued by California’s San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, was put into effect that allows the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to use more than triple the amount of explosive materials in “test” detonations at Site 300 than in the past. This means that the equivalent of 350 pounds of explosives may now be fired instead of the previously permitted 100 pounds.

<snip>

http://www.axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/article_23826.shtml

[crikkett]

1. the link is bad for me.

:(

[Jcrowley]

3. Fixed it

Made a typo.

Computer is a bit wiggy these days so it's been a trial and error thing.

[Donnachaidh]

2. the link is getting a "No page found"?

Could you re-post?

[Jcrowley]

4. It's up

Fixed it.

[TechBear_Seattle]

5. This is beyond comprehension

I aways figured the government was lying its collective ass off when it said that depleted uranium was perfectly safe, even though considerable evidence exists citing how horrifically toxic it is. And now we find the government is exploding it in the open air near very densely populated areas of its own citizens? They weren't lying so much as totally deluded and/or willfully ignorant.

The lawsuits from this fallout (pardon the expression) will make the recompense for the nuclear bomb tests in the 40s and 50s look like chump change.

[shadowknows69]

7. My whole area has huge cancer rates

I'm sure it has nothing to do with the proximity to a live fire aircraft target area near the main city. That they've been pelting with DU rounds for decades now.:sarcasm:

[donsu]

8. you probably have a lot of birth defects too

nt

[elehhhhna]

13. Doesn't SF have higher rates of breast cancer as well?

[leftchick]

27. never fear, Gen. Wes Clark assures us DU is "safe"

:puke:

http://www.digitalnpq.org/archive/2001_spring/little_risk.html

Little Risk in NATO's Depleted Uranium Weapons

Gen. Wesley K. Clark, as supreme allied commander of NATO, led the alliance to victory in Kosovo. He spoke with NPQ in Washington in January.

NPQ | A furor has arisen in Europe over the illness of Italian and other soldiers said to be exposed to the depleted uranium weapons NATO used during the wars in Kovoso and Bosnia. Is there anything to this in your view?

WESLEY CLARK | There are very well-known safety standards for exposure to radiation, set internationally by the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) and other institutions, based upon extensive research and testing by the US and other governments over the years. NATO has always abided by those standards.
We thus know very well what the correlation of radiation content to risk of depleted uranium is. It is measurable, and it is very low-40 percent less radioactive than natural uranium. There has never been any correlation between this level of radiation and a specific effect. Simply put, depleted uranium falls within the scale of what is safely admissible.

Depleted uranium is used in weapons not because it is radioactive. It is used because it is a heavier metal than lead and thus carries more impact against an armored target.

NATO acted completely within international legal restrictions on this. We did all we could to avoid large-scale environmental damage. We deliberately did not target areas we thought had Serb chemical weapons in them.

[chknltl]

37. I did not know Wes said this...Does he still feel this way?

The biggest problem from the depleted uranium happens AFTER it has been fired. It leaves a vapor trail of depleted uranium oxide particles. Next as it impacts anything solid it creates a cloud of depleted uranium oxide particles. The radioactivity of this stuff, though very small as Wes states, does it's damage through persistence. These microscopic particles easily pass through the military mops gear (anti biological/radiological gear standard military issue) and get into the human body via the very air we breath! Once in, the single particle tends to find a place to lodge, this could be ANY internal organ to include sex organs, and sends out it's deadly little pulse of radiation. The damage cumulates over time, the effect is unstoppable, (halflife almost 5 billion years), and radiation damage will build and build until that particle exits the body...(the body could have been turned to dust thousands of years later before that might happen). THIS IS BUT ONE PARTICLE.

Folks exposed to DU OXIDE particles through respiration are hardly going to be lucky enough to ONLY BREATH IN A SINGLE PARTICLE. Oh yeah and I mentioned sex organs for a good reason: There are documented cases where infected soldiers have come home and infected their girlfriends through sex AND there is documentation out there about children being born to these infected soldiors...that stuff is a horror that keeps going and going. Google Leuren Moret or Dennis Kynes or Doug Rokke and learn more if you really don't know about this...

leftchick, I started this as a response to you but it appears that my words have morphed into an intended education to all who read your post and this thread who may not know about what I am saying here. I know that I am preaching to the choir here but some of our fellow DUers may be sitting on the fence inre. to this issue. This is the very issue which brings me to the Democratic Underground. Vets, click on my "Beyond Treason" signature line if you or anyone of you reading my words would like a DVD which discusses this.

Perhaps Wes Clark believed what he was saying back when he said those things...if he is still saying this OR if he has not retracted these statements then he has my strong disgust starting right now. I would challenge him to go to those sites contaminated with DU Oxide and handle that stuff...he has got to know better. Holy Hell, I have been singing his praises for 2 years now...If he is really still saying these things I'll lead an ANTI CLARK charge here in the DU that even the free republic will be talking about!

[leftchick]

39. I have not seen or heard a retraction

from clark. I used to support him back in 2004 then I began finding statements like this. Disgusted does not begin to explain my feelings for him now. I am for Dennis Kucinich, he seems to be the only real anti-war candidate. It would be nice if the M$M noticed him but that isn't in the cards. :(

[fed-up]

6. k/r

[donsu]

9. if people used radiation detectors where they live and work they would

probably faint at the findings

[TechBear_Seattle]

10. That might be interesting, but I expect the government would stop me

Who wants to bet that if an ordinary citizen tried to buy a geiger counter or some other form of radiation meter, he would come under immediate scrutiny by the DHS and likely get disappeared as a "potential terrorist"?

Added Or maybe not. A quick search with Google turned up quite a number of places to buy geiger counters, and from reputable companies like Edmund:

http://scientificsonline.com/product.asp?pn=3102300&bhcd2=1169749113

At less than $300, I just might get it and do a bit of inspecting of my own. Should be interesting.

[Sirveri]

28. If you've never used a radiac nor been trained in radcon

then why exactly would you ever want something that would give you numbers that are totally meaningless to a normal person.

OH MY GOD! .03mrem/hr in this location!
OH MY GOD! 35CPM when I scan this area!

Unless you know the math and limits and reasoning behind them, radiacs are pointless to own. You also would need to know what to look for, and only certain detectors look for certain types. A generic 'geiger counter' doesn't measure alpha or neutron radiation. And a large ammount of radiation comes from the sun and naturally occuring radon, and the radon wouldn't even get picked up by a 'geiger counter'.

[donsu]

31. then why do they make detectors? only for highly trained people to use?

are you saying there is no way to detect DU poisoning?

or the kind of emissions coming for nuke plants?

or the kinds of emissions coming from testing ranges?

how would you check for DU poisoning?

[Sirveri]

34. They make detectors so that trained people can use them.

So yes, you don't have to be highly trained, but there are reasons for them to be used in radioactive waste processing, nuclear power plant maintenance, routine surveys, etc etc etc...

Here is the problem with DU, it's an alpha emitter. So is Radon. Radon is much more abundant than Uranium. A Geiger Counter doesn't detect alpha radiation, it only detects beta and gamma radiation. Alpha is hard to detect because it doesn't penetrate very far before it becomes inert, hence it is only dangerous if you eat it or breathe it in. So long as you vacuum and keep your surrounding dust free, you'll have no issues with DU. DU rounds themselves are effectivly harmless from a radcon perspective, it's only if they're used and aerosol into breathable particulates that they become dangerous, alpha is the worst type of radiation you can take internally. Because it discharges in such a short range and your insides don't have dead skin layers to absorb it you end up with a highly localised ionization effect.

nuke plants put out all four types of radiation. However the only type you're likely to pick up at the fence is gamma because gamma is very difficult to stop. Plus you wouldn't be able to detect neutron radiation with a geiger counter either, that needs another radiac. However you might see some neutron radiation too, though at the fence range you shouldn't see it. One of the big things about radiation is distance. Radiation travels in a straight line (though beta and gamma can change direction in the presence of a magnetic field). If you draw a dot and then extend two lines 30 degrees apart, you'll notice that the further away from the dot the further the lines diverge. Since radiation only hurt you if it hits you, if you stand far enough away you won't get hit by either line. Another issue is shielding, the plant has workers who need to actually live and not get killed by radiation, hence they shield it inside the plant to levels where they can stay there pretty much indefinately without recieving a fatal dose (unless they enter the reactor room). So you couple that with the distance you are from the plant and you could camp at the fence line and not notice anything differant.

In order to test for emissions from test ranges you would have to collect samples, take three differant radiacs and scan them several times an hour (with each radiac) and log the activity each time, determine how many differant isotopes you were dealing with and then figure out the isotopes using a chart of the nuclides (http://www.nndc.bnl.gov/chart/). I've provided a link to a good chart. Chart the decay curve and then you might be able to puzzle it out with the charts.

DU poisoning would show up as heavy metal poisoning (since it is a heavy metal). The alpha it emits is fairly powerful, a concentrated dose to the lungs could increase the possibility of lung cancer. If you sucked up a whole bunch of DU dust it could cause your lungs to bleed or other damage similar to a burn or a rash inside the lungs. However absorbing that much dust would probably slowly kill whatever absorbed it similar to the fate of the Russian who was fed Po210 not too long ago. However you would have to absorb much more DU than Po210 due to the differance in activity.

[donsu]

41. how does DU poisoning cause birth defects - from the lung to the womb?

via the bloodstream?

some vets with DU poisoning had actually hot orgasmic juices. partners claimed of heat and discomfort, leading to the vets being doctored, etc.

[Sirveri]

42. I'm not really sure, I'd have to do some more research.

I know about radiation and radiological controls because I do a lot of work with nuclear power. DU aerosolized is obviously not something you want to take internally from both the standpoint of it being a heavy metal as well as it being an alpha emitter. I suspect it has more to do with the chemical properties of uranium rather than the radiological properties. People with gulf war syndrom don't have radiation sickness from what I can tell. I saw one slide show presentation saying that uranium ions bond with DNA and do weird stuff, but I don't know what to think of that.

[Recursion]

21. Well, yes, mostly because people don't understand radiation

I mean, you'll get a high reading from bricks or kiln-fired pottery. Sunlight, radio waves, and electricity are all other examples of radiation. We need some to live; too much of the wrong kind is bad. And the radiologic threat presented by depleted uranium isn't nearly as dangerous as the toxic threat.

Depleted Uranium is a pressing environmental threat but I don't like how many exaggerations and baseless claims get made about it. It's toxic. We know that. We should stick to that when we argue against it, IMO.

[rman]

29. You don't understand radiation.

Electro-Magnetic waves (light, radio waves, infra red, ultra-violet, micro-wave) is not the same as radio-active radiation. The former is photons, the latter is sub-atomic particles/'fragments' of atoms.

Also DU dust would not be hard to find if it's there, because it'll be everywhere, not just on bricks or kiln-fired pottery.

[Recursion]

30. BUZZ but thanks for playing

EM waves are an example of radiation, specifically EM is gamma radiation. Other types are beta (electrons) and alpha (proton/neutron quartets or "helium nuclei" although I dislike that characterization because it's never chemically helium). But I don't see why you would single out gamma as not being radiation; it is in every textbook I've ever had.

[rman]

32. I didn't say it's not radiation

I say E/M is not the same as radio-active.

You did say the two are the same.

A Geiger counter detects radio-active radiation, not radio waves, light etc.

Finally, E/M is not gamma - but rather gamma radiation is part of the E/M spectrum just as radio, light, IR, UV and x-ray. Radio-active radiation (alpha, beta) is not part of the E/M spectrum.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_spectrum

[Sirveri]

36. Look up the defination of radioactive and radiation.

Radioactive simple means that the isotope will emit energy in the form of waves or particles in order to reach a more nuclearly stable state. Or since you like wiki so much.

Radiation-
"Radiation in physics is the process of emitting energy in the form of waves or particles. Various types of radiation may be distinguished, depending on the properties of the emitted energy/matter, the type of the emission source, properties and purposes of the emission, etc. When used by the general public, the word "radiation" commonly refers to non-ionizing radiation."
Radioactive-
"Radioactive decay is the set of various processes by which unstable atomic nuclei emit subatomic particles (radiation)."

A Geiger Counter is named after a specific range of voltage that causes a specific number of ionization events per detection. There are numerous forms of radioactive decay, they're capable of emitting alpha, beta, gamma, neutron, neutrinos and anti-neutrinos. neutrinos and anti-neutrinos interact so weakly with matter that it's pointless to wory about them since they won't do anything to you but pass through harmlessly. 'Geiger counters' detect ionizing radiation, X-rays can cause ionization and are emitted by some isotopes during nuclear decay. Most radiacs I've used that function in the geiger mueller range detect beta and gamma, There are others that detect neutrons and alpha. Alpha detectors generally need to be specially manufactured to avoid the alpha ionizing against the detector probe before they register.

[Tom Joad]

11. Veteran of Site 300 protests here...

I have actually been on the site... we went in at night to reveal ourselves during the day, we were then arrested and charged with tresspassing.
We did this act of nonviolent direct action to bring attention to this problem of continued development of nuclear weapons. It was quite some time ago.

It looks like the problem is escalating.

So people know, Tracy is about 50 miles from oakland/san francisco.

[shadowknows69]

14. You been hauled in with Martin Sheen Tom?

If so jealous and please say hi from a huge fan. If not, still proud of you keep fighting. B-)

[Greyskye]

12. This needs to hit the MSM

Crazy crazy crazy.

[converted_democrat]

15. K&R- Thank you for posting this... n/t

[converted_democrat]

16. Kicking it again, because this really needs to be seen.. n/t

[slipslidingaway]

17. The 'SUPERBOX' picture at link, I think there are three or four

'superboxes' in the U.S. Why build these if DU is harmless, thanks for the new article.


Depleted Uranium (DU) Containment Facility (SUPERBOX)
http://www.atc.army.mil/fac_guide/facilities/superbox.html



snip>>

This superbox is where DU munitions are test fired. At one time, Aberdeen tested DU munitions on an open-air range. Over time, an enclosure was built to preclude the release of DU into the air. This superbox has a highspeed door which closes immediately after the fired munition passes through it, to further minimize the amount of DU released to the open air.

http://www.spidersmill.com/gwvrl/aberdeen.htm

[Jcrowley]

19. Smoke screens

Smoke Screens

Last summer a report in the July 15 Taos Horsefly stated that Los Alamos National Laboratory is permitted to burn, per year, three-fourths ton of depleted uranium (DU) in the open air and tempered this shocking news with the soothing information, based on a model, that smoke from such conflagrations would travel only 50 meters.

Models are computer programs, built within parameters that reflect the careful choosing of which data to consider or stress and which to ignore or downplay. Model makers who wish to lullaby the populace can select their parameters accordingly, like the model that reckoned the deaths and illnesses caused by Chernobyl to be statistically insignificant when seen as a percentage of the total world population.

Thus a postfire risk-assessment model professed to study the distance smoke would travel from a fire, while its parameters excluded how the fierce, shifty, spring winds whipping the Cerro Grande forest fire through Los Alamos in 2000 actually did blow smoke, pollutants and particulates 55 miles northeast to Taos — one of many affected communities snubbed by its calculations. Models can disregard how residents of LANL’s neighbor San Ildefonso Pueblo are forbidden to cut their own contaminated timber. And stressing that an atom of uranium, a heavy metal, has the world’s biggest naturally occurring nucleus, a model can conclude that particles of DU smoke are too weighty to travel any farther than the length of my driveway.

According to whistle-blower Leuren Moret, “There are too many variables to consider in a model. It’s like statistics — you can make it say anything you want.”

Such DU dispersion models, said Moret, are “not considering particle size.” Flaming DU burns at 3,000 to 6,000 degrees Centigrade, producing “a large number of extremely small particles in the nanoparticle range.” A nanoparticle is 0.001 microns, or a billionth of a meter. In the pull of gravity, a particle so minute is as light as air. The particle remains “suspended as atmospheric dust it is rained out, snowed out or removed by moisture such as fog and deposited in the environment,” said Moret. “This contaminates air, water, soil and food with ionizing radiation, internally exposing all living things.”

http://www.eldoradosun.com/Archives/04-06_issue/HOFF%20%20.htm

[slipslidingaway]

23. Thanks and some older material below.

March 1991
http://www.spidersmill.com/gwvrl/los_alamos.htm


snip>>
The below pages show some of the extent of the knowledge of the hazard associated with depleted uranium and DU dust dating to 1966.

http://www.spidersmill.com/gwvrl/aberdeen_sop_from_nrc.htm

[lonestarnot]

18. Unfuckingbelievable!

[Recursion]

20. depleted uranium is more toxic than radioactive

I don't like seeing the anti-depleted-uranium argument turned into something like the anti-aspartame panic. It's poisonous, and very slightly radioactive. It's not a radiological weapon; it's used in munitions because it's dense enough to penetrate armor if it's fired at a high speed. Don't confuse its toxicity with its radioactivity.

[Jcrowley]

24. Yes of course

[JohnyCanuck]

26. Still has the ability to do radiological damage once inside the body

But it's still worthwhile to note that some medical authorities are concerned that the extremely minute particles of depleted uranium will cause radiological damage to the interior cells of the body once it is inhaled into the lungs where some of it will remain lodged while some will cross the lung/blood barrier into the bloodstream. This would be in addition to whatever damage it does from its toxic effects as a heavy metal. The largely alpha particle radiation from depleted uranium is pretty much harmless when it hits outside the body as even the layer of dead cells on the skin can block the alpha particles before they can do any damage to living tissue. However, the interior body cells e.g. lung tissue etc. is not so protected and the potential for radiological damage is thereby increased, even from the low energy alpha radiation.

From the web site of the Uranium Medical Research Centre www.umrc.net headed up by Dr. Asaf Durakovic a former head of nuclear medicine at the Veteran's Affairs medical center in Wilmington, Delaware and a Professor of nuclear medicine at Georgetown University:

Fiction: Alpha particles can't penetrate clothes and skin.

Fact: This statement ignores the most prevalent and dangerous pathway for uranium to get into the human body. Inhaled uranium can remain in the lungs and bones for years where it continues to emit alpha, beta and gamma radiation. Each alpha particle can traverse up to several hundred cells causing somatic and genetic alterations. Multiply this by billions of such particles and a huge amount of cellular damage becomes possible. The majority (50-70%) of the airborne DU particles sampled during the testing of 105 mm DU projectiles were in the respirable range and capable of reaching the non-ciliated bronchial tree. Studies also indicate that the half-time in the lungs is up to 5 years.

http://www.umrc.net/facts_and_fictions.aspx

Kosovo: Use of depleted uranium
By Rosalie Bertell, Ph. D., GNSH, 31 March 1999

SNIP

When used in war, the DU bursts into flame from the impact when it hits a target. It can pierce tanks and armoured cars, releasing inside of them a deadly radioactive aerosol of uranium, unlike anything seen before. It can kill everyone in a tank. This ceramic aerosol is much lighter than uranium dust. It can travel in air tens of kilometres from the point of release, or be stirred up in dust and resuspended in air with wind or human movement. It is very small and can be breathed in by anyone: a baby, pregnant woman, the elderly, the sick. This radioactive ceramic can stay deep in the lungs for years, irradiating the tissue with powerful alpha particles within about a 30 micron sphere, causing emphysema and/or fibrosis. The ceramic can also be swallowed and do damage to the gastro-intestinal tract. In time, it penetrates the lung tissue and enters into the blood stream. It can be stored in liver, kidney, bone or other tissues, again for years, irradiating all of the delicate tissues located near its storage place. It can effect the blood, which is the basis of our immune system, and do damage to the renal system as it is eventually excreted in the urine. It can also initiate cancer or promote cancers which have been initiated by other cancinogens.

http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/27a/138.html

[Jennifer3]

38. That doesn't sound too nice.

Yikes!

[JohnyCanuck]

40. Nope, it doesn't, as this Canadian soldier and his family found out.

Terry Riordon Memorial Fund

Terry Riordon was a member of the Canadian Armed Forces serving in the Gulf War. He passed away in April 1999 at the age of 45. The official cause of death was Gulf War Syndrome.

Terry went to the Persian Gulf in December 26, 1990 with honor, dignity and pride - serving his country as Captain J. Terry Riordon of the Canadian Armed Forces. Terry left Canada a very fit man who did cross-country skiing and ran in marathons. On his return only two months later he could barely walk.

He returned to Canada in February 1991 with documented loss of motor control, chronic fatigue, respiratory difficulties, chest pain, difficulty breathing, sleep problems, short-term memory loss, testicle pain, body pains, aching bones, diarrhea, and depression. After his death depleted uranium (DU) contamination was discovered in his lungs and bones.

SNIP

He was ultimately unsuccessful it getting the answers or help he needed in his lifetime. His final wish was to donate his body to independent research on DU. That was Terry's gift to all who served in the Persian Gulf. He wanted his body to supply the answers to years of suffering and frustration. Through his gift UMRC was able to have obtain conclusive evidence of internal DU contamination in his lungs and bones. Even after death Terry continues to contribute to his country and his fellow veterans.

http://www.umrc.net/riordon.aspx

[reprehensor]

22. Depleted Uranium: An Introduction

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4124449

[magellan]

25. I wonder where else they're testing depleted uranium munitions?

K&R

[JohnyCanuck]

33. kick n/t

[caraher]

35. I really despise articles written so sensationalistically...

On one hand, as folks have noted, uranium isn't something you really floating around near people. It's a toxic heavy metal, it is radioactive and if you ingest or inhale it that energy will be deposited in your body.

But when concerned activists write articles like these, illustrated with pictures of nuclear explosions and lots of hype about radiation, the inevitable critiques destroy the credibility of the authors, and people who know a little more than the authors do but not enough to fully appreciate all the issues dismiss the entire story.

For instance, it's utter bullshit that calling it "depleted uranium" is part of some nefarious plot to hoodwink the masses. The name is historical and is simply the flip side of the fact that to get a sample of uranium useful for fission, its U-235 content must be "enriched." When you've taken the uranium with the natural isotopic distribution and separated it into two samples, one "enriched" in U-235, the other stuff is "depleted" in U-235. And since it's the U-235 you're most interested in, "depleted uranium" is nothing more than shorthand for "U-235 depleted" uranium.

I could ramble on about the counterproductive mix of scare tactics and half-understood science. By saying "scare tactics" I do not mean to imply that everything is peachy and LLNL should be able to play their "blow up explosives mixed with DU" (which, while pyrophoric, is NOT an explosive in the conventional sense) games. What I do mean is that too often, people who write these sorts of articles do so as much from the additional fear their own ignorance imparts as the true threat the known hazards present. The result is prose that jars scientific eyes and inflames the ignorant - one camp to greater fear, the other to ignorant dismissal of the dangers.

It's little wonder so many Americans think "intelligent design" is science. Science literacy across the board is so dismal, it's a wonder we as a nation get anything right about science.