400 Ton Depleted Uranium avfyrat i Irak av USA
The Guardian 2013-03-06
Att sanera de över 300 platser i IRAK som fortfarande är förorenade med efterverkningen av Depleted Uranium (DU)-vapen, kommer att kosta minst 200 miljoner kronor - sannolikt mycket mer.
Detta enligt en rapport från en holländsk fredsaktivistgrupp som presenterades i början av mars 2013.
Man räknar med att USA avfyrade över 400 ton DU-bomber och ammunition under de två Irakkrigen 1991 och 2003. Storbritannien fyrade också av ett par ton DU-bomber i Irak.
USA, Storbritannien Israel och Frankrike försvarade nyligen användningen av DU-vapen i FN medan 155 andra länder fördömde användandet.
USA vägrar fortfarande att uppge på vilka platser i Irak de använt sina DU-vapen, vilket försvårar saneringsarbetet och gör att siffrorna som redovisas kan stiga ordentligt.
Storbritannien kommer att fortsätta använda DU-vapen "när de känner för det". Storbritannien anser att det inte finns vetenskapliga bevis för att det radioaktiva giftiga DU-materialet är skadligt för människor. Detta enligt en talesman för landets regering.
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/mar/06/iraq-depleted-uranium-clean-up-contamination-spreads
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D.U. eller Depleted Uranium kommer från t.ex. restprodukter av förbrukat kärnbränsle från atomkraftverk. Krigsindustrin använder materialet för att förstärka de konventionella bombernas effekt, så materialet i sig har inget med atomvapen att göra.
Fördelen med D.U. är den höga tätheten som exempelvis är dubbelt så hög som tätheten hos bly.
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Den militära fördelen blir att bomber som innehåller D.U. får en mycket större penetrerande kraft och kan slå sönder det mesta som t.ex. underjordiska anläggningar, skyddsrum, stridsvagnar etc.
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Den civila nackdelen är att det radioaktiva materialet vid träffen förvandlas till ett extremt giftigt radioaktivt puder som stannar kvar både i naturen och atmosfären i många år.
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Pudret är bland det mest cancerframkallande gift som finns och bilderna undertill visar vilka extrema fosterskador ämnet orsakar över tid, när människor utsätts för det.
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Staden Fallujah i IRAK är ett av många offer för USA:s omfattande Depleted Uranium -krigföring. 2004 bombarderade USA:s militär Fallujah med D.U.-förstärkta bomber. Ännu 10 år efter angreppet mot staden är konsekvenserna för de överlevande innevånarna katastrofala. Resultatet på bilderna undertill talar för sig själv.
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- Brott mot mänskligheten är bara förnamnet.
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The Guardian 2013-03-06 (engelsk text)
Cleaning up more than 300 sites in Iraq still contaminated by depleted uranium (DU) weapons will cost at least $30m, according to a report by a Dutch peace group to be published on Thursday.
The report, which was funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, warns that the contamination is being spread by poorly regulated scrap metal dealers, including children. It also documents evidence that DU munitions were fired at light vehicles, buildings and other civilian infrastructure including the Iraqi Ministry of Planning in Baghdad – casting doubt on official assurances that only armoured vehicles were targeted.
"The use of DU in populated areas is alarming," it says, adding that many more contaminated sites are likely to be discovered.
More than 400 tonnes of DU ammunition are estimated to have been fired by jets and tanks in the two Iraq wars in 1991 and 2003, the vast majority by US forces. The UK government says that British forces fired less than three tonnes.
DU is a chemically toxic and radioactive heavy metal produced as waste by the nuclear power industry. It is used in weapons because it is an extremely hard material capable of piercing armour.
However, it can contaminate the environment, and has been linked to health problems in civilian populations. Iraqi doctors have reported increases in cancers, and an alleged rise in birth defects is under investigation by the World Health Organisation and the Iraqi Ministry of Health.
The health effects are disputed by the US and UK governments, who joined with France and Israel to vote against a resolution calling for "a precautionary approach" to the use of DU weapons at the United Nations general assembly in December; 155 countries voted in favour of the resolution.
The new report from IKV Pax Christi, an inter-church peace group at Utrecht in the Netherlands, says sensationalist claims that the use of DU was "equivalent to 100 Chernobyl accidents" or was an "act of genocide" lacks any scientific basis. But it argues that the health concerns of Iraqi civilians are real and should be taken seriously.
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The report, founded on three investigatory trips to Iraq in 2011 and 2012, quotes the Iraqi government's Radiation Protection Centre (RPC) as having identified between 300 and 365 contaminated sites by 2006. Most of them are in the Basra region in southern Iraq.
The report's author, Wim Zwijnenburg from IKV Pax Christi, criticised the US for failing to confirm where it had fired DU weapons. "It is unclear exactly how many locations may still be contaminated, or the extent of the risks that civilians face," he said.
"DU's apparent use in built-up areas against a range of targets in 2003 increased these risks," he added. "The uncertainty means that fear of DU among Iraqi civilians is widespread, yet effectively managing DU's legacy will require international assistance."
The UK government insisted that it would continue to deploy DU weapons when needed. "There is no reliable scientific or medical evidence to suggest DU causes ill health and the UK is therefore one of various countries that do not favour adopting a precautionary approach to its use," a UK government spokeswoman told the Guardian.
"While UK armed forces have not needed to use DU since 2003, it would be wrong to deny them the potential future use of a legitimate and effective capability."
Though some cleaning up is meant to have been done, the report says that many sites are still contaminated, and new areas of contamination continue to be found. It quotes one RPC official as saying that each site could cost between $100,000-$150,000 to decontaminate, making a total of between $30m and $45m.
The Iraqi government doesn't have the resources to deal with the problem, the report argues. It says it is also failing to control the trade in military scrap metal, which can be lucrative and involve children.
The US Department of Defence did not provide a response to questions about the report.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/mar/06/iraq-depleted-uranium-clean-up-contamination-spreads
The Guardian 2013-03-06
Att sanera de över 300 platser i IRAK som fortfarande är förorenade med efterverkningen av Depleted Uranium (DU)-vapen, kommer att kosta minst 200 miljoner kronor - sannolikt mycket mer.
Detta enligt en rapport från en holländsk fredsaktivistgrupp som presenterades i början av mars 2013.
Man räknar med att USA avfyrade över 400 ton DU-bomber och ammunition under de två Irakkrigen 1991 och 2003. Storbritannien fyrade också av ett par ton DU-bomber i Irak.
USA, Storbritannien Israel och Frankrike försvarade nyligen användningen av DU-vapen i FN medan 155 andra länder fördömde användandet.
"Den nya holländska rapporten anser att USA orsakat en radioaktiv katastrof i Irak motsvarande 100 stycken Chernobyl-katastrofer."
USA vägrar fortfarande att uppge på vilka platser i Irak de använt sina DU-vapen, vilket försvårar saneringsarbetet och gör att siffrorna som redovisas kan stiga ordentligt.
Storbritannien kommer att fortsätta använda DU-vapen "när de känner för det". Storbritannien anser att det inte finns vetenskapliga bevis för att det radioaktiva giftiga DU-materialet är skadligt för människor. Detta enligt en talesman för landets regering.
*
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/mar/06/iraq-depleted-uranium-clean-up-contamination-spreads
*
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*
D.U. eller Depleted Uranium kommer från t.ex. restprodukter av förbrukat kärnbränsle från atomkraftverk. Krigsindustrin använder materialet för att förstärka de konventionella bombernas effekt, så materialet i sig har inget med atomvapen att göra.
Fördelen med D.U. är den höga tätheten som exempelvis är dubbelt så hög som tätheten hos bly.
Den militära fördelen blir att bomber som innehåller D.U. får en mycket större penetrerande kraft och kan slå sönder det mesta som t.ex. underjordiska anläggningar, skyddsrum, stridsvagnar etc.
*
Den civila nackdelen är att det radioaktiva materialet vid träffen förvandlas till ett extremt giftigt radioaktivt puder som stannar kvar både i naturen och atmosfären i många år.
*
Pudret är bland det mest cancerframkallande gift som finns och bilderna undertill visar vilka extrema fosterskador ämnet orsakar över tid, när människor utsätts för det.
*
Staden Fallujah i IRAK är ett av många offer för USA:s omfattande Depleted Uranium -krigföring. 2004 bombarderade USA:s militär Fallujah med D.U.-förstärkta bomber. Ännu 10 år efter angreppet mot staden är konsekvenserna för de överlevande innevånarna katastrofala. Resultatet på bilderna undertill talar för sig själv.
*
- Brott mot mänskligheten är bara förnamnet.
*
The Guardian 2013-03-06 (engelsk text)
Cleaning up more than 300 sites in Iraq still contaminated by depleted uranium (DU) weapons will cost at least $30m, according to a report by a Dutch peace group to be published on Thursday.
The report, which was funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, warns that the contamination is being spread by poorly regulated scrap metal dealers, including children. It also documents evidence that DU munitions were fired at light vehicles, buildings and other civilian infrastructure including the Iraqi Ministry of Planning in Baghdad – casting doubt on official assurances that only armoured vehicles were targeted.
"The use of DU in populated areas is alarming," it says, adding that many more contaminated sites are likely to be discovered.
More than 400 tonnes of DU ammunition are estimated to have been fired by jets and tanks in the two Iraq wars in 1991 and 2003, the vast majority by US forces. The UK government says that British forces fired less than three tonnes.
DU is a chemically toxic and radioactive heavy metal produced as waste by the nuclear power industry. It is used in weapons because it is an extremely hard material capable of piercing armour.
However, it can contaminate the environment, and has been linked to health problems in civilian populations. Iraqi doctors have reported increases in cancers, and an alleged rise in birth defects is under investigation by the World Health Organisation and the Iraqi Ministry of Health.
The health effects are disputed by the US and UK governments, who joined with France and Israel to vote against a resolution calling for "a precautionary approach" to the use of DU weapons at the United Nations general assembly in December; 155 countries voted in favour of the resolution.
The new report from IKV Pax Christi, an inter-church peace group at Utrecht in the Netherlands, says sensationalist claims that the use of DU was "equivalent to 100 Chernobyl accidents" or was an "act of genocide" lacks any scientific basis. But it argues that the health concerns of Iraqi civilians are real and should be taken seriously.
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The report, founded on three investigatory trips to Iraq in 2011 and 2012, quotes the Iraqi government's Radiation Protection Centre (RPC) as having identified between 300 and 365 contaminated sites by 2006. Most of them are in the Basra region in southern Iraq.
The report's author, Wim Zwijnenburg from IKV Pax Christi, criticised the US for failing to confirm where it had fired DU weapons. "It is unclear exactly how many locations may still be contaminated, or the extent of the risks that civilians face," he said.
"DU's apparent use in built-up areas against a range of targets in 2003 increased these risks," he added. "The uncertainty means that fear of DU among Iraqi civilians is widespread, yet effectively managing DU's legacy will require international assistance."
The UK government insisted that it would continue to deploy DU weapons when needed. "There is no reliable scientific or medical evidence to suggest DU causes ill health and the UK is therefore one of various countries that do not favour adopting a precautionary approach to its use," a UK government spokeswoman told the Guardian.
"While UK armed forces have not needed to use DU since 2003, it would be wrong to deny them the potential future use of a legitimate and effective capability."
Though some cleaning up is meant to have been done, the report says that many sites are still contaminated, and new areas of contamination continue to be found. It quotes one RPC official as saying that each site could cost between $100,000-$150,000 to decontaminate, making a total of between $30m and $45m.
The Iraqi government doesn't have the resources to deal with the problem, the report argues. It says it is also failing to control the trade in military scrap metal, which can be lucrative and involve children.
The US Department of Defence did not provide a response to questions about the report.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/mar/06/iraq-depleted-uranium-clean-up-contamination-spreads
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Publicerad den 20 mars 2013
http://www.democracynow.org
- In part two of our interview, Al Jazeera reporter Dahr Jamail
discusses how the U.S. invasion of Iraq has left behind a legacy of
cancer and birth defects suspected of being caused by the U.S.
military's extensive use of depleted uranium and white phosphorus.
Noting the birth defects in the Iraqi city of Fallujah, Jamail says:
"They're are extremely hard to bear witness to, but it's something that
we all need to pay attention to...
What this has generated is from 2004
up to this day, we are seeing a rate of congenital malformations in the
city of Fallujah that has surpassed even that in the wake of the
Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that nuclear bombs were
dropped on at the end of World War II."
Jamail has also reported on the
refugee crisis of more than one million displaced Iraqis still inside
the country, who are struggling to survive without government aid, a
majority of them living in Baghdad.
Take a moment to view our interactive Iraq War timeline at http://owl.li/jd2ur.
Visit the Democracy Now! news archive to see 10 years of reports on the Iraq War at
http://www.democracynow.org/topics/iraq.
Take a moment to view our interactive Iraq War timeline at http://owl.li/jd2ur.
Visit the Democracy Now! news archive to see 10 years of reports on the Iraq War at
http://www.democracynow.org/topics/iraq.
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Läs också:
http://undermattans.blogspot.se/2012/04/usas-radioaktiva-bomber-i-fallujah.html
USA:s bomber i Irak innehöll 400 ton Depleted Uranium - kostar 200 miljoner att sanera
USA:s bomber i Irak innehöll 400 ton Depleted Uranium - kostar 200 miljoner att sanera
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