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-------- Original Message --------
Subject: DU--radiation jump in UK
Date: 20 Feb 2006 20:24:38 -0600
From: Dale Whart

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/
article/0,,2087-2047373,00.html

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UK radiation jump blamed on Iraq shells
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by Mark Gould and Jon Ungoed-Thomas
The Sunday Times, February 19, 2006

RADIATION detectors in Britain recorded a fourfold
increase in uranium levels in the atmosphere after the
shock-and-awe bombing campaign against Iraq, according
to a report.

Environmental scientists who uncovered the figures
through freedom of information laws say it is evidence
that depleted uranium from the shells was carried by
wind currents to Britain.

Government officials, however, say the sharp rise in
uranium detected by radiation monitors in Berkshire
was a coincidence and probably came from local
sources.

The results from testing stations at the Atomic
Weapons Establishment (AWE) in Aldermaston and four
other stations within a 10-mile radius were obtained
by Chris Busby, of Liverpool University's department
of human anatomy and cell biology.

Each detector recorded a significant rise in uranium
levels during the Gulf war bombing campaign in March
2003. The reading from a park in Reading was high
enough for the Environment Agency to be alerted.

Busby, who has advised the government on radiation and
is a founder of Green Audit, the environmental
consultancy, believes uranium aerosols from Iraq were
widely dispersed in the atmosphere and blown across
Europe.

This research shows that rather than remaining near
the target as claimed by the military, depleted
uranium weapons contaminate both locals and whole
populations hundreds to thousands of miles away, he
said.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) countered that it was
unfeasible depleted uranium could have travelled so
far. Radiation experts also said that other
environmental sources were more likely to blame.

The shock-and-awe campaign was one of the most
devastating assaults in modern warfare. In the first
24-hour period more than 1,500 bombs and missiles
were dropped on Baghdad.

During the conflict A10 tankbuster planes, which use
munitions containing depleted uranium, fired 300,000
rounds. The substance--dubbed a silver bullet because
of its ability to pierce heavy tank armour--is
controversial because of its potential effect on human
health. Critics say it is chemically toxic and can
cause cancer, and Iraqi doctors reported a marked rise
in cancer cases after it was used in the first Gulf
conflict.

The American and British governments say depleted
uranium is relatively harmless, however. The Royal
Society, the UK's academy of science, has also said
the risk from depleted uranium is very low for
soldiers and people in a conflict zone.

Busby's report shows that within nine days of the
start of the Iraq war on March 19, 2003, higher levels
of uranium were picked up on five sites in Berkshire.
On two occasions, levels exceeded the threshold at
which the Environment Agency must be informed, though
within safety limits. The report says weather
conditions over the war period showed a consistent
flow of air from Iraq northwards.

Brian Spratt, who chaired the Royal Society's report,
cast doubt on depleted uranium as a source but said it
could have come from natural uranium in the massive
amounts of soil kicked up by shock-and-awe.

Other experts said local environmental sources, such
as a power station, were more likely at fault. The
Environment Agency said detectors at other sites did
not record a similar increase, which suggested a local
source.

A MoD spokesman said the uranium was of a natural
origin and there was no evidence that depleted uranium
had reached Britain from Iraq.
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