MAY:27:1998..........GLASGOW SET TO ROCK IN 1999

MAY:27:1998...........SCOTLAND'S WORST MOTORWAY HOLDUP

MAY:19:1998............EMMISSIONS TEST FOR GLASGOW DRIVERS

MAY:17:1998........INACCURATE REPORTING OF POLLUTION

During Operation Desert Storm, the U.S. aircraft A-10 “tank killer” fired 940,000 rounds of Depleted Uranium munitions, with another 4,000 rounds fired from the U.S. Main Battle Tank, the M1 Abrams, as well as by the British. By dividing the number of tank rounds by the approximate number of tanks used by the allies in Operation Desert Storm (1500), it is shown only about three rounds per tank were fired. This appears to show very few rounds were actually fired yet, anecdotal evidence from veteran tankers shows they fired the DU round almost exclusively due to its effectiveness at penetrating bunkers and Iraqi armor.

According to recent public reports or statements from the Office of the Special Assistant for Gulf War Illnesses (OSA/GWI), the current official Department of Defense position concerning use, exposure and contamination of U.S. military personnel by Depleted Uranium munitions during operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm is: 122 soldiers have been identified as being possibly exposed.

These include 50 soldiers of the 11th ACR involved in the Doha, Kuwait fire a few months after the war ended. This fire burned eighteen hours, and soldiers were sent in to clean up the fire after it had been extinguished. These soldiers were given no protective or respiratory equipment for protection from DU contamination even though a warning had been sent by EOD to the area to keep soldiers away from the downwind or contaminated area. The U.S. CENTCOM logs confirm the warning.
50 soldiers from the New Jersey National Guard unit 144th S&S Company who were involved in recovering/repairing vehicles hit in friendly fire incidents.
22 soldiers from various units that retained DU shrapnel after friendly fire incidents (down from an initial 33). The above figure of 22 includes NO military personnel who were exposed in other manners such as myself, (with positive test results) from being in, on or near equipment hit by DU rounds, or those of Captain Doug Rokke, (also tests positive) or his team members. Cpt. Rokke was head of the Depleted Uranium Assessment Team during Operation Desert Storm. Cpt. Rokke was retained on Active Duty by the military until late 1995. His work included determining contamination levels from DU impacts in the Nevada desert, or in developing training films to be used by military personnel to train them on the hazards of Depleted Uranium. Cpt. Rokke received commendations by the DOD for his significant work in this area.

It is also the position of the Department of Defense that those exposed will be offered a urinalysis test for the 122 military personnel that are concerned with their exposure and resulting contamination....if they request it.

Enclosed with this cover letter are several pages of documentation which show this position of the Department of Defense to be either a colossal misinformed blunder, or a blatant attempt at downplaying and ignoring the significance of the exposures, and attempts at falsely portraying the above veterans (and thousands of others) as being unaffected by their exposure to Depleted Uranium, as well as the hazards of Depleted Uranium. Since Dr. Bernard Rostker, Office of the Assistant Secretary on Gulf War Illnesses will not even hear a briefing from the person who headed the DU assessment team during the war, their investigation into Depleted Uranium use and exposures cannot be too serious.

In recent conversations with investigators of the Office of Gulf War Illnesses, they have stated a new, special investigation was started with the investigation headed by Mr. Pat Williams. > When I provided this information to a congressional committee aide, the DOD office then denied having a new, special investigation, and stated to him they had actually been investigating Depleted Uranium as a hazardous exposure since July 1995. Their "case narrative" will be coming out this month, September 1997. The incident surrounding Khamisiyah came to light in June 1996 and they have issued case narratives much faster than 2 years after the investigation started.

Also, during my conversations, investigators admitted they were aware of several "official" reports , yet still insisted only the above 122 soldiers were affected, and the urinalysis test would still be effective at this late date.

During one conversation with BG Jeff Prather, he mentioned participating in a "DU working group at Fort Belvior during the mid eighties".

I submitted a Freedom of Information Act request and was provided a 295 page response. Enclosed with this letter are the original request, the responding cover letter, and 76 pages from the material provided.

When reading the enclosed information from the response, keep in mind the dates of many of the documents, 1981 and 1984, then keep in mind the current position of the DOD GWI investigation. Also, keep in mind that one of the participants in this course, Maj. Jeff Prather, is now working for the DOD's GWI investigative team as a Brigadier General.

As you can see by reading the information from the response, the Department of Defense is VERY well aware of the significant potential of DU as an environmental and health hazard. Information contained in this response shows they are aware of the exposure of soldiers  from DU when it burns, aware of the downwind spreading and incidental contamination hazard, aware of the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of medical testing procedures for those exposed, aware of the inadequacies of the urinalysis test they are still offering, and aware of the much larger number of military personnel that were exposed.

Enclosed test data also shows the DOD is under-reporting the numbers contaminated with Depleted Uranium during friendly fire incidents, such as crew members who were also in the vehicle hit by a DU round, but did not retain DU shrapnel. Data in the response also shows the DOD is well aware of the avenues in which military personnel can ingest or be contaminated with Depleted Uranium, and which bodily organs would be affected by the exposure.

The DOD is further downplaying the seriousness of exposures to Depleted Uranium by often commenting publicly on the low hazard from radiation from a DU round, while totally ignoring the heavy metal toxicity of Depleted Uranium, and the effects it has when ingested.

For those no longer in the military the Department of Veterans Affairs is still, as of June 1997, offering the urinalysis test to Gulf veterans. In response to questions to a staffer within the Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Benefits division, I have been told that exposed veterans would have to claim their resulting medical conditions were secondary to their exposure to DU. This claim would then be sent up to someone, possibly the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs. They would review all known data concerning the soldier’s whereabouts during Operation Desert Storm, and then provide their "best estimate" as to whether that veteran was exposed to DU, and whether that veteran’s medical condition was a result of their exposure to this hazard.

Many soldiers are exhibiting medical problems now which are known to be related to exposure to DU and need help now. Some have died. Some have required extensive surgery to continue living. Please help by disseminating this information. It will help change the “official” position. Sent in by................. an unknown reporter

MAY:7:1998.........LARKHALLS £200,000 RECYCLING PLANT WORKING WELL

MAY:6:1998.........T IN THE PARK ON THE LINE

MAY:2:1998..........DEAD GOOD SAYS VISITER