County addresses toxic issue

Lawmakers urge testing for depleted uranium exposure

By FRITZ MAYER

MONTICELLO, NY — The Sullivan County Veteran’s Committee has joined other Veterans Committees in New York State in urging action on the issue of depleted uranium (DU), a radioactive metal increasingly used to make munitions for use by U.S military forces. At the committee meeting on December 8, lawmakers voted to send a letter to Albany calling for state lawmakers to provide testing for exposure to depleted uranium for veterans of both Iraq wars.

Exposure to depleted uranium can cause short- and long-term adverse health effects. Eric Nystrom, Director of the Sullivan County Veterans Service Agency says local vets who were exposed to DU in the first Gulf War are now beginning to show symptoms. “It is prevalent. It manifests sometimes over the years, and we’re seeing it now with the Desert Storm veterans that are coming in. They weren’t immediately affected by their exposures back in ‘91. They’re becoming effected now, and it’s being transmitted down to their children.”

The toxic effects of DU sometimes show up rather quickly. National Guard specialist Gerard Matthew of the Bronx was in Iraq in 2003, working on equipment that had been contaminated with DU dust. Within months, he was stricken with debilitating headaches, blackouts, facial swelling and other symptoms. His condition was so severe that he was sent home from Iraq. Later he and his wife had a daughter who was born with three fingers and most of her right hand missing.

The military would not test him for DU exposure, but independent testing showed that he had very high levels of DU in his body. He says of his daughter, “She’s doing very well. She has learned to use her hand to hold a bottle pretty well. Cognitively she seems to be doing all right. But as to the long term effects, I don’t know.” Matthew is able to work part time, but his headaches and other symptoms persist.

DU comes from uranium, a metal that is mined from the ground like most other metals. About three percent of the raw uranium is suitable for use in nuclear weapons and as fuel for nuclear power plants. Once that is removed, what is left is DU a metal that is 60 percent more dense than lead. Because of the density, DU weapons are extremely effective at tearing through enemy targets. But when DU shells or bullets hit their targets, the DU breaks down into countless tiny particles, many as small as viruses; so small that they easily slip through the most effective gas masks.

The Department of Defense (DOD) does require testing of soldiers directly exposed to DU fire. But veterans say most exposures are indirect. There are soldiers stationed in former Iraqi army barracks that were bombed by DU munitions. Military personnel frequently travel through areas that were the scene of former DU battles. Soldiers handle equipment covered with DU dust. The DOD says that ingesting DU dust poses no significant threat to human health. Veterans disagree.

Melissa Sterry is a Desert Storm vet, who was instrumental in getting lawmakers in Connecticut to take action on DU. She compares today’s DU issue,to that of Agent Orange, which was used to defoliate the jungles in the Vietnam conflict. “By the 70s people were saying Agent Orange is making us sick. Hundreds of studies were done by people like the Rand Corporation saying ‘no, no, Agent Orange is not making you sick.’ We now know from history that the studies were wrong.”

With such a large issue, it may seem that a letter from local lawmakers is not going to make much difference. However Nystrom says such letters help lawmakers in Albany and Washington solidify their support for any action that might be needed. “Any up-channel communication is always a good thing.”