NewsMine — deceptions — war-syndrome — Viewing Item

Iraqi doctors blame cancer on depleted uranium { August 17 2003 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)    http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=1&id=269783 http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=1&id=269783 Iraqi doctors blame cancer rise on depleted uranium shells Sunday, August 17, 2003 at 06:19 JST TOKYO — An increasing number of Iraqis are suffering from cancer and leukemia allegedly caused by depleted uranium shells the United States military used in the area, two visiting doctors from Iraq said in presentations in Japan over the past two weeks. Around 116 out of 100,000 people were diagnosed in 2001 with cancer in the vicinity of Basra in southern Iraq, where the U.S. military used depleted uranium shells in the Persian Gulf War in 1991, according to one of the doctors. The number marks a 10-fold increase from the 11 cases diagnosed in 1988, he said. Jawad Al Ali, 59, a doctor from Basra, said an increasing number of families have members who are suffering from cancer, and the death toll from cancer has risen 19-fold during the same period. Several Japanese civic groups jointly invited Ali and Janan Ghalib Hassan to Japan as part of their activities to make known the harmful effects of depleted uranium shells. The two delivered presentations in cities including Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which were devastated by atomic bombs the U.S. dropped in 1945 in World War II. Hassan, 47, said that in 2001, 611 babies were born with no limbs, no eyes or other birth defects, compared with 37 such cases in 1990. Ali expressed concern that a high number of cancer patients will emerge in Baghdad and other parts of the country due to the recent U.S.-led war on Iraq. Depleted uranium, a metal remainder left when natural uranium is refined, is used in artillery shells and bombs designed to penetrate tanks and other armored vehicles. The metal is believed to turn into small particles when a shell hits its target, and can be toxic in humans if breathed or eaten. The U.S. has been denying, including via embassy Web sites, such adverse effects, asserting there is no basis to claims that depleted uranium causes cancer in newborns. But Yuko Fujita, an assistant professor at Keio University who examined the effects of radioactivity in Iraq from May to June, said that damage from depleted uranium will be more serious in the future due to the recent war. "I doubt that Iraq is fabricating data because in fact there are many children suffering from leukemia in hospitals," Fujita said. "As a result of the Iraq war, the situation will be desperate in some five to 10 years." Regarding efforts by Japan in helping to rebuild Iraq, he said, "Japan should build up-to-date hospitals for children with cancer instead of sending Self-Defense Forces personnel." (Kyodo News)

2003 2004 balkins Congressional call to study effects of depleted uranium { May 17 2005 } Death by du Depleted uranium toxicity { May 2 2003 } Drug resistanct bacteria in iraq soil infecting soldiers Du vieques { February 4 2001 } Ecstasy given to american soldiers { February 17 2005 } Gulf illness scare blamed on chemical warfare agents { June 11 2004 } Gulf veterans threat { September 4 2000 } Gulf war sick european chemicals { January 18 2003 } Gulf war veteran syndrome Gulf war veterans testes { January 10 2003 } Iraq links cancer to uranium { January 13 2003 } Iraqi doctors blame cancer on depleted uranium { August 17 2003 } Military uses { March 18 2003 } Mushrooming depleted uranium scandal blamed Npr covers du Sick gulf war vets sue companies banks Soldiers exposed to depleted uranium { April 15 2007 } Us covering up depleted uranium Us nukes its own troops Us rejects du clean up { April 14 2003 } Vieques cancer rates higher than puerto ricos { May 10 2003 } Files Listed: 22

Correction/submissions

CIA FOIA Archive

National Security Archives

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information, go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purpose of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.