Radioactive pollution spread by DU weapons has aroused growing opposition around the world. Here are several examples which were printed in Appendix V of Metal of Dishonor.
Japan: Rising anger at the continuing US military occupation of Okinawa reached new levels with the belated admission by the US government that 1,520 rounds of DU ammunition had been fired by US Marine Corps AV-8B Harrier jets in late 1995. The US government did not notify the Japanese government for over a year.
The news first broke in the February 10, 1997, Washington Times. The US government then promised to clean up the DU, but assured Okinawan officials that DU weapons are not dangerous. Press reports made no mention of the US government reports that confirm the radioactive dangers of DU.
The Netherlands: The January 24, 1996, edition of the Dutch newspaper Volkskrant reported on the use of DU munitions in Bosnia. In reaction to this article the Dutch soldiers’ pressure group, ACOM, asked the Dutch Minister of Defense Gmelich Meijling whether Dutch soldiers were at risk. Meijling confirmed the possible radiological and chemical risks of DU particles and the presence of US tanks containing DU in the Netherlands.
In December 1996 the Dutch soldiers’ group published an article in their magazine, entitled, “The Radioactive Bullet from the Pentagon,” which generated Dutch media attention and discussion in Parliament.
Bosnia: There is growing awareness that US and British NATO forces in Bosnia use weapons containing DU. There were over 4,000 aerial sorties by NATO forces against Bosnian Serb positions in the summer and fall of 1995. Many of the sorties were carried out by A-10 aircraft deployed on board US aircraft carriers stationed in the Adriatic Sea. The A-10 Warthog fires 4,100 30mm rounds a minute. Each 30mm round contains a 300-gram DU core.
The armor and the ammunition of US/NATO tank units stationed throughout Bosnia also contain DU, as do the land mines that have been extensively planted around NATO bases. This will have a devastating impact on the civilian population of all the nationalities in the Balkans for generations to come.
Amsterdam: In Appendix IV, Metal of Dishonor reports the story of the Boeing 747 El Al cargo jet which crashed in Amsterdam. Forty-three people were killed, and the plane, which was carrying seventy-five tons of kerosene, ten tons of chemicals, other flammable liquids, gases and caustic substances, burned at the crash site. It was learned later, from Paul Loewenstein, technical director and vice-president of the company which supplied DU to Boeing, that there were 1,500 kgs of DU on board the plane as counterweights, “a standard amount at the time.”
Boeing countered, saying that there was only 380 kg in the tail of the plane. These “internal parts for flight control” may also be found in the wings. Loewenstein explained that, “Counterweights are used in the aerodynamic controls of planes, rockets, and helicopters to maintain the aircraft’s center of gravity. Heavy density is important in keeping the counterweight small in comparison with airfoil steering surfaces. DU [with its high density] is very appropriate for this kind of application, and uranium counterweights are used in many civil and military aircraft.”
According to Leonard A. Hennen, from the Dutch Ministry of Defense, the people of Amsterdam who were near the crash site had good reason to be concerned that they ran the risk of “internal contamination” from DU which may have been scattered by the crash and oxidized by the ensuing fire.
~ Metal of Dishonor, compiled & edited by International Action Center; 212-633-6646.