more more more on depleted uranion

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                 ANDRE  GUNDER  FRANK

         1601 SW  83rd Avenue, Miami, FL.  33155 USA
      Tel: 1-305-266  0311   Fax:  1-305  266 0799
                E-Mail :  franka@fiu.edu
   Web/Home Page:  http://csf.colorado.edu/archive/agfrank
    



---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 5 Jan 2001 22:32:27 -0500 (EST)
From: franka@fiu.edu
To: Metta Spencer <mspencer@web.net>, manni@snafu.de,
     Miguel Frank <mfrank@europarl.eu.int>,
     Fiona Godfrey <fgodfrey@t-online.de>
Cc: Paul Frank <paulfrank@post.harvard.edu>, franka@fiu.edu,
     Mitja Zagar <mitja.zagar@guest.arnes.si>, Dusan Pajin <dpajin@f.bg.ac.yu>,
     Michel Chossudovsky <chossudovsky@videotron.ca>,
     David Jacobs <david@ShellJacobs.com>,
     Albert J Bergesen <albert@U.Arizona.EDU>, vmulay@po-box.mcgill.ca,
     Maya khankhoje <khankhoje@sprint.ca>,
     Shree Mulay <smulay@po-box.mcgill.ca>
Subject: [indict-nato] Independent: Anything (fwd)

Paul and Al: when i sent you stuff i and others wrote about the NATO war,
Al dismissed mine with 'this is just legalistic' irrelevancy, and Paul
responded that there are all sorts of evidence and arguments on both
sides. 

You may recall that I particularly condemmned the NATO=US use of DU, for
the reasons stated below especially by Prodi about its effects on the
population in general, not to mention on the much smaller number of
offensive troops being put in harms way by their own commands. 
What I wrote  in 1999 was 'informed' by what i had already written ten
years earlier about the US use of DU against Iraq, which then led to 
the Desert Storm Syndrome that  is still being 'investigated', all the
while neglecting or denyind the almost certainly causative use of DU. So
now we have a "Balkan Syndrome' obviously named after the one in the Iraq war. 

While I was in Canada, I listened to and met a woman who has devoted years
to studying the DU effects IN/ON Iraq/ies. Alas, since my files were wiped
out in my move from Canada to Miami, my direct access to her also
disappeared. But Metta [e-mail above] can surely contact here for
 anyone interested -- I am!.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                 ANDRE  GUNDER  FRANK

         1601 SW  83rd Avenue, Miami, FL.  33155 USA
      Tel: 1-305-266  0311   Fax:  1-305  266 0799
                E-Mail :  franka@fiu.edu
   Web/Home Page:  http://csf.colorado.edu/archive/agfrank
    



---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 05 Jan 2001 02:25:46 -0800
From: Bob Petrovich <bojanp@home.com>
Reply-To: indict-nato@egroups.com
To: "indict-nato@egroups.com" <indict-nato@egroups.com>
Subject: [indict-nato] Independent: Anything

"In Paris, Alain Richard, the Defence Minister, has asked for tests
to determine whether the soldiers were exposed to   a n y t h i n g
that might have caused the illness " <end quote>

Anything?

* U.S. recognised limits for radiation exposure are
10-15 TIMES HIGHER than UN recognised limits for
general population (50 mSV  vs. 3-5mSV per year)

* U.S. population is allowed 2 TIMES HIGHER radiation
exposure than UN recognised limits for radiation workers
[50 mSV vs. 21mSv(1mSV natural,20mSV man-caused) per year]

http://balkans.unep.ch/_files/du_final_report.pdf  see 2.2
U.S. NUclear Regulatory Commission  http://www.nrc.gov/NRC/RG/

NATO may claim, by using U.S. limits, that radiation exposure
in Kosovo is normal, even if 10-50 TIMES HIGHER than natural.
(Kosovo is mostly rural without man-made radiation emiters)

ANYTHING may be Plutonium or other radioactive / toxic substance
in alloy used for ammunition / cruise missile ballasts / incendiary
devices http://www.ngwrc.org/news/content/SatDec180800001999.asp

DU - Red herring or red alert?
------------------------------

THE INDEPENDENT


FRANCE REVEALS THAT BALKAN SYNDROME IS AFFECTING SOLDIERS
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/World/Europe/2001-01/france050101.shtml

By Stephen Castle in Brussels

5 January 2001

The European Union promised to take action over Nato's use of
depleted-uranium munitions in the Balkans yesterday, as Paris revealed that
four French soldiers who served in the region were being treated for
leukaemia.

Depleted-uranium munitions should be banned even if there was "minimal
risk", said Romano Prodi, the European Commission president, amid mounting
international pressure on Nato to investigate the "Balkan Syndrome".

Sweden, which holds the EU presidency, backed calls for a new medical
working group on the subject and promised a discussion on the issue on 9
January. Bjorn von Sydow, the Swedish Defence Minister, said: "It is
important that we act."

In Paris, Alain Richard, the Defence Minister, has asked for tests to
determine whether the soldiers were exposed to anything that might have
caused the illness. He backed calls for the alliance to discuss the issue
next week.

Mr Prodi intervened after concern grew in Italy, where there have been 30
cases of serious illness involving soldiers who served in Bosnia and Kosovo,
12 of whom developed cancer. Six of the Italian servicemen are said to have
died of leukaemia.

Mr Prodi said in a radio interview that he wanted "the truth to be
ascertained, not only concerning the soldiers, but also for the people who
lived near them, the population".

He said: "It is clear that if there is even a minimal risk, these arms must
be abolished. And even if this risk was not there, I don't like the idea 
of
using these particular weapons." Mr Prodi proposed "immediate contacts with
the governments of Bosnia and Serbia to discuss pollution and the problems
linked to depleted uranium".

Although the EU's jurisdiction is limited, it may have powers in
environmental or health and safety areas under which it can act,
particularly if some of the ammunition was made in the EU.

Greece said yesterday that it would screen more than 1,000 of its soldiers
stationed in Kosovo for side-effects from exposure to depleted uranium
ammunition.

So far, Spain, Portugal, Turkey and Finland have said they will screen their
Kosovo veterans, and Bulgaria is also to monitor the health of its small
detachment in the province. In Britain, the Ministry of Defence said it
would monitor developments closely. The Pentagon said it was aware of the
worries being raised by some of America's allies.

Nato insists there is no evidence of a link between the munitions and
cancer. Its spokesman, Mark Laity, said: "The Italians have, very properly
and in response to public concern, launched a public inquiry, and Nato is
assisting them in every way it can."

Nato has pledged to help with a request from Italy for more information on
the use of depleted uranium.

There is also growing support for calls by Italy for a new mechanism to
exchange scientific and medical information, and possible health issues,
among the 19 Nato member countries. The Italians will press for such a
mechanism at a political committee and at an informal meeting of Nato
ambassadors on Tuesday. <end quote>

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