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Politics : Middle East Politics

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To: Gersh Avery who started this subject8/25/2002 11:34:05 AM
From: Thomas M.   of 6945
 
Nuclear weapons used by the U.S. in the 1991 Gulf War continue to take their toll:

guardian.co.uk

Children of Gulf war veterans risk birth defects

New research shows former soldiers
have increased levels of chromosome
abnormalities in their genes

Nic Fleming and Mark Townsend
Thursday August 15, 2002
Guardian Weekly

The children of British soldiers who fought
in wars in which depleted uranium
ammunition was used are at greater risk
of suffering genetic diseases passed on
by their fathers, according to new
research.

Veterans of the conflicts in the Gulf,
Bosnia and Kosovo have been found to
have up to 14 times the usual level of
chromosome abnormalities in their genes.
It has raised fears that they will pass
cancers and genetic illnesses to their
offspring. The study is the first to analyse
chromosome deformation in soldiers.

According to Paul Tyler MP, who is a
member of the Royal British Legion Gulf
war syndrome working group, it would be
"outrageous" if the findings were ignored
by the Government.

"High levels of genetic damage do not
occur naturally. It increases the
probability of cancer, deformed babies and
other genetic conditions significantly,"
said Professor Albrecht Schott, a German
biochemist who coordinated the research.

Schott collected blood samples from 16
British veterans last year. Fourteen had
fought in the Gulf war, and one had also
served in Bosnia. Of the others, one
served only in Kosovo and one only in
Bosnia. Two of the veterans are women.
The former soldiers were found to have up
to 14 times the usual level of chromosome
abnormalities. The average was
five-and-a-half times higher than that found
in civilians. None had less than double the
normal rate.

Schott, who has a £30,000 debt after
funding the tests himself, said that in the
18 months since they were done the
condition of many veterans had worsened.
Some were suffering from cancers.

"This confirms that we have been exposed
to ionising radiation," said Shaun Rusling,
who is the chairman of the national Gulf
veterans and families association. "That is
the only way we could have this level of
chromosome damage."

Last month the Ministry of Defence said it
was launching an investigation after a
study revealed that 19 Gulf veterans had
developed lymphatic or bone marrow
cancers compared with 11 in a control
group. A United States government survey
of 21,000 veterans has also shown that
those who served in the Gulf were two to
three times more likely to report birth
defects in their children.

The US and Britain have admitted using
350 tonnes of depleted uranium in the Gulf
war. Depleted uranium is used in shells
because its high density allows maximum
penetration of hard targets such as tanks
and underground bunkers. Iraqi scientists
have reported high levels of childhood
cancers and deformed babies in
populations exposed to the ammunition.

Some 53,000 British troops served in the
Gulf. Of these, at least 552 have died and
more than 5,200 have reported a range of
illnesses.

Once in the body, depleted uranium can
remain for years emitting small doses of
alpha radiation. Former soldiers who were
heavy smokers, or had undergone
chemotherapy or X-ray treatment were
excluded from the study as these factors
could also lead to higher than normal
levels of chromosome aberrations.

Kenny Duncan believes that his children's
health problems are linked to his service
in the Gulf war. All three were born with
deformed toes and suffer from asthmas,
hay fever and eczema. His wife Mandy
said: "It's scandalous that while we
aresuffering with the consequences of
what the Government has done,
politicians are just thinking about money."

A spokesman for the MoD dismissed
Schott's findings. "We consider the tests
neither well thought out nor scientifically
sound," he said.
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