Home | Friday 14th March 2008 | Issue 624

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D U, JIMMY

The Ministry of Defence have announced five days of depleted uranium (DU) weapons-testing on its Dundrennan range in Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland. Despite numerous scientific studies proving the health and environmental damage of DU missiles, as well as growing international criticism of the weapons, the MOD continues to stick its fingers in its ears and repeat its mantra - “Na, na, na. I can’t hear you!”

Aside from its obvious destructive power involved in it’s projectile deployment, DU has been found to cause damage to bone cells, among other nasty side-effects, and has been responsible for a dramatic rise in the cases of leukemia in Iraq. It will be the first such testing for five years - coming shortly after Belgium imposed the first domestic ban on uranium weapons, while the EU Parliament has voted in favour of a moratorium leading to a ban. An MOD statement read, “The findings continue to show that DU does not pose a significant risk to the environment or to members of the public or site personnel” (Na, na...). Strangely, despite these ‘findings’, the UK was one of only five states to vote against a UN request for nations to submit reports on the health impacts of uranium weapons. What’re they so worried about?!

* For more see www.cadu.org.uk

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