THE immediate humanitarian priorities in Iraq must be to distribute food and clean water to those in need and to try and restore the health system to some kind of normality. But once this emergency subsides, there is another health issue that needs urgent attention 鈥� clearing up the uncertainties over the long-term impact of depleted uranium. Iraq offers a unique opportunity for helping resolve the issue 鈥� but there is a catch. To be of real value, any studies must begin as soon as possible. Delay will dilute the results and disadvantage not only Iraqi civilians but also the soldiers who have been exposed to DU.
DU is a formidable part of coalition forces鈥� armouries. Shells tipped with the super-dense metal were used extensively in the Gulf war of 1991, which left parts of Iraq littered with the stuff. Saddam Hussein鈥檚 government portrayed it as a chemical weapon and blamed it for causing cancers and congenital abnormalities. In contrast, the US and British governments claim that DU causes few if any health problems and regard suggestions that DU is harmful as ignorant and mischievous.
Take, for example, a letter to this magazine from Britain鈥檚 veterans minister Lewis Moonie (5 April, p 28). He points out that many independent reports have considered the effects of using DU munitions, and that 鈥渘one of these has found a connection between DU exposure and illness鈥�. He goes on to say that 鈥渕edia reports of cancers and birth defects in Iraq are not substantiated with credible scientific evidence鈥�.
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But these statements imply a level of knowledge that we simply do not have. An investigation conducted by Britain鈥檚 Royal Society and quoted by the minister makes clear that there are numerous ways in which DU can cause illness and even death. And those media reports about Iraq were not substantiated because no studies were ever carried out. Evidence of the absence of any health impacts would be reassuring but all we have at present is an absence of evidence.
The Royal Society highlighted huge gaps in our knowledge about DU, such as the level likely to cause kidney damage, the impact of DU on bone, how much DU can be inhaled in the years following a conflict, and the combined effect of DU鈥檚 chemical and radiological effects (see 鈥淒epleted uranium casts a shadow over peace in Iraq鈥�). It even made recommendations for studies to be carried out on soldiers exposed to DU 鈥渋n any future conflict鈥�. Environmental sampling, particularly of water and milk, would need to be done and local people informed of the results.
To reassure the Iraqi people, not to mention their own troops, coalition governments should set this research in motion, or let the WHO and UN Environment Programme carry it out. The UN agencies already have the study designs in place. Failing to support such research can only compound present uncertainties and fuel public suspicion.