ARMY'S 1996 TECH BULLETIN CALLS FOR EXTREME CAUTION IN DISPOSAL OF CONTAMINATED DU MUNITIONS
A 1996 Army technical bulletin approved for public release details procedures for the handling, transportation and storage of munitions that contain depleted uranium. Although some sentences tend to minimize risks, other sections detail comprehensive protection measures that must be taken to protect personnel from any contamination as well as measures to be taken should contamination occur. To read the entire document, click here ...
Illustrations below are from the document. Note the cautions in the second panel ...
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I believe this article is a good place for me to start. Back in the early 90's I worked with a company that recieieved M1 Tanks and bradley vehicles that were destroyed by DU in the gulf war. We were the only company that received these vehicles which were deliverd straight from the battle field. Our mission was to decontaminate these vehicles, retrieve the armor and return to the army. This process took several years. Approximately 1-1/2 years later I was diagnosed with a non hereditary kidney disease called membranous nephropathy, to which I have been battling ever since. I also have resporatory problems, and I must point out that I don't smoke. I am fighting this kidney disease every day. The disease is pretty rare but we do know that it is caused by the imune system rejecting the kidney, what we don't know is why? From what I'v been reading it seams like a good possibility that DU (in its byurned stage) could possibly be a factor. I think we were more concerned about the rad aspects than the chemical aspects.
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Keith,
I hope that you have subscribed to your comment. Please, contact me. I will put you in touch with some people who might be able to help you find out if DU had anything to do with your kidney disease. Since uranium as a heavy metal concentrates in the kidneys, you may very well have a case.
Roger Helbig
rwhelbig@gmail.com
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Thanks Roger, since I'm not compuiter savy, but my e-mail address is www.duratekinc.com
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Go to page 16 of this publication and read paragraph 3-4 Characteristics of Depleted Uranium in a Fire - you will find that it presents no significant hazard to the firefighter. That is not the impression that Wes wants you to go away with. The fact that this Army Manual is readily available and clearly tells you about DU and the risk to the firefighter if he or she encounters an overturned truck that has caught fire and has its cargo of ammunition burning and exploding should tell you the reader a lot about how open the Army has been with the information. DU is not benign .. neither is water .. a woman in Sacramento died from drinking too much water in a radio station stunt .. if you really want to learn about the subject, learn, don't just steep yourself in the sound bites from a group of charlatans leading fanatics. Invite actual radiation protection practitioners to teach you about what you are talking about. I know that will not fan the flames of activism, but it will teach you the truth.
I wanted to lift the actual information from the referenced document, but this blog entry does not apparently accept HTML.
Roger Helbig
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Readers should read the Appendix on Tank Fires on Page 45 - the primary hazard is exploding ammunition. DU is very secondary. Keith should write the Army proponent of this technical manual at the Rock Island Arsenal. He may find that his employer violated its contract by failing to take proper safety precautions. They may also have done all the right things to protect their workers and the environment and Keith's disease may have nothing to do with DU. The Rock Island folks would definitely be the ones to ask. They, not the members of the anti-DU crusade, are the real experts and no, Doug Rokke never worked for them. He was attached to their team in Kuwait after the Gulf War and has been misleading people for years. Unfortunately, the Army has been reluctant to name the other team members. If they do, I will make every effort to find each one of them in order to conclusively prove Rokke to be nothing more than a con man and a fraud.
Roger Helbig
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