ID :
185584
Tue, 05/31/2011 - 13:46
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/185584
The shortlink copeid
US Army's Uranium Ammo Gifts Painful Death to over 160,000 Iraqis
TEHRAN (FNA)- The depleted-uranium bombs and ammunition used by the US Army against the Iraqi cities in its invasion of the country have afflicted the Iraqi people with malignant tumors and different kinds of cancer.
"The US during the occupation of Iraq in 2003 used over 2,000 tons of depleted uranium, besides the 800 tons of depleted uranium used against the country in the 1991 war," a report by an organization named "the Green Peace" revealed on Tuesday.
According to the Iraqi ministry of environment more than 140,000 cases of cancer plus 20,000 cases of other forms of tumors have been reported to the health ministry and the environment ministry also possesses some documents proving that the American forces had used White phosphorus (WP) in their battles in Fallujah, a city in the Iraqi province of Al Anbar.
Also the reports presented by the Iraqi government say that most of the 160,000 cancerous and tumor-afflicted Iraqi people are children, adding that 8,000 Iraqi children lose their lives annually due to cancer, weakness and lack of medication and skillful medical teams in the country.
Recent medical reports indicated that cancer is spreading like wildfire in Iraq. Thousands of infants are being born with deformities. Doctors say they are struggling to cope with the rise of cancer and birth defects, specially in cities subjected to heavy American and British bombardment.
Dr Ahmad Hardan, who served as a special scientific adviser to the World Health Organization, the United Nations and the Iraqi Ministry of Health, says that there is scientific evidence linking depleted uranium to cancer and birth defects.
"Children with congenital anomalies are subjected to karyotyping and chromosomal studies with complete genetic back-grounding and clinical assessment. Family and obstetrical histories are taken too. These international studies have produced ample evidence to show that depleted uranium has disastrous consequences," he said
Also the Iraqi doctors say cancer cases increased after both the 1991 war and the 2003 invasion.
Abdulhaq Al-Ani, author of "Uranium in Iraq" recently reiterated that the incubation period for depleted uranium is five to six years, which is consistent with the spike in cancer rates in 1996-1997 and 2008-2009.
Not everyone is ready to draw a direct correlation between allied bombing of these areas and tumors, and the Pentagon has been skeptical of any attempts to link the two. But Iraqi doctors and some Western scholars say the massive quantities of depleted uranium used in U.S. and British bombs, and the sharp increase in cancer rates are not unconnected.
In Fallujah, which was heavily bombarded by the US in 2004, as many as 25% of newborn infants have serious abnormalities, including congenital anomalies, brain tumors, and neural tube defects in the spinal cord.
The cancer rate in the province of Babil, south of Baghdad has risen from 500 diagnosed cases in 2004 to 9,082 in 2009.
The water, soil and air in large areas of Iraq, including Baghdad, are contaminated with depleted uranium that has a radioactive half-life of 4.5 billion years.
"The US during the occupation of Iraq in 2003 used over 2,000 tons of depleted uranium, besides the 800 tons of depleted uranium used against the country in the 1991 war," a report by an organization named "the Green Peace" revealed on Tuesday.
According to the Iraqi ministry of environment more than 140,000 cases of cancer plus 20,000 cases of other forms of tumors have been reported to the health ministry and the environment ministry also possesses some documents proving that the American forces had used White phosphorus (WP) in their battles in Fallujah, a city in the Iraqi province of Al Anbar.
Also the reports presented by the Iraqi government say that most of the 160,000 cancerous and tumor-afflicted Iraqi people are children, adding that 8,000 Iraqi children lose their lives annually due to cancer, weakness and lack of medication and skillful medical teams in the country.
Recent medical reports indicated that cancer is spreading like wildfire in Iraq. Thousands of infants are being born with deformities. Doctors say they are struggling to cope with the rise of cancer and birth defects, specially in cities subjected to heavy American and British bombardment.
Dr Ahmad Hardan, who served as a special scientific adviser to the World Health Organization, the United Nations and the Iraqi Ministry of Health, says that there is scientific evidence linking depleted uranium to cancer and birth defects.
"Children with congenital anomalies are subjected to karyotyping and chromosomal studies with complete genetic back-grounding and clinical assessment. Family and obstetrical histories are taken too. These international studies have produced ample evidence to show that depleted uranium has disastrous consequences," he said
Also the Iraqi doctors say cancer cases increased after both the 1991 war and the 2003 invasion.
Abdulhaq Al-Ani, author of "Uranium in Iraq" recently reiterated that the incubation period for depleted uranium is five to six years, which is consistent with the spike in cancer rates in 1996-1997 and 2008-2009.
Not everyone is ready to draw a direct correlation between allied bombing of these areas and tumors, and the Pentagon has been skeptical of any attempts to link the two. But Iraqi doctors and some Western scholars say the massive quantities of depleted uranium used in U.S. and British bombs, and the sharp increase in cancer rates are not unconnected.
In Fallujah, which was heavily bombarded by the US in 2004, as many as 25% of newborn infants have serious abnormalities, including congenital anomalies, brain tumors, and neural tube defects in the spinal cord.
The cancer rate in the province of Babil, south of Baghdad has risen from 500 diagnosed cases in 2004 to 9,082 in 2009.
The water, soil and air in large areas of Iraq, including Baghdad, are contaminated with depleted uranium that has a radioactive half-life of 4.5 billion years.
