1995

Professor Siegwart Horst-Gunther founded THE INTERNATIONAL YELLOW CROSS in Austria in 1992. A humanitarian organisation helping suffering children, it has worked closely with the Red Cross and the Red Crescent, amongst others, to deliver food and medicine directly into the hands of the needy in countries all over the world. The bulk of its’ activities over the last few years have been focussed on Iraq.

During the course of his investigations in Depleted Uranium, Professor Gunther was arrested by German customs whilst attempting to transport DU shell fragments and dust back into Germany for analysis. The authorities charged him with 'transporting nuclear materials across international borders'. He claims he was severely beaten whilst being held in custody for two weeks, without access to a lawyer or any form of representation, or contact with the outside world.

Article transcribed by Grant Wakefield, and subject to minor editing and grammatical changes for the purposes of clarification and sentence structure.

Since 1991 I have been constantly warned about the danger of Depleted Uranium for the civilian population [of Iraq]. Many of the DU projectiles spread over the battlefields have been collected by children and were used as toys with possibly devastating consequences. Inhaled Uranium dust is highly toxic and can result in lung cancer.

The conditions in Baghdad hospitals where leukaemia and cancer patients are housed are particularly depressing. The rooms are overcrowded; most come from the South of the country. Their increasing number is attributed to the radioactivity and toxicity of Depleted Uranium ammunitions used by the allied forces during the war and abandoned thereafter.

In natural Uranium, the proportion of the isotope 235 is only about 0.7%, the greater part is Uranium 238. As only Uranium 235 is suitable as fissile material for use in nuclear power stations, the Uranium ore has to be enriched by artificially increasing the proportion of this isotope. As a result there are large quantities of waste produced by this procedure, i.e. the so-called DU, consisting almost solely of isotope 238.

In Europe these waste products from uranium industry are stored in specially shielded deposits at considerable costs because of their high toxicity and radioactivity. In order to reduce costs, DU of the isotope 238 is passed on to interested parties, even free of charge.

DU has properties that make it highly attractive to the armament industry:

1) It is practically the heaviest naturally occurring substance.

2) DU projectiles, the development of which is presumably based on German technology, have a greater penetrating power and are better suited for penetrating steel armour plating than any other weapon.

3) It is also an inflammable material. It ignites immediately on penetration of armour plates, releasing highly toxic and radioactive substances on combustion.

4) After the Gulf War, US tanks are being manufactured with an increased strengthening layer of DU. Ironically these tanks are called ‘Radiation Deponies.’

Different types of DU ammunition have been manufactured in the US by HONEYWELL and AEROJET, the latter beginning mass production in 1977. At present such ammunition is also being mass produced in Britain and France, and exported to other NATO countries as well as to Australia, Japan and New Zealand.

The first mass use of DU ammunition was conducted in the Gulf War by the US led coalition, with devastating effects and consequences. At the beginning of March 1991 I detected projectiles in an Iraqi combat area which had the form and size of a cigar and were extraordinarily heavy. At a later point in time I saw children playing with projectiles of this kind. One of them died of leukaemia. As early as the end of 1991, I diagnosed a hitherto unknown disease among the Iraqi population that is caused by renal and hepatic dysfunctions.

My efforts to have one of these projectiles examined brought me into serious trouble with the German police. The projectile, highly toxic and radioactive, was confiscated and carried away under enormous safety precautions and stored in a specially shielded deposit.

During the last five years I have carried out extensive studies in Iraq. The results have produced ample evidence to show that contact with DU ammunition has the following consequences, especially for children:

1) A considerable increase in infectious diseases caused by severe immuno-deficiencies in a great part of the population.

2) Frequent occurrence of massive herpes and zoster afflictions, also in children.

3) AIDS – like syndromes.

4) A hitherto unknown syndrome caused by renal and hepatic dysfunctions, now so-called ‘Morbus Gunther.’

5) Leukaemia, aplastic anaemia and malignant neoplasm.

6) Congenital deformities caused by genetic defects; also partly diagnosed in animals.

The results of my studies show similarities to a clinical picture described recently by the term ‘Gulf War Syndrome’ in allied soldiers and their children. The congenital deformities in American and Iraqi children are identical.

According to US and Pentagon statements, vaccinations against anthrax, botulism, and malaria; benzenes used for delousing, pyridostigminbromides DEET or permethrin, as well as the DU ammunition used, are held responsible for the development of this syndrome. Allied troops were not informed of the dangers of DU until nine days after the war.

Like all heavy metals, such as lead and cadmium, Uranium is highly toxic. The human body must not get into contact with them. Newspapers recorded that many US soldiers in the Gulf felt uncertain and feared that they may have been used as ‘guinea pigs’ in a radiation experiment. This subject was debated before the US congress. According to American nuclear scientist Leonard Dietz, the arms technology of the Uranium projectiles is as revolutionary as the machine gun was in the World War One. The Gulf War, as he said, was also the most toxic war in the history of mankind.

According to statements by the US army, about 14,000 high-calibre shells alone were fired during the Gulf war. According to estimates by the British Atomic Energy Authority, about 40 tons of this type of ammunition is supposed to be scattered in the frontier area between Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Other experts assume that there is as much as 300 tons of it. Not more than 10% of these projectiles have been detected; most have been blown over and covered by sand, or are lying deep in the ground. During rainfall the toxic substances permeate into the ground water, thus entering the food chain; a source of danger in the long run in these areas.

A British company refused a request to remove this Uranium ammunition because of too great a health risk to their staff.

Bedouins from Kuwait battlefield areas, which US troops used as training grounds, reported hundreds of camels, sheep and birds lying in the desert. Examinations made by American veterinary specialists showed that the animals had died neither from bullets or diseases. Some carcasses were covered with insects, but the insects were also dead.

Saudi Arabia had demanded that all tanks, vehicles and instruments of war destroyed by Uranium ammunition on their territory be collected by the US army. The material was collected and transported to the USA; prior to their request it had been buried in the desert.

The President of the US Gulf War Veterans Association is engaged in research into the so-called ‘Gulf War Syndrome.’ Symptoms include defects and damage to internal organs, chronic fatigue, loss of endurance, frequent infections, sore throat, coughing, skin rashes, night sweats, nausea, vomiting, diahorrea, dizziness, headaches, memory loss, confusion, vision problems, muscle spasms and cramps, joint pains, loss of mobility, aching muscles, swollen glands, dental problems, and malformation of new born children.

His estimates 50,000 to 80,000 veterans are affected. 39,000 have been dismissed from active service; 2400 to 5000 have died to date. DU contamination engenders cancer risks, and several soldiers reported that upon their return through commercial airports, the Geiger counters had ‘…become crazy…’. In Britain approximately 4000 soldiers are affected; about 160 have already died, as well as a number of Australians, Canadians and French.

Similar symptoms have occurred in Kuwait and are spreading out. It is believed that as many as 250,000 Iraqis have been affected, with high death rates. An American study in 1993 is said to have shown that approx. 50,000 Iraqi children died during the eight months after the war from the detrimental effects of DU projectiles.

In March 1994, reports published in the US found that of 251 families of veterans living in the state of Mississippi, 67% of the children of these families were born with congenital deformities. Eyes, ears or fingers were missing, or they suffered from severe blood disease and respiratory problems.

A parallel can be drawn with the situation which developed after the accident at the atomic reactor in Chernobyl in the former Soviet Union. Since then a sharp increase in cancer has been recorded, especially among children. Their mortality rate is also very high, as are malformations at birth.

Other incidents of suspected DU contamination occurred in Germany in 1998 when a US A-10 plane crashed at Remscheid. Additionally an Israeli El-Al transport plane crashed in Amsterdam, Holland in 1992. Both planes were suspected of carrying radioactive materials on board. In both cases an increase in skin diseases, kidney dysfunction, childhood leukaemia and birth deformities have been registered.

In November 1996 it was reported that in the former Yugoslavia approx. 1000 children were suffering from an unknown disease: headaches, aching muscles, abdominal pain, dizziness, respiratory problems and others, symptoms highly similar to ‘Gulf War Syndrome.’ 600 of these children were receiving hospital treatment. In December 1997 and January 1998 the Balkan media reported a dramatic increase of leukaemia and cancer development within the population of Srpska, as well as an increase in malformation of new born children. The cows in this region showed reduced and bloody milk production, while milk production in other animals stopped completely. In Bosnia unusual vegetations are growing and fruits show unusual forms. Investigations by the Nuclear Research Institute in Vinca revealed a dangerous increase of radiation levels after NATO used DU ammunition during bombardments.

There are indications that DU ammunitions have been developed by German based technologists and given for use to ‘friendly’ countries. As is well known, German industry also developed poisonous gases that were used to kill millions of people in German concentration camps. German scientists again developed rockets that were used during World War Two to kill thousands. These technologies have since been refined and improved, leading to untold human suffering, bitterness and hatred.

In my position as a physician and scientist I call upon all those responsible, as well as the public at large, to see that the use of DU ammunition is banned. This is a very real danger as such weapons are at the disposal of several states at present. It has already been used in one war, with irreparable damages. It is for us, the citizens of the world, to see that such dangerous weapon systems are banned and never used again.

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