AFP/AAC Newsletter #31 - English

Armed Forces Pensioners’ / Annuitants’ Association of Canada Issue #31 • November 2018 S ome Canadian veterans, partic- ularly those who served in the Gulf War, remain concerned about the health risk posed by De- pleted Uranium (DU), despite ex- tensive research which suggests that exposure to DU does not present a significant health risk. As a result of these concerns, the Canadian Minister of Veterans Affairs asked the independent Scientific Advisory Committee on Veterans’ Health to conduct a thorough review of the scientific literature on DU, with a view to assessing the likelihood of Canadian military personnel being at risk of developing adverse health effects which could be attributed to DU. To understand the issue, it is important to know that Uranium (U) is a radioactive element which exists in different forms (isotopes). Although radioactive, Uranium is an element which is naturally pres- ent in our food and water at levels which are not considered harmful to our health. DU is a by-product of the enrichment process which makes Uranium suitable to produce nuclear power. DU is less radioac- tive and significantly more dense than Uranium, making it useful for military applications including armour plating and as a hardening agent on the tips of armour pierc- ing rounds. DU rounds were used in the Gulf War and the conflict in the Balkan States where it was demonstrated that they could easily penetrate hard targets such as armoured vehicles and tanks. In so doing, the DU creates small particles which soldiers in close proximity could inadvertently ingest or inhale. At the same time, larger fragments could become embedded in their bodies. In either case, the presence of DU inside the body is consid- ered to be as much as 20 times more damaging per unit dose than gamma radiation or X-rays. It has the potential to create a rapid onset toxicological effect, primarily in the kidneys as well as a more slowly-evolving radiological effect, primarily in the lungs and adjoin- ing lymph nodes. Unfortunately, it is currently not possible to accurately measure the amount of DU that a soldier might have been exposed to on duty, therefor it is difficult to attribute any adverse health effects to DU. Exposure can, however, be estimat- ed by indirect means, such as mea- suring DU levels in urine, which is an approach that has been widely used by Canada and its allies. Two additional methods of estimating exposure which have proven to be reliable are modelling as well as live-fire simulations, as have been undertaken by the US, UK and France. A number of Canadian veterans who have mysterious illnesses insist that they are suffering because of DU exposure. Post-mortem exam- ination by an American physician of a Canadian Veteran who served in the Gulf War and subsequently fell ill revealed high levels of deplet- ed uranium in the former soldiers’ bones. Other veterans point to these findings as they too battle debilitating symptoms. Yet, thus far, the only admission that DU could be of concern to veterans came in the form of a statement made in 2000 by then-Minister of Defence Art Eggleton, who announced that the Canadian Forces would offer depleted uranium testing for anyone who requested it. Later that spring Veterans Affairs Canada followed suit, offering to cover the costs of depleted uranium testing for released members of the Forc- es. In total, 230 people were tested and none of them demonstrated above-normal levels of depleted uranium in the body. To better understand the adverse health effects of DU, the aforemen- tioned Scientific Advisory Com- mittee examined numerous studies of civilians (miners and uranium processing workers) who had been occupationally exposed to Urani- um for long periods. While these exposures were not to DU, they nevertheless provide good substi- tute measures, since the route of exposure (inhalation) is similar, as is the toxicological effect, although DU is 40% less radioactive than U. At the same time, mortality and cancer incidence studies conducted by several NATO countries on their military personnel who had been deployed to areas where DU weap- ons were used, were also carefully examined. The Committee arrived at the following conclusions, as outlined in a report published in January 2013: • Depleted uranium (DU) is potentially harmful to human health by virtue of its chemical and radiological effects. • Within a military setting, the highest risk of exposure to de- pleted uranium is in those who were: in, on or near vehicles hit with friendly fire; entering or near these burninwg vehi- cles; near fires involving DU munitions; salvaging damaged vehicles; or involved in clean- up operations of contaminated sites. • It is unlikely that Canadian soldiers have been exposed to levels of depleted uranium which could be harmful to their health. • There is no consistent evidence from military cohort studies of adverse health effects that could be attributed to depleted urani- um. • There is no strong evidence of adverse health effects reported in larger civilian studies with longer Depleted Uranium and Canadian veterans