The Media Freedom Foundation » uranium

Cancer—The Deadly Legacy Of The Invasion Of Iraq

admin — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 02:37:04 +0000

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, especially in cities subjected to heavy American and British bombardment.

The cancer rate in the province of Babil, south of Baghdad has risen from 500 diagnosed cases in 2004 to 9,082 in 2009.

In Basra there were 1885 diagnosed cases of cancer in 2005. According to Dr. Jawad al Ali, director of the Oncology Center, the number increased to 2,302 in 2006 and 3,071 in 2007. Iraqi doctors say cancer cases increased after both the 1991 war and the 2003 invasion.
Abdulhaq Al-Ani, author of “Uranium in Iraq” told Al Jazeera English 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. Pentagon used more than 300 tons of depleted uranium in 1991. In 2003, the United States used more than 1,000 tons.

Title: Cancer-The deadly legacy of the invasion of Iraq

Source: One World. New America Media, January 6, 2010

URL:http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=80e260b3839daf2084fdeb0965ad31ab And http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/10/2009101213552137511.html

Author: Jalal Ghazi, Student Researcher: Kristy Nelson Faculty Advisor: Julie Flohr Sonoma State UniversitySimilar Posts:

Secretive Arms Tycoon Behind New Uranium Mine

admin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 03:09:17 +0000

James Neal Blue, who helped devise the Predator unmanned aircraft that are in use in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, is the director of a company that bought the Four Mile uranium mine in Australia. Blue is the chairman of Quasar Resources, which is affiliated with General Atomics, a major United States weapons and nuclear energy corporation. General Atomics reportedly holds $700 million in Pentagon contracts. The Four Mile mine is located next to the Beverly Uranium mine, with is owned by another affiliate of General Atomics. Environmental groups in Australia are worried about the environmental standards that the government has set for the mine, as there is not requirement for the company to ever clean up the radioactive trail that is expected to flow around the water supply. In his Forbes profile, it shows Blue’s primary job is as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Oceanic Exploration Company, but he is also listed as the Chairman of the Board of Directors for General Atomics as well as a couple other similar positions. This story is relevant not only to people in Australia but also the U.S. and the world because this kind of connection seems to suggest that our government is still making nuclear weapons.

Sources: “Secretive arms tycoon behind new uranium mine.” Ben Cubby, Sydney Morning Herald, July 16, 2009.

http://www.smh.com.au/action/printArticle?id=634532

“James Neal Blue.” No author, Forbes, 2009.

http://people.forbes.com/profile/james-neal-blue/59511

Student Researchers: Colin Doran, Ryan Huffman, Mikey Hemkens

Faculty Instructor: Kevin Howley, Associate Professor of Media Studies, DePauw University

Evaluator: Jeff McCall Professor of Communications, DePauw UniversitySimilar Posts:

Uranium linked to disabled children

admin — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 23:26:01 +0000

The U.K Observer reported that an overwhelming rise in the number of children from Punjabi, India, who were born with birth defects, mental abnormalities, and cancer has increased within the past few years. The rise in the number of birth defects has brought a team of visiting scientists to test children to determine the root of the problem. South African scientists found the children had enormous amounts of uranium in their bodies, including one child with 60 times the safe limit. Uranium is naturally found in the world, yet the large amount in the children’s bodies alerted Dr. Singh, a doctor who runs the Faridkot clinic in India, to look at the recent pollution increase as the cause. He stated that the Indian authorities have tried to conceal the problem, threatening to close the clinic if doctors continued to comment. Additionally, the government has not looked at the extent of the problem and the actual number of people affected due to the government’s expansion of thermal and coal plants. When Indian scientists from the Department of Atomic Energy visited the plant they reported that uranium in the drinking water was only “slightly high”. The actual tests reported that it was fifteen times higher then safe levels. Uranium can decompose into hazardous bi-products, which can also be a potential cause of the contaminated drinking water. A former chief of the Naval staff, India’s Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat, has reported that uranium ash from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq carried by the winds could also be partly to blame for the sudden increase. He indicated that the depleted uranium carried by monsoon winds could impact areas within a 1,000-mile radius of Kabul, including Punjab. Scientists are convinced that the ash can be contained if authorities take a greater look at the ash ponds at the thermal plants, which consequently effects water quality, compromising the health of the entire Indian population.

Student Researchers: Claire Apatoff, Erin Kielty, Tom Rich

Faculty Evaluator: Rich Martoglio, Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, DePauw University

Faculty Instructor: Kevin Howley, DePauw University

Sources:

The Observer

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/aug/30/india-punjab-children-uranium-pollution

Newspaper Source

Ajay, Bharadway “Probe links uranium to disabled children.” Daily News and Analysis

(India) 09 Apr. 2009:1. Newspaper Source. EBSCO. Web. 10 Nov. 2009.Similar Posts:

Secretive US Arms Tycoon behind New Uranium Mine in Australia

admin — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:40:21 +0000

A US mining company is threatening the sacred lands of Aboriginal peoples in Australia. In the outback of the Southern Australian Adelaide and Flinders Ranges, the United States weapons and energy producing giant: Quasar Resources is venturing with Alliance Resources to mine over 3.9 million tons of U308, also known as yellowcake or depleted uranium from the newly discovered Four Mile Mine. Quasar is controlled by billionaire James Neil Blue, who holds over a billion dollars in Pentagon contracts for energy and weapons manufacturing. Blue was instrumental in designing the unmanned Predator aircraft currently being used in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The local communities, traditional owners, and Adnyamathanha Aboriginals are outraged with the Australian government, stating that their voices haven’t been heard during the negotiations for the Four Mile uranium mine, and that Quasar Resources and the Government are simply ignoring their cultural and health concerns. The other uranium enriched Beverly Mine, located next to the Four Mile Mine has already had a recorded 59 spills of radioactive material since the past decade, according to the South Australian Department of Primary Industries and Resources. Mining U308 is highly dangerous and can cause dermatitis, renal damage and acute necrotic arterial lesions and death.

Title: Secretive US Arms Tycoon behind New Uranium Mine in Australia

Source: The Sydney Morning Herald 7/16/2009

URL: http://www.smh.com.au/environment/secretive-arms-tycoon-behind-new-uranium-mine-20090715-dllw.html

Author: Ben Cubby

Student Researcher: Eric Herbert

Faculty Evaluator: Irv Peterson, ENSP

Sonoma State University: Sociology of Media, Fall 2009

Instructor: Peter Phillips, #04Similar Posts: