Earth Watch Report - Environmental Pollution
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RSOE EDIS
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official environmental authority in the Iraqi governorate of Missan,
which is located 390 kilometres away from Baghdad, has announced the
discovery of dangerous radioactive contamination that is attributed to
the 2003 US-led war on Iraq. The director of the general authority for
the environment in Missan, Samir Kadim, told the New Arab news website
that the authority's specialised staff found radioactive material,
mainly in military equipment and the skeletons of cars, in a small
village south of Missan known as Karima. Kadim explained that the
ministry's authority is cautiously entering the three areas where
radioactive material was discovered and is taking strict procedures to
remove it. The village witnessed one of the fiercest battles between the
former Iraqi army and the US-led coalition forces in 2003.
"Unfortunately, we have discovered it late, after a number of the
village's residents have been diagnosed with various diseases," Kadim
said.One of the village's residents told the New Arab in a phone
interview that: "Cancer has spread among us, in addition to birth
defects among new-born babies and other diseases that doctors cannot
explain." "But it is only now that we have discovered the cause �" it is
the US," said 45-year-old Abboud Moussa. Moussa described how a number
of Karima's villagers, including children and his own mother, died as a
result of this radioactive material. Doctors diagnosed his mother with
skin cancer and bone disease, and they told him that she needed to
receive medical treatment abroad, but she died very fast before she
could travel. The village's mayor Mahmoud Abtan told the New Arab that a
routine visit to the village by officials from the Ministry of
Environment encouraged the villagers to ask them to examine a number of
areas that had a bad smell. "A number of animals grazing near those
areas have died ... people even thought that those areas were possessed.
Then it turned out that they are not possessed at all, and our murderer
is the US," he said.According to Missan's environment authority, Karima
is the third place in the governorate where radioactive material has
been discovered amid primitive treatment and an American refusal to take
responsibility. Any US assistance in handling the radiation would be an
acknowledgement of its use of internationally banned weapons in Iraq.
Abdel Khalek Mahmoud, an environmental expert, told the New Arab that
"radioactive contamination in Iraq is divided into two types: The first,
which is rarely found in Iraq, is high-level radioactivity that can be
discovered by electronic devices. The second is low-level radioactivity,
which is more difficult to discover. It was caused by the waste of
depleted uranium that was used by the US in its 2003 war on Iraq. This
is abundantly found and it has caused a lot of lethal damage in the
country." "We have often said that the reason why thousands of Iraqi
soldiers went missing is that their bodies burnt as a result of
uranium-saturated bombs. But the country's new leaders, who were
empowered by the US, were not willing to bother the Americans," Mahmoud
added. |
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© Photo: Voice of Russia/Michael Shepetkov
The
official environmental authority in the Iraqi governorate of Missan,
located 390 kilometers away from Baghdad, has discovered radioactive
material attributed to the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, Global Research
reports. The director of the general authority for the environment,
Samir Kadim, explained that dangerous contamination was found in
military equipment left at a small village south of Karima that saw
severe fighting between the Iraqi army and the US-led coalition forces
in 2003.
Kadim laments that
the contamination was not discovered soon after the military operation
ended. Since then several people have been diagnosed with various
serious diseases, from cancer to birth defects. "Unfortunately, we have
discovered it late, after a number of the village’s residents have been
diagnosed with various diseases."
Many need professional medical help only available abroad. Some succumbed to the disease without receiving any treatment.
Abboud
Moussa told the New Arab: "Cancer has spread among us, in addition to
birth defects among new-born babies and other diseases that doctors
cannot explain."
"But it is only now that we have discovered the cause – it is the US."
Reportedly, this is the third case that radioactive material has been discovered in that area.
The
village's mayor Mahmoud Abtan told the New Arab that a routine visit to
the village by officials from the Ministry of Environment encouraged
the villagers to ask them to examine a number of areas that had a bad
smell. "A number of animals grazing near those areas have died … people
even thought that those areas were possessed. Then it turned out that
they are not possessed at all, and our murderer is the US," he said, as
quoted by the Global Research.
Abdel Khalek Mahmoud, an
environmental expert, told the New Arab that allegedly depleted uranium
was used in Iraq by the US in 2003. "This is abundantly found and it has
caused a lot of lethal damage in the country."
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USA, UK, France will not admit the growing radioactive pollution of Iraq, due to depleted uranium weapons
The health effects are disputed by the US and UK governments, who joined with France and Israel to vote against a resolution calling for “a precautionary approach” to the use of DU weapons at the United Nations general assembly in December; 155 countries voted in favour of the resolution.
Iraq’s depleted uranium clean-up to cost $30m as contamination spreads Rob Edwards guardian.co.uk, 6 March 2013 Report
says toxic waste is being spread by scrap metal dealers, and describes
its ‘alarming’ use in civilian areas during Iraq wars Cleaning up more
than 300 sites in
Iraq still
contaminated by depleted uranium (DU) weapons will cost at least $30m,
according to a report by a Dutch peace group to be published on
Thursday.
The report, which was funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
warns that the contamination is being spread by poorly regulated scrap
metal dealers, including children. It also documents evidence that DU
munitions were fired at light vehicles, buildings and other civilian
infrastructure including the Iraqi Ministry of Planning in Baghdad –
casting doubt on official assurances that only armoured vehicles were
targeted. “The use of DU in populated areas is alarming,” it says,
adding that many more contaminated sites are likely to be discovered.
More
than 400 tonnes of DU ammunition are estimated to have been fired by
jets and tanks in the two Iraq wars in 1991 and 2003, the vast majority
by US forces. The UK government says that British forces fired less than
three tonnes.
DU is a chemically toxic and radioactive heavy metal produced as
wasteby the
nuclear power industry. It is
used in weapons because it is an extremely hard material capable of piercing armour.
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