Depleted Uranium and Weapons

©Robert Anderson PhD

(4 February 1942 – 5 December 2008)

Member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) New Zealand

Friends, I am becoming increasingly concerned by the continued use of depleted uranium (DU) weapons in war zones and the cover-up of its dangers. This will come to affect all living things on Earth. My immediate concern is for our New Zealand service personnel sent to Afghanistan and Iraq to help with clean-up operations. I seriously doubt that government or the military have fully briefed these men on the dangers of working in these now heavily contaminated regions. Moreover, I believe their wives are also unaware of the inevitable genetic damage they can incur in their future children. Time is running out - for our planet and its people. DU weapons are just symptoms of a world completely out of balance. Trillions of dollars are poured into weapons of mass annihilation when our focus should be on mutual survival.

For those unacquainted with the problem: DU is a dense metal having valuable weapon properties. There is no armour which can withstand this material. It is self-sharpening and penetrates the toughest armour plate like the proverbial “knife through butter.” When doing so, it burns at around 3000 to 5000 degrees Centigrade; it is pyrophoric. This conflagration vaporises around 70 percent of the projectile, turning it into minute radioactive ceramic particles. These particles rise in the heat to the upper atmosphere and circulate the globe. The remainder remain as a toxic dust which has left a legacy of suffering and death among the Iraqi people and their children the like of which we have not witnessed since Hiroshima. High numbers of overseas troops are returning home with radiation poisoning, later transferring this to their wives and offspring. To quote the geoscientist, Dr Leuren Moret: “The DU issue affects every single living thing on this planet. What else has that impact? They have altered the genome for the entire planet forever with this DU. The Pentagon say, 'You’re exaggerating or you use the uranium word to scare people.' I don’t care if people believe me or not. All I can say is that over time what I am saying will actually be an underestimation of the long term effects.” As a retired scientist, who taught nuclear science for three decades, I fully endorse her comments.

Robert Anderson BSc(Hons) PhD

Robert Anderson was a Quaker, teacher and writer. He was a Trustee of Physicians and Scientists for Global Responsibility (www.psgr.org.nz), a member of Amnesty International, a Theosophist, and a campaigner for peace and disarmament. He believed everyone has the right to equality and respect, freedom of speech and religion He lectured on many subjects to meet the public's right to be independently informed on issues of science, the environment and social justice. He was passionate about making this world a better place for the generations to come. He authored eleven books and regularly wrote for a number of periodicals.

N.B. Robert Anderson wrote The Ultimate War Crime to illustrate what has occurred in war zones around the world since the 1991 Gulf War. All profits from the book went to Iraqi hospitals to purchase medicines for children affected by DU. Regrettably, this is no longer in print.

Enquiries about books written by Robert Anderson should be addressed to naturesstar@xtra.co.nz

Read more about Depleted Uranium on www.psgr.org.nz

Enquiry contact connectedenquiries@gmail.com