see also below, Press Release Lawsuit Pending
Navy's ammo has environmentalists, others up in arms
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http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/134612147_navy09m.html
The Seattle Times
January 9, 2003
By Ray Rivera and Craig Welch
Seattle Times staff reporters-
A United Nations subcommission has asked for a ban on
DU weapons, claiming they're inhumane. The World
Health Organization in January 2001 recommended
further health-risk studies. In January 2001, NATO
declined to ban depleted-uranium weapons as requested
by Italy, Germany, Norway and Greece — primarily under
pressure from the U.S.
U.S. Navy exercises that fire depleted-uranium rounds
off the coast of Washington have raised concerns among
environmentalists, but Navy officials say the
deep-ocean operations pose no danger.
The controversial munitions are used by all the
services for their armor-piercing capabilities. They
are largely credited for the swift and one-sided tank
clashes in the 1991 Gulf War, where they were first
used in combat.
But for years, soldiers and civilians in several
countries have feared ill health effects from the
toxic metal, which is a byproduct of natural uranium
when it's turned into nuclear fuel for reactors. Iraqi
doctors have blamed the material for a sharp increase
in cancer and birth defects following the war. U.S.
veterans groups also believe it may be linked to the
mysterious Gulf War syndrome. And countries in Europe
have complained that the United States hasn't always
been forthright about its health risks.
The Navy uses the munitions in its Phalanx
anti-missile-defense system that sends thousands of
20mm depleted-uranium (DU) rounds into the air to
knock down incoming missiles. Essentially a large
Gatling gun, Phalanx serves as a "last ditch" defense
if missile-to-missile systems fail to hit their
target. The guns fire 80 rounds a second, 3,000 rounds
a minute.
The guns are required to be certified quarterly, which
requires firing up to 300 rounds per gun over sea
ranges, including a range about 40 miles west of Neah
Bay. That range is from 800 to 1,400 fathoms deep and
abuts the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary.
The rounds are 40 percent less radioactive than
naturally occurring uranium found in seawater, the
Navy says. But Navy officials say that as the rounds
dissolve, they can't be distinguished from background
radiation.
The weapons are found on all surface ships, but the
Navy has been slowly phasing out DU rounds in favor of
tungsten munitions, said Cmdr. Karen Sellers,
spokeswoman for the Navy's Pacific Northwest Region.
She could not say why the Navy was switching rounds.
Navy officials could not say yesterday how often the
Washington range is used, but Sellers said most tests
are done off the coast of California or in the open
sea.
Local peace activist Glen Milner learned of the tests
after obtaining an internal Navy memo dated June 25,
2001, giving the Everett-based destroyer USS Fife the
green light to conduct gunnery operations.
"How can the Navy fire depleted-uranium rounds and
spread radioactive material into prime fishing areas
off our coast?" asked Dave Mann, a Seattle
environmental attorney. A coalition of peace and
environmental groups is considering filing an
injunction to stop future DU operations off the coast.
The Department of Defense has sent mixed signals. In
1993, the military required all soldiers participating
in exercises involving DU to be tested for DU and
related oxide particles in the feces, said Dr. Doug
Rokke, a former Army health physicist and opponent of
DU use. At the same time, the military says there is
no evidence showing the material is dangerous.
"First off, when you fire the Navy Phalanx, you're
going to have DU contamination on the end of the
barrel and on the ship where they're fired," Rokke
said. "These things are fired thousands of rounds a
minute, and if you're near any sanctuary that's simply
irresponsible, you simply don't take solid radioactive
waste and throw it in somebody's back yard."
DU is only mildly radioactive, but it has a half-life
of 4.5 billion years. And the Pentagon revealed two
years ago that some DU munitions were contaminated
with more highly radioactive substances, such as
plutonium.
Defense analysts also question whether the munitions
are toxic.
"The science is not clear here," said Patrick Garrett,
an associate analyst with GlobalSecurity.Org, a
Washington D.C.-based think tank. "The military tells
you these things are OK unless you're on the receiving
end of this weapon, but civilians and other doctors
and scientists have been looking at this issue and
screaming bloody murder about it for a long time, and
it's not readily apparent what the long-term health
impacts are."
A United Nations subcommission has asked for a ban on
DU weapons, claiming they're inhumane. The World
Health Organization in January 2001 recommended
further health-risk studies. In January 2001, NATO
declined to ban depleted-uranium weapons as requested
by Italy, Germany, Norway and Greece — primarily under
pressure from the U.S.
In 1999, Canadian fishermen were outraged to learn the
Canadian navy had left several tons of depleted
uranium on the ocean floor off the coast of Nova
Scotia. The radioactive rounds were fired from ships
with Phalanx weapons systems. The navy insisted there
was no danger.
Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action
16159 Clear Creek Road NW Poulsbo, WA 98370
Website: www.gzcenter.org E-mail: info@gzcenter.org
JANUARY 7, 2003--FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Depleted Uranium (DU) weapons fired by U.S. Navy on Washington coast
Contact: David Mann (Gendler and Mann, LLP) (206) 621-8868
Greg Wingard (Waste Action Project) (206) 261-2670
Glen Milner (Ground Zero Center) (206) 365-7865
DEPLETED URANIUM BULLETS, MADE FROM RADIOACTIVE WASTE MATERIAL, WERE FIRED
IN EXERCISES OFF THE COAST OF WASHINGTON STATE ACCORDING TO RECENTLY
RELEASED U.S. NAVY DOCUMENTS. THE U.S. NAVY MEMO WAS ISSUED IN JUNE 2001
AS A WARNING TO OTHER SHIPS, AND FOR SUBMARINES TO "STAY CLEAR".
A COALITION OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND PEACE ORGANIZATIONS ARE CONSIDERING FILING
FOR AN IMMEDIATE COURT INJUNCTION AGAINST FURTHER USE OF DEPLETED URANIUM
ROUNDS BY THE U.S. NAVY.
Depleted uranium (DU/U-238) is a highly toxic material. It is about half as
radioactive as natural uranium (U235) and twice as heavy as lead. Depleted
uranium has a half-life of 4.5 billion years. It is known to have been
first used by U.S. Army tanks and Air Force jets during the 1991 war against
Iraq with devastating effects on the environment in the region.
In 1995, the Army Environmental Policy Institute concluded, "If depleted
uranium enters the body, it has a potential to generate significant medical
consequences. The risks associated with depleted uranium are both chemical
and radiological."
"How can the Navy fire depleted uranium rounds and spread radioactive
material into prime fishing areas off our coast?" said Dave Mann, Seattle
environmental attorney. "The Navy is willing to put us all at risk,
including its own sailors, to improve its warfighting capabilities", said
Glen Milner, of Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action, who received the
information through the Freedom of Information Act.
The U.S. Navy memo was released through the Freedom of Information Act in
December 2002 to Glen Milner of Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action.
The memo states in June 2001, the USS Fife, a U.S. Navy destroyer stationed
at the U.S. Naval base at Everett, was "CONDUCTING GUNNERY OPERATIONS
CONSISTING OF 5" 54 LWGM/BLP AND CIWS/DEPLETED URANIUM ROUNDS IN AREAS W237C
AND W237F... (ALL TIMES JUN 01)"
Areas W237C and W237F are warning areas west of the Washington Coast between
Neah Bay and Ocean Shores. This area is prime fish habitat for a number of
endangered species.
The CIWS designation is for "Close In Weapons System", also known as the
Phalanx system. This weapons system is complete with radar and rapid-fire
20 mm guns. The guns are capable of firing up to 3,000 or 4,500 rounds per
minute.
Please see following Fact Sheet
Fact Sheet
Depleted Uranium (DU) weapons fired by U.S. Navy on Washington coast
Depleted uranium is a waste product of the process used to enrich uranium
for use in nuclear power plants and weapons production. When a DU-coated
projectile impacts a solid surface, the pyrophoric properties of this heavy
metal ignite, producing intense heat, resulting in an aerosolized
radioactive release as the projectile quickly burns through the armor. The
residue of this firestorm is an extremely fine ceramic uranium dust that can
be spread by the wind, inhaled and absorbed into the human body, and
absorbed by plants and animals, becoming part of the food chain.
The W237C and W237F are Navy Warning Areas and are approximately 25 to 100
miles off the Washington coast between Ocean Shores and Ozette (south of
Neah Bay). The areas are used routinely for joint air/surface operations
such as missile firings, air-to-surface bombing, air-to-air firing and
combat tactics. The W237 areas are also a designated anti-submarine-warfare
(ASW) range for ASW operations, sonobouys, practice depth charges and smoke
markers.
The Navy Warning Areas are also approximately 50 miles off Vancouver Island.
The use of DU weapons brings into question whether the U.S. Navy is firing
DU rounds in other areas, such as the Nanoose range in Canadian waters.
The firing of depleted uranium rounds from the USS Fife also creates a
hazard for Navy personnel aboard the destroyer. The ship itself becomes a
radiological hazard.
Citizens of the City of Everett should be concerned over the storage and
handling of depleted uranium weapons within city boundaries. Can the Navy
be trusted to transport and handle this type of weapon properly?
According to Sea Waves Magazine, the USS Fife made a port visit in San
Francisco on August 3, 2001. Usually such a port call will involve public
tours of the ship such as at our own Seattle Seafair. It is unknown at this
time whether the USS Fife allowed citizens on what would have been a
contaminated ship.
The Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action is one of five peace and
environmental organizations involved in a federal lawsuit against the U.S.
Navy for violations of the Endangered Species Act and NEPA regarding the
Trident D-5 nuclear missile upgrade at the Bangor submarine base. A 60 Day
Notice was filed in March 2001. A decision by Judge Franklin Burgess in
Tacoma in October 2002 is under appeal in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Plaintiffs seek an injunction against the new Trident D-5 missile
deployment.
Page created January 9, 2003 by Charlie Jenks.
