| Story and Photos: Akira Tashiro Translation: Transnet Foreword: Leuren Moret, President, Scientists for Indigenous People Published in Japan by The Chugoku Shimbun Price: US$12, 1,500 Yen The books are in! Order Now! (Transnet) |
"A persuasive case built story by compelling story. Spread the word. Let's ban DU weapons!!"
  CONTENTS |
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| Get to the Heart of the Matter |
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| Part I On the Wrong Side of a Superpower US Gulf War veterans watch their bodies deteriorate as the Veteran's Administration holds fast to its claim that DU munitions pose no threat to human health. Part II The Threat in our Backyards Evidence is mounting that radioactive uranium has contaminated air, soil, and water near the plants that produce DU munitions, harming the health of workers and nearby residents. Part III Contaminated Earth People living near facilities where DU weapons are test-fired or discarded face environmental contamination, mounting cancer rates, and an official "stone wall." Part IV Heavy Burden for an Ally British Gulf War veterans are also struggling for government recognition that they are suffering due to DU exposure. Part V The Scars of War Economic sanctions against Iraq pit physicians against overwhelming odds in their struggle with the post-war upsurge in cancers, stillbirths, and congenital deformities. Part VI Finishing the Story Contamination spreads from areas where DU penetrators leach toxic uranium with a half-life of 4.5 billion years into the ground.Grassroots groups are working steadfastly for a cleanup and a ban. |
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Some scientists claim depleted uranium is harmless. Some claim it's deadly. Others
call for more research. Meanwhile, Akira Tashiro takes us into the homes,
families, and hearts of people suffering and fighting the effects of DU.
As a journalist from Hiroshima, Tashiro knows that conclusively proving
radiation effects is next to impossible. That's not because there are no
effects. It's because radiation produces so many different effects. It's
impossible to get a complete picture of radiation damage by counting cases
of leukemia or breast cancer. Low levels of radiation can get you in so
many ways; no one problem rises high enough above the horizon to draw attention.
Scientists have yet to go into communities and look for higher incidences
of "everything." What happens is, people get sick, then start
to look around and wonder why so many of their friends, relatives, or fellow
veterans are also sick. |