Cyprus is not in danger from a cloud of toxic depleted uranium from weapons allegedly being used by Israel against Lebanon, Health Minister Charis Charalambous said on August 2. Charalambous, responding to reports, and to a warning from the Green Party of the danger to Cyprus, said the threat was hypothetical.
He said however that his Ministry was well prepared to face up to such a situation in case the theoretical threat turned into a potential threat to Cyprus.
Depleted uranium is a chemically toxic and radioactive heavy metal used particularly in armor-piercing ammunition. They burn up on impact, creating a radioactive dust, the effect of which remains the subject of safety debates. Like other heavy metals, DU is toxic and constitutes a health risk independent of any residual radioactivity.
Amnesty International (AI) has called on all governments to consider refraining from the transfer and use of DU weapons.
“There is much controversy over their long-term effects. Some studies suggest that DU dust, which remains in the vicinity of targets struck by DU weapons, poses a significant health risk if inhaled or ingested. AI calls for a moratorium on their use pending authoritative conclusions on their long-term effects on human health and the environment,” a recent statement said.
“According to media reports, the U.S. is transferring GBU 28 bunker-buster bombs containing depleted-uranium warheads to Israel for use against targets in Lebanon,” Amnesty added.
The Green party on August 2 warned of the danger of DU but on Tuesday the Labour Ministry, which monitors air quality daily, said there was no reason for concern or panic.
It said no notice had been received by international centers, which Cyprus is cooperating with and which monitor similar situation. The centers inform their members as soon as such a threat appears, the Ministry said.
”The levels of radiation and concentration of dust in the atmosphere are being monitored by the Department of Labour Inspection and, according to data taken on a 24-hour basis, no increase of these numbers has been ascertained,” said a statement.
Former state pathologist and military man, MEP Marios Matsakis told the Cyprus Mail on August 2 that when radiation from DU weapons is released into the atmosphere it can be carried long distances and then it can settle down on everything and contaminates whatever it lands on and it remains radioactive for many years.
“The Americans would say there is no danger but of course many eminent scientists say there is serious a health risk,” he said.
“How much radiation travels is related to the prevailing conditions at the time. There are so many factors involved,” he added.
But he also warned that there was not anything that could be done about it if it did happen. In 2001, Carla del Ponte, the chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, said that NATO's use of depleted uranium in former Yugoslavia could be investigated as a possible war crime.
In 2003, the Uranium Medical Research Centre (UMRC) tested the urine of civilians in six different areas of Afghanistan four months after the American attacks and found that the urine had non-depleted uranium levels 400 to 2000 percent higher than normal. Several hundred Afghan civilians were found to have symptoms of radiation poisoning, such as joint pain, sleeping difficulties, headaches, memory problems, and disorientation.
The effects on soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan have also been documented. Four soldiers from New York's 442nd Guard Unit were confirmed to have inhaled uranium oxide, exposure revealed through tests conducted by the Uranium Medical Research Centre.
Life Magazine reported a study conducted by the Department of Veteran Affairs which found that 67 per cent of post-Gulf War babies have serious birth defects or serious illnesses, such as missing eyes, limbs, and organs; fused digits; or organ malfunctions.
The U.S. Army confirmed they had used over 500 tons of uranium munitions just in the first two months in Iraq using GBU 28, a precision guided bomb.
Israel has not admitted to using DU weapons in Lebanon but last week Washington sent a shipment of “bunker busters” to Israel through the Scotland that contained over 100 GBU 28's to use against targets in Lebanon.