If we can cast our minds back to the Gulf War and Afghanistan War, we can see from my previous story that contamination was not only restricted to the Middle East Region, but also had the ability to travel vast distances. The fact is that in only a period of 7-9 days this same DU contamination had planted its seeds in the atmosphere and soil of the United Kingdom.

No one could have imagined that this silent killer was free to roam the planet once it had entered the earth’s atmosphere. It didn’t have to purchase an airline ticket, but simply hitched a free ride on the back of whatever pressure system happened to be around at the time (high or low pressure). Once this carcinogenic had wrapped itself around the many vortices of the world’s weather, its final lethal destination remained unknown.

Chris Busby in his Occasional Paper 2006/1 January 2006 explained how Uranium contamination reached the shores of England. He stated there was a southerly flow of air from Africa to Europe: “Thus at minimum, the atmospheric conditions do not oppose the conclusion that the uranium at Aldermaston was from the Iraq bombing.” He went on to say that sufficient air from Iraq arrived in Europe to cause increased levels in the filters. This detailed report gave some very alarming figures when he quoted: “Over the period of the excession, the mean offsite level of uranium in the air over the six weeks was 650nBq/m3,” “there was an excess of uranium in air of some 500nBq/m3.”

He concluded by calculating the amount of uranium that one could possible inhale during the six weeks of elevated readings. His findings were alarming to say the least when he estimated that each person would have inhaled about 23 million particles. He said “These particles would have rapidly transferred through the lungs and into the lymphatic system where they would have access to all tissues.”

Chris Busby and Dai Williams have both worked tirelessly on the issues of Depleted Uranium and Enriched Uranium, and after studying their respective reports I have found their contents faultless. My research also involved studies carried out by Leuren Moret, an Environmental Scientist who worked at the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and 2 years at the Livermore Nuclear Weapons Establishment. She has dedicated her life to revealing and understanding the actual health effects of radiation exposure, Dr Rosalie Bertell, Ph.D., GNSH, Canadian Epidemiologist who has contributed so much research in this area, and finally Dr Doug Rokke, former head of the Pentagon’s Depleted Uranium Project who himself is suffering from DU contamination. The world owes so much to these dedicated experts.

Leuren Moret gave such a wonderful example in the DU story: For years the question has been raised what would we do with the waste from nuclear power plants. The half life of the uranium is four billion years and exposure to depleted uranium is potentially as hazardous as exposure to the uranium itself. Apparently we have found a “solution” to the problem of waste from nuclear power plants. Depleted uranium can be added to weapons. She further revealed the contents of a Memorandum:

To: Brigadier General L. R. Groves 
From: Drs. Conant, Compton, and Urey  War Department  United States Engineer Office
Manhattan District Oak Ridge Tennessee October 30, 1943 Declassified June 5, 1974
A memo prepared October 30, 1943 stated that the material used in the atomic bomb could be “ground into particles of microscopic size to form dust and smoke and distributed by a ground-fired projectile, land vehicles, or aerial bombs. In this form it would be inhaled by personnel. The amount necessary to cause death to a person inhaling the material is extremely small. It has been estimated that one millionth of a gram accumulating in a person’s body would be fatal. There are no known methods of treatment for such a casualty.                

Two factors appear to increase the effectiveness of radioactive dust or smoke as a weapon. These are:
(1) It cannot be detected by the senses;
(2) It can be distributed in a dust or smoke form so finely powdered that it will permeate a standard gas mask filter in quantities large enough to be extremely damaging.

An off-setting factor in its effectiveness as a weapon is that in a dust or smoke form the material is so finely pulverized that it takes on the characteristic of a quickly dissipating gas, and is therefore subject to all the factors (such as wind) working against maintenance of high concentrations for more than a few minutes over a given area.

Commenting on this memo Ms. Moret said:
“In this memo, I was just astounded to read it because it’s actually a blueprint for depleted uranium. This is in 1943, before they’d even dropped the bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. And actually, the three physicists who wrote the memo were the top physicists on the Manhattan Project-Conant, Urey, and Compton.”

Leuren went on to say: And what they recommended to General Groves was that he develops radioactive materials, including depleted uranium, into a military weapon that could be used on the battlefield. In the details of their memos they described grinding it to up to 0.1µ [1/10 of micron], which is very, very fine particles. This is smaller than bacteria. It would behave like a gas. It diffuses into the lungs and gets into the blood. It completely contaminates the environment and denies access to both the enemy and friendly forces without being exposed.

It also said that it goes through gas masks. It goes through filters-air filters. It’s impossible to filter out the very fine particles. And there is no protective clothing that can be designed to protect you from exposure.

So now the scene was set to mass produce DU weaponry that are now used extensively around the world. One would not have long to wait to see the DU medical pattern emerge in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

In more recent times I want to play particular attention to the Israeli–Lebanese conflict in 2006 followed by the most recent conflict in the Israeli–Gaza conflict 2008/9 in which an array of weapons were used. I would even go further and say that Gaza became a testing laboratory for US and IDF weaponry.

A bomb was dropped above the town of  Khiam in Southern Lebanon, 25 July 2006, by the Israeli Air force A Preliminary report by Chris Busby and Dai Williams revealed evidence that this was no ordinary bomb but rather a dirty bomb containing Enriched Uranium.

The report said samples from this crater (obtained by Dai Williams himself) showed elevated levels of radiation (these samples tested positive at Harwell Laboratory in Oxfordshire). The use of such weapons in Southern Lebanon also managed to contaminate the Northern part of Israel within approximately one hour. Rain eventually came to the region where it then entered the food chain.

From 2007 onwards I started to study many issues relating to Gaza, covering especially the potential exploitation of the Gaza Marine Area by Israel. This research further extended into maritime international borders, Oslo Accord failures, collapse of the Gaza’s fishing industry, war crimes and the array of illegal weapons used before, during and after Israel’s attack on Gaza.

Ms. Moret asks, “What happens when these particles get into the blood?” “After uranium metal burns...and depleted uranium is pyrophoric - it burns when it heats to 170° C. So, as soon as they shoot them, and the surface of the weapon heats up to 170° C, it starts burning. And you can see them. They look like tracers going through the air on the battlefield.”

“They are creating billions and billions and billions of superfine particles. These do not settle out by gravity. Gravitational forces do not pull them out of the air. They stay suspended.  They act like a radioactive gas”.

“And we know - I work with 8 independent scientists – we’ve measured depleted uranium, which after it burns, is very very insoluble. It forms oxides that will almost not dissolve. And because they will not dissolve, they will not become body fluids and so, the body cannot excrete them through the kidneys in the urine.”

Ms Moret description of these evil weapons continued, “These particles are like fairy dust. They go everywhere that a red blood cell or a white blood cell will go. And they stay in the body - millions and billions of them. These alpha particles tear through the cell. They tear through the membrane, which damages the immune system. They tear through the mitochondria, which is your energy system. They tear through the DNA, causing mutations. And then, the energy that they dump in the cell along that path, disturbs the hormones, the molecules in the compounds, the signalling system that helps the cells communicate with each other because they’re in a cooperative system.”

The world should indeed thank Leuren Moret for her dedicated work and her inner strength that allows her to educate those that do not know. She has been attacked and criticised by many and yet still manages to display a beautiful smile and such a pleasant outlook on life, despite the burden she carries in her heart.

On a more personal level I would like to thank Leuren for her concerns for my safety during my stay in Larnaca and for the trip to Gaza that I had hoped to continue. She briefed me for some considerable time and instilled in me that same spirit and strength that is rarely seen today.  

It was as a result of all these horrible findings that I decided to accept an invitation to travel by boat on the “Free Gaza” to break the blockade. My main and only purpose was to raise awareness to the local government and the people of Gaza. It was to have been a brief on all the many issues relating to Oil/Gas, Fishing, and International Border Clarification, War Crimes, Weapons used and the aftermath of the contamination by both Depleted Uranium and Enriched Uranium weapons.

I had grave concern for the safety of the residents of Gaza especially those that daily rummage through the contaminated sights recycling materials etc. I was particularly concerned at children that also play at such locations. It was important for me to discuss with the Minister for Health and also Minister for Construction the many problems that existed in Gaza and how to help alleviate the secondary contamination at such locations.

Having the ability to carry out this vital brief would obviously cut down the high risks associated with radiation contamination and at the same time save lives. Unfortunately only one boat managed to sail under a cloud of political bureaucracy and mismanagement. The organisation did not consider my purpose to be important enough to make the journey, despite the fact I was initially allocated a position as crew. I have much sea going experience with additional qualifications in navigation, search and rescue. However, having said that we all have our own agenda and purpose in life and one has to accept the final decision.

I did have in my possession some very sensitive files that could have made life a little difficult for me had I made the journey and been arrested with the rest of the crew. In that regard I am somewhat relieved. Circumstances prior to the departure indicated that someone was watching me, which I will discuss in the next chapter. I had also been advised by an American Scientist not to go and certainly not to attempt to take any radioactive samples. I remember the comment “you are more useful alive than dead.”

Peter Eyre, a former British Naval officer, worked at NATO headquarters in cryptology, and spent a lot of time in the Middle East and South East Asia as a petroleum consultant; he lives in the UK and writes regularly for the Palestine Telegraph