Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05AMMAN5043
2005-06-23 11:09:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Amman
Cable title:  

UNEP Supporting Study of Depleted Uranium in Iraq;

Tags:  SENV TBIO MOPS JO 
pdf how-to read a cable
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 005043 

SIPDIS

STATE PASS USAID

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SENV TBIO MOPS JO
SUBJECT: UNEP Supporting Study of Depleted Uranium in Iraq;
Urges Clean-Up Despite Lack of Documented Problem

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 005043

SIPDIS

STATE PASS USAID

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SENV TBIO MOPS JO
SUBJECT: UNEP Supporting Study of Depleted Uranium in Iraq;
Urges Clean-Up Despite Lack of Documented Problem


1. Summary: The United Nation Environment Program (UNEP)
organized a one-day training seminar on May 31 in Amman to
review depleted uranium (DU) in Iraq. Iraqi officials at
the seminar said that DU presents serious health risks and
is responsible for higher cancer rates in and around Basra.
International experts said that DU presents negligible risks
except in extreme circumstances. UNEP Iraq Task Force
Chairman Pekka Haavisto urged that the DU problem be studied
further and that DU sites be cleaned up. End summary.


2. Depleted uranium (DU) is a dense metal used in munitions
for its penetrating ability and as a protective material in
armored vehicles, and was used by UK and American forces in
the Balkans and in the Gulf War.


3. In their presentations on May 31, both the Iraqi Deputy
Minister of Health and the Deputy Minister of Environment
expressed strong concern about depleted uranium and
increasing cancer rates, especially in the southern city of
Basra and the surrounding area. They said Iraqi government
studies found that the cancer risk there has increased by
two to three times since the 1991 Gulf War. (Note: These
are local studies and have not been internationally
verified.)


4. Pekka Haavisto, chairman of the U.N. Environment
Program's Iraq Task Force, said that the UNEP would assist
Iraq as much as possible with DU, especially to assess the
situation. He said UNEP's approach to DU in the Balkans
called for marking and monitoring affected sites, and
ultimately making efforts to clean them up. The Balkans
studies identified a number of uncertainties requiring
further investigation, according to UNEP. These include the
extent to which depleted uranium on the ground can filter
through the soil and eventually contaminate groundwater, and
the possibility that depleted uranium dust could later be re-
suspended in the air by wind or human activity, with the
risk that it could be breathed in.

Studies Show Effects on in Worst-Case Scenarios
-------------- --


5. UNEP officials said UNEP conducted environmental
measurements on DU sites in Kosovo in 2000, Serbia and
Montenegro in 2001, and Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2002.
UNEP was involved in the IAEA DU assessment in Kuwait in the
spring of 2002. All these studies confirm that DU has
environmental impacts, according to UNEP. Health risks
primarily depend on the awareness of people coming into
contact with DU. Radiological and chemical effects of DU
are likely to occur only under worst-case scenarios (such as
breathing DU dust). UNEP DU reports always recommend
precautionary action such as measurement, signing, fencing,
and clean up of the targeted sites to avoid possible health
risks.

Presentations and Discussion
--------------


6. U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Mark Melanson, a DU expert
based in Washington D.C., gave a detailed presentation on
the physical properties of DU and discussed how it is used
in munitions by U.S. forces. Dr. Carr from the World Health
Organization (WHO) stated that the WHO is willing and ready
to help Iraq but she said that there is a lack of data on
the DU situation and its effects. In his presentation on
"The Use of DU in Munitions," Dr. David Smith from the UK
Defense Ministry concluded that contamination from DU is
localized and has no detectable health effects except in
extreme circumstances. (NOTE: This would include inhalation
of DU dust, which would normally be dispersed. END NOTE.)


7. Following the May 31 seminar, UNEP organized a two-day
workshop for 16 Iraqi participants, including two Deputy
Ministers, from the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of
Environment. Participants received an overview on DU field
measurement techniques, and reconnaissance and sampling
strategies. UNEP donated beta and gamma radiation
measurement equipment to the Iraqi Ministry of Environment
and a second batch of equipment will be handed to the
participants at a second workshop planned for Switzerland
later in 2005.


8. Comment: UNEP's dogged focus on DU despite DU's well-
documented lack of ill effects is drawing attention and
resources away from much more serious environmental and
health issues. UNEP is intent on carrying out the depleted
uranium project despite clear evidence from experts that
DU presents minimal risk and despite the fact that Iraq has
no shortage of real and pressing environmental issues.

HALE