Depleted uranium: the scourge of our armed services?
Today, the Federal Minister for Veterans affairs has accused a group opposed to the use of depleted uranium weapons of running a scare campaign on the issue. The comments follow claims by the group – Depleted Uranium Silent Killer or DUSK – that two veterans who served in the 1991 Gulf War recently tested positive to uranium contamination and are ill as a result. The group’s spokesperson, Pauline Rigby says two men, who have refused to be named, were shown to have been exposed to uranium when been tested by the Canada based Uranium Medical Research Centre. These results are due this month to be published in two international journals. But Bruce Billson, the Federal Minister for Veterans Affairs, disputes the claims saying that testing by the department has cleared 123 Gulf veterans of being exposed to any toxic uranium.