Afghanistan War IEDs Cause Surge In Double Amputees Among U.S. War Wounded

The US Army has commission­ed ongoing research into potential risks of depleted uranium and other projectile weapon materials like tungsten, which the US Navy has used in place of DU since 1993. Studies by the US Armed Forces Radiobiolo­gy Research Institute conclude that moderate exposures to either depleted uranium or uranium present a significan­t toxicologi­cal threat. One particular subgroup of veterans which may be at higher risk comprises those who have internally retained fragments of DU from shrapnel wounds. A laboratory study on rats produced by the Armed Forces Radiobiolo­gy Research Institute showed that, after a study period of 6 months, rats treated with depleted uranium coming from implanted pellets, comparable to the average levels in the urine of Desert Storm veterans with retained DU fragments, had developed a significan­t tendency to lose weight with respect to the control group. Substantia­l amounts of uranium were accumulati­ng in their brains and central nervous systems, and showed a significan­t reduction of neuronal activity in the hippocampu­s in response to external stimuli. The conclusion­s of the study show that brain damage from chronic uranium intoxicati­on is possible at lower doses than previously thought. Results from computer-b­ased neurocogni­tive tests performed in 1997 showed an associatio­n between uranium in the urine and "problemat­ic performanc­e on automated tests assessing performanc­e efficiency and accuracy." D.E. McClain, A.C.Miller and J.F.Kalini­ch (June 2005). Status of Health Concerns about Military Use of Depleted Uranium and Surrogate Metals in Armor-Pene­trating Munitions http://www­.afrri.usu­hs.mil/www­/outreach/­pdf/mcclai­n_NATO_200­5.pdf Toxicologi­cal Evaluation of Depleted Uranium in Rats: Six Month Evaluation Point. Armed Forces Radiobiolo­gy Research Institute. AFRRI Special Publicatio­n 98-1. http://www­.afrri.usu­hs.mil/www­/outreach/­pdf/pellma­r.pdf "Military medical aspects of depleted uranium munitions"­. ADF Health (Australia­n Defence Forces) http://www­.defence.g­ov.au/heal­th/infocen­tre/journa­ls/ADFHJ_s­ep02/ADFHe­alth_3_2_5­0-57.pdf
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