Speakers from across the world delivered the latest information on domestic campaigns, the latest scientific data on the threat that uranium weapons pose to human health and the environment and the latest domestic and national legal arguments in favour of ban.

The conference began with an exhibition of artwork by Iraqi childhood cancer victims, collected by Maki Sato, the Seceretary General of humanitarian NGO JIM NET. JIM NET, based in Jordan, provide medicines to Iraqi hospitals and cancer units and Sato vividly described the challenges that they face in delivering medical assistance to Iraq.

Melissa Sterry and Joan Walker, an ex-US army intelligence officer and kindergarten teacher respectively, described their successful attempts at bringing in US State legislation to support the testing and healthcare of US National Guardsmen who had returned from Iraq contaminated with depleted uranium (DU). They were followed by ICBUW member Gretel Munroe, who examined the wider attempts to bring in federal legislation in the US to recognise the health problems associated with DU’s use.

Looking beyond the US, Ria Verjauw of the ‘Belgian Coalition Stop Uranium Weapons’ explained how they had successfully lobbied the Belgian government into introducing a domestic ban on uranium weapons earlier this year – the first country in the world to do so.

US Iraq veteran Herbert Reed, then described the health problems he has suffered following exposure to DU in Iraq. The muscle pains, headaches, paralysis and breathing difficulties he suffers bore striking similarities to health problems encountered around the New York State metals foundry that was the topic of Tom West and Dr David Carpenter’s presentations. The National Lead foundry near Colonie, polluted the local population for more than 15 years with uranium particles from its incinerator. Tests by the UK Geological Survey have discovered that DU contamination had spread up to 12km from the site. An increase in cancers and autoimmune diseases in the local population has been observed and researchers are seeking to test more ex-workers at the site.

Jim West from Concord Mass. described how another citizens group had challenged a different uranium weapons producer – Starmet – and won a difficult battle for a clean up operation. Starmet eventually escaped the clean-up costs, which were paid by the federal government.

John La Forge from Nukewatch in Wisconsin told delegates of their battles against Alliant Tech-Systems, a producer of uranium weapons, land mines and cluster bombs, and the largest producer of ammunition in the US. Their use of non-violent direct action had resulted in a series of court cases against their group, all of which had been won when juries were allowed to rule that the campaigners were upholding international law.

The second day of the conference saw scientific experts presenting their latest findings on DU’s hazards. Dr Diane Stearns from Arizona University shared valuable new insights on uranium’s chemical toxicity, highlighting new findings on the previously unseen pathways that allow uranium to directly damage cellular processes through chemical toxicity alone.

Dr Rosalie Bertell, the world-renowned ‘nuclear nun’ showed how the nanoparticles produced when uranium weapons burn can damage the body’s mitochondria, leading to chronic fatigue syndrome. She then launched a scathing attack on the International Commission on Radiological Protection, whose radiation safety standards fail to take account of the latest data in radiobiology. She then presented data from Dr Janette Sherman, whose studies of a Federal Express worker who was exposed to burning DU at work again showed striking parallels with the symptoms reported by Iraq veterans.

The final session saw ICBUW members Prof Manfred Mohr and Doug Weir present legal arguments in favour of a global ban on uranium weapons and the presentation of a ban ‘road map’ based on the successful Ottawa Convention to ban land mines. Alyn Ware, from International Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms made a welcome appearance and suggested paths that uranium weapons campaigners might take to achieve a ban.

ICBUW were proud to welcome European Parliamentarian Els de Groen who discussed how the Parliament could be used to build support for a treaty process. She then presented the conference with a book supported by the European Greens/EFA, featuring photos from photographer Japanese photographer Naomi Toyoda and text from speakers at May’s ICBUW exhibition on uranium weapons in Brussels.

Ends