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Uranium sparks interest
By Diana Matusewic
The potential war in Iraq will cause more devastation than most people realize. Iraqis are still dying after the Gulf War because of the uranium weapons that were used.
"The remnants of the projectile will affect whatever area it's in when it hits a target and if it misses," said Hal Kimball, SCSU student.
The uranium stays active for 4.5 billion years. To this day, Iraqi babies and babies of some Gulf War veterans are being born with tumors and without limbs; some even without a face.
"Southern Iraq has a significant increase in cancer rates," Kimball said. "Four to 10 times worse than what it was in the Gulf War. I have friends who have died because of these cancers from the Gulf War."
The northern and western part of Kuwait are the areas affected with radioactivity.
"Soldiers are going to have to drive through that to get to Iraq. When soldiers drive through with tanks they're going to have to breathe (the uranium) in," Kimball said.
The presentation, "Collateral Damage: Innocent Victims of a Nuclear Age, Hiroshima to Baghdad" is sponsored by Social Responsibility Graduate Program. It will be Tuesday, 1-4 p.m. at the Atwood Little Theatre.
Kimball is the speaker. He will discuss what depleted uranium is, where it comes from, the history of its use and some of its effects.
One of the videos to be shown during the presentation, "Downwind," will cover the effects of radiation tested on American soldiers.
"(The soldiers) would stand in a long trench line and they would explode a nuclear bomb off in the distance to see how much radiation the soldiers would take in," Kimball said.
Ayako Mochizuki, SCSU student and graduate assistant of the social responsibility program, did the planning for this presentation and asked Kimball to be the speaker.
"He was very knowledgeable on the issue and I thought he would be a nice person for the event," Mochizuki said.
Kimball was in the military for 11 years. Although he did not serve in the Gulf War, he did have friends that were there. Now he is involved with Veterans for Peace and is a member of People Uniting for Peace.
Kimball explained how people could get involved with this cause: "Number one is to inform yourself, don't just read the main stream media. We're led to believe there are two sides to an issue, but there are multiple sides to an issue."
He said that he has not seen the mainstream media cover how deadly uranium is.
"Write your congressional leaders and your senators," he advised.
Kimball has written each senator numerous times with his concerns on the impending Iraq conflict. He also e-mailed the pictures of the babies that were born with disfigurement.
"Become active in the community about it," he added.
One way to do that is to attend the protests every Wednesday at the Alliant Techsystems in Edina, in the Twin Cities.
"They made 16 million rounds of ammunition for Desert Shield Desert Storm," Kimball said.
"Vote and stay informed," Mochizuki encouraged. "Don't escape from knowing. I am concerned about how Iraq is devastated by the Gulf War already. So many people�innocent people�died in the war and after the war."
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