Military Toxics Project
Networking for Environmental Justice
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Military Toxics Project |
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Depleted Uranium Depleted uranium (DU) is a toxic and radioactive byproduct of the enrichment of naturally-occurring uranium for use in nuclear weapons and nuclear reactors. The U.S. military has used DU in munitions for over twenty-five years. Each stage of the DU life cycle - mining and processing; enrichment; storage; production; testing and use; and disposal - causes damage to people and the environment. MTP members have worked together for over ten years to stop the production and use of this deadly product. The Military Toxics Project first began to support local and veterans' organizations efforts to document and prevent the dangers of depleted uranium ammunition in 1993. Since that year, we have continued to support local organizations, coordinate national campaigns, and initiate international efforts to end the use of these toxic and radioactive weapons. This page includes: DU Publications and
Resources A wide variety of MTP information about DU available online and in hard copy. You can view the following publications online. Click here for a complete list of MTP publications. DU Basics - A short introduction to Depleted Uranium weapons MTP's DU Fact Sheet - A longer summary of the DU life cycle and dangers MTP's DU Resources Page - Many publications and resources about DU MTP's Links Page - A wide variety of DU links - Sign up to receive MTP Email Action Alerts (about one alert per month) - Join MTP's DU email discussion list serve (several emails per day) - Join MTP and participate in our DU campaigns (click link to join online) - Take actions to end production and use of DU (click link to take action)
Factsheets by the International Coalition to Ban Uranium Weapons Click here to access the factsheets on the ICBUW site. MTP is a founding member of ICBUW. Local For over a decade, MTP has worked closely with communities affected by DU weapons to support their organizing. Here are a few examples of this work. Concord, MA - Concord is the site of the former Nuclear Metals Inc./Starmet plant that produced DU weapons for the U.S. military for many years. Extensive DU contamination exists both on and off the plant property. In 1996, MTP helped several speakers travel to Concord to participate in a town meeting about DU organized by Grassroots Actions for Peace and Citizens Research and Environmental Watch. Over 250 people attended the meeting, galvanizing the community to action. MTP has funded travel by Concord leaders to several national gatherings and events, conducted organizational development trainings for local activists, and supported the community in a variety of other ways. In 2001, U.S. EPA named the Nuclear Metals/Starmet site to the Superfund National Priority List (the official list of the most toxic and dangerous sites throughout the U.S.). Fairbanks, AK - In 1998, MTP helped Alaska Community Action on Toxics marshal support from over 100 tribal, environmental, human rights, and peace organizations in eleven countries to oppose tests of the B61-11 bomb at Fort Wainwright. The B61-11 is a "bunker buster" nuclear weapon. The bombs that would have been tested at Fort Wainwright contained depleted uranium instead of a nuclear warhead. Portsmouth, OH - Portsmouth is the site of a U.S. Department of Energy uranium enrichment plant. Millions of pound of depleted uranium hexafluoride are stored at Portsmouth and DOE's two other enrichment facilities in Paducah, KY, and Oak Ridge, TN. DUF6 is the byproduct of the enrichment of uranium for use in nuclear weapons and nuclear power plants, and is the raw material from which DU weapons are produced. MTP has worked with neighbors and former workers of the Portsmouth and Paducah facilities to oppose the construction of new DUF6 conversion plants in those communities, and to research and publicize the extreme health damage caused by DOE's uranium plants. Vieques, PR - In 1999, an MTP Freedom of Information Act request discovered that DU shells had been fired at the Navy range on Vieques, despite the fact that the Navy did not have a permit to use DU there. MTP worked with the Committee for the Rescue and Development of Vieques to get the story out, and testified before the Puerto Rican Governor's Blue Ribbon panel on Vieques. National In 1993, MTP formed the Depleted Uranium Citizen's Network to help community and veterans' organizations collaborate to oppose the production and use of DU weapons. Also in 1993, MTP helped to release and distribute "Uranium Battlefields at Home and Abroad", a report prepared by DU Network members Rural Alliance for Military Accountability, Citizen Alert, and Progressive Alliance for Community Empowerment. In 1994, MTP's DU Network held its first national meeting in Jonesborough, TN. Grassroots leaders, veterans, scientists, and former workers from the Aerojet DU munitions production plant in Jonesborough met to share experiences and develop common strategies. In 1995, MTP released "Friendly Fire: The Link Between Depleted Uranium Munitions and Human Health Risks", co-published with the New Mexico Progressive Alliance for Community Empowerment. In 1995, DU Network representatives attended the first national meeting of Gulf War veterans, the Review and Extension Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, the World Court Project Seminar, and the International Citizens' Assembly to Stop the Spread of Weapons. In 1995 and 1996, nine members of MTP's DU Network and their expert advisors gave testimony to the Presidential Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans Illnesses. In 1996, MTP publicized a previously-unreleased Army report on DU weapons, and also released a critique of the report entitled "Radioactive Battlefields of the 1990s". In 1997, Project Censored recognized MTP's work on DU as one of the Top Ten Censored Stories of 1996. Also in 1997, MTP initiated a pilot medical study to test for depleted uranium in the bodies of Gulf War I veterans. Also in 1997, MTP organized the first international conference on DU weapons. In 1998, MTP partnered with the National Gulf War Resource Center and Swords to Plowshares to release the "Case Narrative" of DU exposures during the first Gulf War. In 1999, MTP announced that scientific test results confirmed that Gulf War I veterans continued to retain DU in their bodies years after their exposure. On December 26, 1999, "60 Minutes" aired a segment on DU after months of collaborative work with MTP staff. In 2000, MTP released "Don't Look, Don't Find", an indictment of the U.S. government's failure to adequately investigate the effects of DU exposure on Gulf War I veterans. In 2001, MTP coordinated a Week of Actions opposing the production and use of DU munitions in conjunction with the tenth anniversary of the first Gulf War. In 2004, MTP began work with the Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action to oppose the renewal of a U.S. Department of Transportation exemption allowing the military to transport DU throughout the country without a required "radioactive" warning placard. International The use of DU weapons by the U.S., the U.K., and NATO in Kuwait, Iraq, Bosnia, Croatia, Kosova, and possibly Afghanistan over the past decade led to investigation and opposition in several countries. In 1997, MTP organized the first international conference on depleted uranium in Washington, DC, gathering activists and scientists from seven countries. In 1998, MTP established its DU email list serve, facilitating communication and education between individuals and organizations in over two dozen countries. In 1999, MTP, the Laka Foundation (Netherlands), and the Campaign Against Depleted Uranium (UK) began the first attempt to create an international coalition against DU weapons by organizing a DU workshop at the Hague Appeal for Peace. In 2003, MTP and several organizations in other countries co-founded the International Coalition to Ban Uranium Weapons (ICBUW), an extension of the effort begun at the Hague Appeal for Peace in 1999. ICBUW is a collaboration between grassroots organizations and technical experts to end the use of uranium and other radioactive materials in weaponry. |
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Military Toxics Project -
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