Report: Gulf War syndrome not linked to uranium exposure

Posted: Friday, April 16, 1999

WASHINGTON - An independent report released by the Pentagon indicates exposure to a radioactive material used in the Gulf War is unlikely to have caused the health complaints from veterans whose illnesses remain unexplained eight years after the war.

The Rand Corp., a Santa Monica, Calif., think tank, reviewed scientific literature and found no evidence of harmful health effects directly linked to exposure to depleted uranium, which coats U.S. artillery shells and bombs designed to penetrate tank armor. On impact, the shells create an airborne dust.

An estimated 25,000 to 30,000 Gulf War veterans complained of chronic maladies such as fatigue, joint pain and memory loss, but no official cause has been found.

Bernard Rostker, a defense official in charge of Gulf War syndrome issues, said the Rand study supports a Pentagon conclusion that while depleted uranium "can pose a chemical toxicity and radiological hazard under specific conditions, the available evidence does not support claims that DU caused or is causing the undiagnosed illness some Gulf War veterans are experiencing."

In March 1998, a group of U.S. veterans said at least 400,000 of the 700,000 men and women who served in the war had come in contact with depleted uranium. Some claimed to suffer from unexplained illnesses or increased cancer rates.

The Pentagon believes that figure is exaggerated. Rostker estimated "several hundred" American soldiers were exposed, primarily through friendly-fire incidents in which military vehicles accidentally came under U.S. attack or during cleanup and investigation efforts.

Researchers at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Baltimore are following 33 Gulf War veterans with the greatest exposure to depleted uranium, including 17 with embedded fragments from shrapnel.

The veterans have an array of health problems related to combat injuries, the researchers said. But researchers have not found signs of radiation illness or "manifestations of kidney disease attributable to the chemical toxicity of depleted uranium."

Overall, the Rand literature review found, exposure to depleted uranium at levels similar to during the Gulf War has not caused increased cancer rates, kidney disease or other illnesses, mostly because the body is very effective at eliminating ingested and inhaled uranium.

Separately, the Pentagon released a case study concluding that Gulf War veterans likely were not exposed to chemical warfare agents at a cement factory outside Kuwait City.

But the Pentagon could not rule out the presence of such agents, saying it lacked all the evidence for a definite ruling. For example, soil samples were not properly packed to guarantee against evaporation and a tape from a special military vehicle that can detect the agents is missing, he said.

The Pentagon has been fighting a climate of mistrust regarding Gulf War syndrome since the end of the 1991 war.

Defense officials initially downplayed veterans' complaints and did not fully investigate the possibilities of exposure to chemical and biological weapons.

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