Daily Egyptian Spring 05
Students protest war while spreading awareness about depleted uranium
Julie Engler Daily Egyptian
More than 1,000 white crosses spread out on the Free Forum Area marked the spot where several protesting students lay in the muddy grass hoping to catch the fleeting attention of students traveling to their morning classes. Gloria Nash lay in the mud for two hours, pretending to be dead in the midst of the crosses that represented the soldiers who have died in the war in Iraq. But Tuesday's protest was not just to remind people of the war in Iraq, Nash said.
Nash, a freshman from Connecticut studying plant and soil sciences, said it was also to educate people about the use of depleted uranium by U.S. troops in the Middle East. Several students from the Student Environmental Center demonstrated for six hours Tuesday morning to help raise awareness about depleted uranium's harmful effects on soldiers and civilians.
Depleted uranium is a radioactive material that is slightly denser than lead. Uranium's half-life is more than 4 billion years, meaning it takes more than twice that long to decompose naturally. Contamination causes neurological and respiratory complications and birth defects.
Nash said several of the group's members, including her, were unaware of the issue until they attended the lecture by former Army Maj. Doug Rokke on April 2. At the speech, Rokke said depleted uranium is used by Abrams Tanks and A-10 Warthog aircrafts, which launch weapons containing the harmful element. When the depleted uranium projectiles hit their targets, Rokke said the uranium explodes, releasing a firestorm of burning material and microscopic particles that can seep through gas masks and contaminate the soldiers. The depleted uranium causes birth defects and cancer and contaminates most of the Middle East, Rokke said
"If we continue using it, we'll be wiping out an entire generation of people," Nash said. The students handed out fliers with information on the death toll of U.S. soldiers and effects of depleted uranium and the General Dynamics Ordinance and Tactical Systems Plant in Marion, near Crab Orchard Lake, which manufactures munitions containing the material.
According to General Dynamic's Ordinance and Tactical Systems Web site, the plant does produce munitions containing depleted uranium, but a representative from the Marion factory would not return several phone calls to confirm if they were being made there. One of the depleted uranium munitions produced by General Dynamics is the M829A2. According to the Web site, the weapons are "accurate and lethal at all combat ranges."
Though some students just ignored the protest, several students who passed by stopped to talk with the protesters about depleted uranium. Amanda Sotiroff, a sophomore from Woodstock studying psychology and studio art, stopped at the table out of curiosity for what was happening, and said she was really surprised by what she learned.
"I never would've thought something like that was so close to southern Illinois," Sotiroff said. "I hope it catches a lot of people's attention." One of the protestors, Jon Dyer, an undecided freshman from Edwardsville, wore a mask that resembled President Bush. He said he wanted the image to bring more attention to the issues.
Dyer said he hopes to continue educating about depleted uranium and plans to protest again next semester. "Crab Orchard is our neighbor, and they're going to hear from us sooner or later," Dyer said. "We need to dig up the dirt on them."
Last update: Wednesday, April 27, 2005 at 2:46:54 PM
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