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ebruary 2, 2001 Memorial University of Newfoundland te muse ine muse tne muse toe muse i f aqj asntu at# asnuj aqi ©sniu dtp ssnui at# * Volume 51, Number 14 The scientist versus the allies Memorial geologist finds link between depleted uranium and Gulf War syndrome By DAVID MILLER Patricia Horan, a geochemist at Memorial University, continues to weather an international media storm over data she collected. The data seems to contradict British, American, and Canadian government claims that coalition soldiers were not exposed to depleted uranium(DU) in the Gulf War. Horan found "substantial" amounts of DU in urine samples of British and Canadian Gulf War veterans. The most notable findings show that the bones of Terry Riordon, who died last year, contain depleted uranium. "We have found depleted uranium isotopic fingerprints in some of those samples - not all- but approximately half of the first 16 samples we did," said Horan who added that, "Right now, the only way we can see it getting into the system is through inhalation or ingestion." Depleted uranium is a radioactive but non-fissionable form of uranium. Because of its density, 1.7 times as dense as lead, is used by several NATO countries in ammunition. Most scientists do not consider DU to be a serious health threat under normal conditions. It has been argued, however, that the dangers associated with DU are significantly increased under certain battle conditions. For example, when a round that contains DU strikes a tank, it can shatter and release a toxic and radioactive dust cloud. This form of DU can be inhaled directly or dissolved in water and ingested. The long term health effects of this type of exposure has been the subject of debate. Horan's research was conducted on request of the Uranium Medical Project (UMP), a Toronto based group founded by the British Gulf War Veterans' Association to find out if Gulf veterans had been exposed to DU and also to determine if there is a connection between these exposures and the so-called "Gulf War Syndrome." Her findings have evoked an intense international media frenzy since September when the data was presented at a conference of the European Association of Nuclear Medicine. Greg Dunning, MUN Earth Science Professor and head of the lab said: "Pat Horan or I have been interviewed by CBC radio, CBC TV, CBC Newsworld, BBC Radio Live, BBC TV, Southam News, The London Times ... I probably missed some - it's a bigger story in Britain than here. A feature writer with The London Times spent five hours with Pat and I for a feature article to come out this Friday in the Times Higher Education Supplement." For many veterans, Horan's findings represent a vindication. Canadian, American 'and British governments have consistently maintained that DU is not a health hazard and that there is no evidence to suggest that any soldier was ever exposed. Veterans such as Terry Riordon, who complained of physical ailments were often diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. Before he died, Riordon was even referred to as a hypochondriac. "The British, Canadian, and U.S. militaries of been in denial mode for years about the hazards of using DU in armaments and furthermore have said that the soldiers could not have ingested it on the battlefield," said Dunning. "We have documented, for the first time with reliable data, the presence of DU, contaminating Gulf War veterans who were not directly hit with bullets and who must therefore have just breathed in the dust," •Please see "International"page 10 MUN experts are engulfed in an international debate about depleted uranium and Gulf War Syndrome, www.gulfwar.org University closures cause concern University's emergency plans seen as (ibandaid to a bullet wound" - Dunne By ANNE TILLER With the major snowfalls and blizzard conditions prevalent this winter, university closing has become a major issue for students. Memorial University's Student's Union (MUNSU) is concerned about the apparent lack of contingency plans in the event of severe weather or other emergencies. Monday, January 29 saw yet another storm hit the St. John's area. While local high schools and the College of the North Atlantic (CoNA) were closed as of 11 am, there was a delay in the decision making process to close the university, keeping it open for another two hours. With President Axel Meisen and Vice-President Evan Simpson out of town, the decision fell to the Vice-President of Administration and Finance, Wayne Thistle. While waiting to speak to Thistle on Monday The Muse was informed at 12:35 that a decision had finally been reached to close the university as of 1:00 pm. This decision was brought about in large part because of the decision of the Metrobus line to stop running buses at 3:00 pm. "Transportation is a big driving force," said Thistle. According to Ivan Muzychka, Manager of Memorial's news service, the decision to close the university is a serious one that involves many levels of consultation. This includes facilities management, university relations, the safety coordinator and the administration. The main considerations are the weather report, the transportation system and the number of students on campus. Once this has been done, the local radio stations are informed of the decision. It is an apparent lack of communication and a contingency plan after the decision has been made that concerns Dunne. "Communication seems to be the big issue. For the majority of the students there doesn't seem to be a definite protocol for closing this university. The way that it is dealt with is ad-hoc, and ad-hoc doesn't cut it with student safety," said Dunne Dunne's says the situation should not be dealt with at the last minute and that the present ad-hoc method is not working. "What we need is a set protocol, a set contingency plan. This decision has to made timely," said Dunne. "It is a bandaid for a bullet wound sort of solution to a serious situation." "The only way the students knew about that was word of mouth and the fact that myself and Liam Walsh (Vice-President Academic), on behalf of the students' union, not on behalf of Memorial, went upstairs and did off advisories and put them up in the University Centre where the highest concentration of students are. The advisories had information about the closing as well as the bus routes and when the buses would stop running. This is vital information that students need," said Dunne. University Relations sends an e-mail to some 1,500 addresses on campus to inform them of the university's closure. They also call the university operator and MUNSU. More recently they added notification to MUN website. "We don't have any systematic way of alerting students in the classrooms. Students coming out of that class would probably hear about it through, either on the radio, or in the hallways or from signs that MUNSU put up," said Muzychka. "I think in the case of really bad weather students take it upon themselves to seek out the information." "How are students going to (get) information if they are in the food court? How many students on campus have a radio?" Dunne said. • Please see "No"page 10 inside News 1-5,10,14-15 ! OP/ED 6-8 MUNSUNotes 8 The Third Degree 9 Feature 12,13 j Sports 16,17 j A&E 18-22 Classifieds 23 NEWS The Canadian Federation of Students(CFS) have filed an application in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, challenging the constitutionality of changes to the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act 3 FEATURE CHMR gets back to the heart and soul of radio, playing everything from gospel to metal, and for the most part, leaves the pop stuff to other areas of the FMband 12,13 It's Carnival Time Cabs Jiffy's cabbies are the champions of the snowy street frolic
Object Description
Title | The Muse, vol. 51, no. 14 (02 February 2001) |
Date | 02 February 2001 |
Description | The Muse, vol. 51, no. 14 (02 February 2001) |
Type | Text |
Resource Type | Newspaper |
Format | Image/jpeg; Application/pdf |
Language | eng |
Collection | The Muse |
Sponsor | Centre for Newfoundland Studies |
Source | Paper text held in the Centre for Newfoundland Studies |
Repository | Memorial University of Newfoundland. Libraries. Centre for Newfoundland Studies |
PDF File | (26.21MB) -- http://collections.mun.ca/PDFs/muse/TheMusevol51no1402February2001.pdf |
Date created | 2018-04-25 |
Description
Title | Cover |
Description | The Muse, vol. 51, no. 14 (02 February 2001) |
PDF File | (26.21MB) -- http://collections.mun.ca/PDFs/muse/TheMusevol51no1402February2001.pdf |
Transcript | ebruary 2, 2001 Memorial University of Newfoundland te muse ine muse tne muse toe muse i f aqj asntu at# asnuj aqi ©sniu dtp ssnui at# * Volume 51, Number 14 The scientist versus the allies Memorial geologist finds link between depleted uranium and Gulf War syndrome By DAVID MILLER Patricia Horan, a geochemist at Memorial University, continues to weather an international media storm over data she collected. The data seems to contradict British, American, and Canadian government claims that coalition soldiers were not exposed to depleted uranium(DU) in the Gulf War. Horan found "substantial" amounts of DU in urine samples of British and Canadian Gulf War veterans. The most notable findings show that the bones of Terry Riordon, who died last year, contain depleted uranium. "We have found depleted uranium isotopic fingerprints in some of those samples - not all- but approximately half of the first 16 samples we did," said Horan who added that, "Right now, the only way we can see it getting into the system is through inhalation or ingestion." Depleted uranium is a radioactive but non-fissionable form of uranium. Because of its density, 1.7 times as dense as lead, is used by several NATO countries in ammunition. Most scientists do not consider DU to be a serious health threat under normal conditions. It has been argued, however, that the dangers associated with DU are significantly increased under certain battle conditions. For example, when a round that contains DU strikes a tank, it can shatter and release a toxic and radioactive dust cloud. This form of DU can be inhaled directly or dissolved in water and ingested. The long term health effects of this type of exposure has been the subject of debate. Horan's research was conducted on request of the Uranium Medical Project (UMP), a Toronto based group founded by the British Gulf War Veterans' Association to find out if Gulf veterans had been exposed to DU and also to determine if there is a connection between these exposures and the so-called "Gulf War Syndrome." Her findings have evoked an intense international media frenzy since September when the data was presented at a conference of the European Association of Nuclear Medicine. Greg Dunning, MUN Earth Science Professor and head of the lab said: "Pat Horan or I have been interviewed by CBC radio, CBC TV, CBC Newsworld, BBC Radio Live, BBC TV, Southam News, The London Times ... I probably missed some - it's a bigger story in Britain than here. A feature writer with The London Times spent five hours with Pat and I for a feature article to come out this Friday in the Times Higher Education Supplement." For many veterans, Horan's findings represent a vindication. Canadian, American 'and British governments have consistently maintained that DU is not a health hazard and that there is no evidence to suggest that any soldier was ever exposed. Veterans such as Terry Riordon, who complained of physical ailments were often diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. Before he died, Riordon was even referred to as a hypochondriac. "The British, Canadian, and U.S. militaries of been in denial mode for years about the hazards of using DU in armaments and furthermore have said that the soldiers could not have ingested it on the battlefield," said Dunning. "We have documented, for the first time with reliable data, the presence of DU, contaminating Gulf War veterans who were not directly hit with bullets and who must therefore have just breathed in the dust," •Please see "International"page 10 MUN experts are engulfed in an international debate about depleted uranium and Gulf War Syndrome, www.gulfwar.org University closures cause concern University's emergency plans seen as (ibandaid to a bullet wound" - Dunne By ANNE TILLER With the major snowfalls and blizzard conditions prevalent this winter, university closing has become a major issue for students. Memorial University's Student's Union (MUNSU) is concerned about the apparent lack of contingency plans in the event of severe weather or other emergencies. Monday, January 29 saw yet another storm hit the St. John's area. While local high schools and the College of the North Atlantic (CoNA) were closed as of 11 am, there was a delay in the decision making process to close the university, keeping it open for another two hours. With President Axel Meisen and Vice-President Evan Simpson out of town, the decision fell to the Vice-President of Administration and Finance, Wayne Thistle. While waiting to speak to Thistle on Monday The Muse was informed at 12:35 that a decision had finally been reached to close the university as of 1:00 pm. This decision was brought about in large part because of the decision of the Metrobus line to stop running buses at 3:00 pm. "Transportation is a big driving force," said Thistle. According to Ivan Muzychka, Manager of Memorial's news service, the decision to close the university is a serious one that involves many levels of consultation. This includes facilities management, university relations, the safety coordinator and the administration. The main considerations are the weather report, the transportation system and the number of students on campus. Once this has been done, the local radio stations are informed of the decision. It is an apparent lack of communication and a contingency plan after the decision has been made that concerns Dunne. "Communication seems to be the big issue. For the majority of the students there doesn't seem to be a definite protocol for closing this university. The way that it is dealt with is ad-hoc, and ad-hoc doesn't cut it with student safety," said Dunne Dunne's says the situation should not be dealt with at the last minute and that the present ad-hoc method is not working. "What we need is a set protocol, a set contingency plan. This decision has to made timely," said Dunne. "It is a bandaid for a bullet wound sort of solution to a serious situation." "The only way the students knew about that was word of mouth and the fact that myself and Liam Walsh (Vice-President Academic), on behalf of the students' union, not on behalf of Memorial, went upstairs and did off advisories and put them up in the University Centre where the highest concentration of students are. The advisories had information about the closing as well as the bus routes and when the buses would stop running. This is vital information that students need," said Dunne. University Relations sends an e-mail to some 1,500 addresses on campus to inform them of the university's closure. They also call the university operator and MUNSU. More recently they added notification to MUN website. "We don't have any systematic way of alerting students in the classrooms. Students coming out of that class would probably hear about it through, either on the radio, or in the hallways or from signs that MUNSU put up," said Muzychka. "I think in the case of really bad weather students take it upon themselves to seek out the information." "How are students going to (get) information if they are in the food court? How many students on campus have a radio?" Dunne said. • Please see "No"page 10 inside News 1-5,10,14-15 ! OP/ED 6-8 MUNSUNotes 8 The Third Degree 9 Feature 12,13 j Sports 16,17 j A&E 18-22 Classifieds 23 NEWS The Canadian Federation of Students(CFS) have filed an application in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, challenging the constitutionality of changes to the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act 3 FEATURE CHMR gets back to the heart and soul of radio, playing everything from gospel to metal, and for the most part, leaves the pop stuff to other areas of the FMband 12,13 It's Carnival Time Cabs Jiffy's cabbies are the champions of the snowy street frolic |
Date created | 2018-04-25 |