The Muse, vol. 51, no. 14 (02 February 2001)

              ebruary 2, 2001
Memorial University of Newfoundland
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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