Gulf war syndrome worse this time around

Troops and Iraqi civilians alike may be more at risk from depleted uranium and other poisons than in the previous Gulf War

By Michael Nicholson

If the experience of British soldiers in the 1991 Gulf War is anything to go by, thousands could fall gravely ill as a result of the current conflict in Iraq. Twelve years after the conclusion of the first Gulf War, it is now believed that the depleted uranium used in anti-tank shells, as well as a variety of toxins and injections, may be the chief causes of what has become widely known as Gulf War Syndrome.

Of the 45,000 British soldiers who went to the Gulf in 1991 more than 5,500 are currently receiving disability pensions - many of which they have had to fight for. More are becoming ill and making fresh claims all the time. Veterans are dying at the rate of one a week at an average age of 38.

Many veterans were also exposed to radiation from depleted uranium (DU), although this is denied by the British Ministry of Defence. In the last Gulf War some 300 metric tonnes of depleted uranium were used. This time it is expected that at least 1,500 tonnes have been used, due to the greater length and intensity of the ground war.

Depleted uranium shells likely present a greater health risk to both civilians and soldiers than in the previous Gulf War. "They are using a lot more firepower this time," says Camille Warren, spokeswoman for the British-based Campaign Against Depleted Uranium. "And DU weapons have been used extensively in densely populated areas like Baghdad and Basra, where as they were only used out in the desert back in 1991."

Such widespread use of DU munitions may have terrible consequences not only for the survivors of the Iraqi conflict, but for their unborn sons and daughters. According to Britain's Gulf Veterans and Families Association (GVFA), children born to Gulf wives and partners show twice the rate of birth defects as the overall civilian population. Children have been born with twisted limbs or no limbs at all and fingers and toes joined together with webs of flesh, mirroring deformities in Iraqi children born after the war. Small wonder that some US personnel posted to the Gulf have taken the precaution of placing their sperm in sperm banks before departure.

DU, a waste product of the nuclear power industry, is now used as ammunition where its high density and ability to ignite and burn on impact increases the capacity to destroy. DU "penetrators" can pass through the heavy armour of large tanks. As it burns, DU releases a plume of fine particles, which can be inhaled by soldiers nearby. The half-life of this material is 4.5 billion years. DU 'bunker busters', as they were called in Afghanistan, are believed to have produced increased radiation levels in central Europe - over 2,000 miles away.

In 1998, 30 Gulf War veterans - five of them British - had their urine tested by Dr Asaf Durakovic, a world authority on nuclear and radiation medicine, and Dr Hari Sharma from Canada's Waterloo University. All thirty were found to have depleted uranium poisoning. They were not all front line troops. In fact, two of the British veterans had served a 150 miles or more behind the front line.

DU, which is not naturally occurring, was found in the soldiers in a range of between 5 and 15 micrograms - levels which exceed normal safety limits by between 25 and 75 times. This may account for the much higher than normal levels of leukaemia, the kidney disease nephritis and a whole range of cancer deaths among veterans.

According to Tony Flint, a Gulf veteran and GVFA spokesman, the British Ministry of Defence has effectively admitted that depleted uranium is harmful. In January 2002, Flint insists, MOD officials announced that the British armed forces would replace all depleted uranium-tipped shells with more expensive but safer tungsten-tipped ammunition. The MOD changed its mind in February 2003 and stated the British would still use uranium if obliged to go to war quickly due to Iraq being in breach of UN mandates.

Tony Flint says he is a typical Gulf War veteran and suffers from a variety of diseases and disabilities collectively known as Gulf War Syndrome. He is currently retired on a 50% disability pension. Despite consistent commitment to the veterans' cause, Mr Flint suffers from exhaustion and has to rest every few hours. He has had influenza or flu-like symptoms every four or five weeks since he received anti-plague and anti-anthrax vaccines in the Gulf twelve years ago. He also suffers from asthma and back pain. Because of the partial collapse of his immune system he has developed a viral condition known as Epstein Barr, similar to glandular fever. Both these conditions have been passed on to his wife who, in common with many Gulf wives, experiences abnormal vaginal infections.

Mr Flint attributes his medical problems mainly to the cocktail of injections he was given in a very short period of time before travelling to the Gulf. Many soldiers received five injections in one day, nine in all, a few were given as many as nine in a single day. These were meant to protect soldiers from possible chemical and biological attacks but may have actually made them chronically or acutely ill.

Causal attribution, diagnosis and treatment of Gulf sickness is further complicated by a number of other factors. Pesticides were scattered over army camps in ways that bore no relation to manufacturers instructions or warnings. The labels were often in Arabic. It is thought that these poisonous organo-phosphates may have combined with pyridostigmine bromide - the drug in the anti-nerve agent tablets the troops were also taking. Experiments have shown that this produces another lethal cocktail making the pesticide ten times more toxic. A study in 2002 showed that the combination caused sterility in males and killed off brain cells which affect emotions, balance and muscular performance.

Additional health hazards may confront soldiers in Iraq. In a private American study of 200 veterans (some of them British) conducted by Dr Pam Asa, antibodies to an adjuvant called squalene were found in the solders' blood samples. An adjuvant is a facilitating ingredient added to enhance the action of a drug. Squalene was used in the 1980's to boost the effectiveness of anti-AIDS drugs.

Dr Asa reported that squalene "is causing auto-immune illnesses which can take up to 15 years to show up in lab tests although the patient can be unwell for quite a long time before". A pessimistic projection suggests that many thousands of British and American veterans may yet die from the Squalene adjuvant.

When questioned by teenage soldiers and anxious parents on the Gulf Veterans and Families Association hotline, Tony Flint advises them not to take any unnecessary injections or tablets. British soldiers, though not their US, counterparts, have the right to refuse such treatment. 51% of them are exercising this right though there are worrying reports that 16th Air Brigade are giving vaccines under duress and requiring soldiers to sign waivers.

The greatest worry is that many thousands of soldiers will be harmed by a range of poisons including depleted uranium, organo-phosphates and anti-nerve agent tablets. It remains to be seen how forthcoming both British and US authorities will be in addressing the problem or in helping to treat those who become ill as a result.