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In 1994, Rokke first wrote Army Regulation 700-48, entitled “Management of Equipment Contaminated with Depleted Uranium or Radioactive Commodities.” The document called for mandatory medical support and environmental cleanup in areas where DU-coated ammunition has exploded. According to Rokke, the Army ignores its own regulation, despite Army regulations carrying the same weight as federal law. Military leaders consider DU a life-saving material and Rokke has been told that its use is sacred. “No matter what, remember we’re always going to use DU.”
Even the World Health Organization refuses to speak out against the use of DU. A 2006 WHO media report on the compound concluded that “neither civilian nor military use of DU is likely to produce exposures…signifi cantly above normal background levels of uranium.” Nonetheless, the report recommended that areas with “high concentrations of DU dust or metal fragments” be “cordoned off until removal can be accomplished.” The report also admitted that DU could contaminate food and water sources. Cryptically, the WHO suggested that such sources might be “monitored.” The ambiguities are puzzling, to say the least.
For now, depleted uranium munitions appear to be a necessary evil. As Sterry explained, “If you’re a soldier and there’s something that’s going to let you live longer and kill other people faster, wouldn’t you use it?” Combat is a dangerous business, and every soldier entering a battlefi eld knowingly risks death. But the greatest hazard threatening today’s troops could be the very equipment meant to keep them alive. Responsibility for our soldiers should not end the moment the shooting stops. The exact risks posed by DU can be debated, but a soldier’s right to safe equipment and follow-up care cannot. Until a fi nal verdict on DU can be reached, another solution must be found. In Sterry’s words, today’s troops face a decision that they should never be forced to make: “dying from cancer in ten years or dying from a bullet in the next ten minutes. What’s my choice?”
Matthew Klein is a sophomore Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology major at Yale University. He is an editor of P.H.