A former British defense worker has won legal aid to sue the giant US military corporation Honey-well over claims that he was poisoned by depleted uranium (DU) while working at its factory in Somerset, south-west England.
The case is likely to have far-reaching implications for Gulf war veterans, aerospace workers and civilians living in former war zones.
Richard `Nibby' David, 49, suf-fers from serious respiratory problems, kidney defects and finds it extremely painful to move his limbs. Medical tests have revealed mutations to his DNA and damage to his chromosomes which he alleges has been caused by DU, a radioactive waste product from the nuclear power industry that is used for shells because it can smash through tank armor.
Millions of tonnes of DU shells have been fired by US and British forces in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq. It has also been used as ballast in aircraft and counterweights on helicopter blades. While it is believed to be relatively harmless lying in the soil, a growing body of scientists believe that when its fine dust is inhaled it can cause a range of cancers, kidney damage and birth defects.
It has been alleged that DU used in the 1991 Gulf war was responsible for abnormally high levels of childhood leukemia and birth defects in Iraq. France, Spain and Italy claim soldiers who served in Bosnia and Kosovo, where NATO used DU shells, have contracted cancers. It is also believed to be a possible cause of Gulf war syndrome, which has left thousand of veterans ill.
While the defense and nuclear industries have played down the danger of DU, David's case is the first time that the arguments will be heard before a court. Should he win, the verdict will send shockwaves through the military establishment as it could pave the way for huge compensation claims against the armed forces. He also believes that dozens of his fellow workers at the Honeywell site in Yeovil have also suffered. A number of his closest colleagues have died or contracted liver cancers.
Although the Legal Aid Board does not back personal injury claims, it decided that David's case was in the "wider public interest." The decision was a major victory after an eight-year struggle for justice after ill health forced him to give up his job in 1995 as a component fitter for Normalair Garrett, the Yeovil firm now owned by Honeywell, which makes parts for most of the world's fighter planes and bombers.
After being struck down by a disorder that left him paralyzed with pain and unable to breathe properly, David began looking for clues as to the cause. The breakthrough came in September 1995 while watching a news bulletin on Gulf war syndrome on which he saw how a UK army major struggled to get out of her car.
David had never been in the armed forces or the Middle East, but was convinced there was a link between his illness and those suffered by former Gulf troops. But it was not until February 1999 that the possibility that DU was the cause came when he heard a talk by US scientist Asaf Durakovic, a former military doctor and nuclear medicine expert. Durakovic suggested that the debilitating, in some cases fatal, illnesses suffered by Gulf veterans were not necessarily caused by a cocktail of vaccines, as some claimed, but by DU poisoning.
Durakovic decided to test the urine samples of 15 UK Gulf veterans and agreed to include David's. Six months later, the results showed that he had one of the highest levels of uranium contamination of all the samples.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was