CADU News 4 - Campaign Against Depleted Uranium

CADU Petition
Enclosed in CADU news this month is a copy of
a petition which we would like supporters to get
signatures for. Please photocopy and distribute - if
you don’t have access to photocopying facilities, we
can send you more. We hope to have thousands of
signatures by the autumn, and add to the growing
pressure on the government to ban DU. The petitions
should be returned to us by the end of October, as we
will be collecting them together to hand in during the
international conference on 4th November (see inside).
However, please get htem to us as soon as they are
completed, particularly if signatories have ticked the
box requesting more information - then we can respond
quickly.
DU found in scrap yard
A rubbish tip manager in Suffolk, England, thought
the large lump of metal he found in a skip might have
some scrap value - until he found out that he had
been carrying 20lb of depleted uranium in his van
for 6 months. According to a report in the national
newspapers, Nicholas Remblance had forgotten all
about the metal until his van set off the Geiger counter
at a weighbridge. Firemen in protective clothing and
experts from the nuclear power station in Sizewell were
brought in to investigate and the yard was sealed off.
Initial tests on Mr Remblance indicated he had not
been affected, but further investigations will be carried
out in a few weeks time. The Environment Agency
has ordered an investigation into how the block of DU
turned up in Mr Remblance’s scrapyard.
CADU website - volunteer wanted!
CADU now has its own website, as we said in the last
newsletter. The address is www.cadu.com - easy to
remember. We have only just got this website up so
please bear with us if we have teething problems - we
are new to this technology. If any of our supporters
has web technology skills, and would like to volunteer
to be responsible for maintaining and updating our
website - we would love to hear from you. It would
really help us out, as we are overstretched as it is. It is
a job which could be done fairly easily from any part
of the country - so get in touch if you think you may
be the person to help.
CADU
International Conference on Depleted
Uranium
4th - 5th November 2000
Note change of date due to venue difficulties
Bringing Together Speakers and
Campaigners from All Over the World
We hope this international conference will be an
opportunity not only to provide accesible information
to those not familiar with the issue, but also provide a
working platform for activists to collaborate on key global
strategies for removing the threat of depleted uranium
from all peoples, and for putting pressure on governments
to respond appropriately to this threat.
The conference will begin at 9am on Saturday
4 November and conclude at 5 pm on Sunday. The
plenary sessions will include speakers from Iraq, Serbia,
and veterans groups. Scientists will present the latest
information on the testing programmes and medical
effects. Workshops on the huge range of issues related
to DU include: law, the nuclear industry, UN work,
government responses, Gulf War and Balkans veterans,
clean up operations, practical support for those affected,
the role of the World Health Organisation and the IAEA,
environmental effects, non-violent protest actions, etc.
There will be time for questions from the f loor as well as
spontaneously organised workshops.
Speakers already confirmed include: Dr Rosalie Bertell,
Doug Rokke, Military Toxics Project, Dr Chris Busby of
the Low Level Radiation Project, Bernice Boermans of
IALANA, Prof. Malcolm Hooper of the University of
Sunderland
Leaf lets with registration details will be available shortly,
and conference programmes will be sent out with your
registration pack.
For further information contact Cat Euler, Conference
Organiser, at the CADU office
BAE Systems wins DU contract
Jane’s Defence Weekly reported several months ago,
that the Ministry of Defence (UK) selected the Royal
Ordnance Division of British Aerospace Systems to provide
the 120mm CHARM 3 Training Round (the name
for the DU bullet) for use in the Challenger battle tanks
in service with the British Army. It reports that they
will be produced at Royal Ordnance facilities in Birtley
and Glascoed, in a contract worth up to £100 million.
Do any readers live near any of these production plants,
or have any more information about them? Please get in
touch.