64. Protect Hawai'i and Soldiers from Depleted Uranium

WHEREAS through four wars (Gulf War I, Sarajevo, Afghanistan and Gulf War II), the U.S. military has deployed over a thousand tons of penetrators made of depleted uranium (DU),  a radioactive, heavy metal waste product resulting from the uranium enrichment process,  and

WHEREAS uranium in solid form is an alpha-radiation emitter and a heavy metal which poses a small risk to humans in solid form, but the uranium dust, smoke and oxides which result from the use of DU penetrators poses a substantial, toxic and radioactive risk to all who inhale or ingest it, and

WHEREAS at least 221,000 veterans are on disability as a result of injuries and illnesses incurred during military operations in the Persian Gulf combat theater, and there is credible concern that some of the illness called "Gulf War Syndrome" may be caused by the inhalation of DU dust and smoke, and

WHEREAS a current study shows that U.S. Gulf War Veterans' children have a much higher likelihood of having three specific types of birth defects: two types of heart valve abnormality occurring to children of male veterans, and genital-urinary defects to children born of female veterans and

WHEREAS many, if not most, of our troops currently in Iraq and Afghanistan are being exposed to depleted uranium dust, and

WHEREAS the use of depleted uranium weapons results in the release of air-borne depleted uranium particles, which have registered at elevated levels in places as far away as Britain, and DU dust and smoke affects both civilians and soldiers in inhumane ways, causing damage to vital organs and to unborn children and future generations, and contaminates the environment, agricultural land and water necessary for sustenance, and

WHEREAS the private corporation which enriches fuel rods wants to sell its waste DU for use in consumer products, such as dental products, cars, furniture, building material, cooking utensils, paving material and other items, with no notice, and has allowed depleted uranium to be used in airplane counterweights, and

WHEREAS the use of live fire DU weapons in Hawai`i for training purposes has polluted the land in the same way that spreading radioactive lead-paint dust over our 'aina would have polluted, 

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Maui County Democratic Party calls on all federal and state representatives and senators to take all steps necessary to ban the of use of depleted uranium in weapons,  ban the sale of depleted uranium weapons, ban and criminalize the use of depleted uranium in consumer products and airplanes, ban live-fire DU weapons training in Hawai`i and everywhere, and grant medical testing for veterans and others suffering from contamination, and  provide for the clean up of contamination in Kosovo, Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq.