Library friends’ film series tackles uranium weapons
Wicked Local AshlandJul 28, 2009, ASHLAND – The Documentary Film and Discussion Series, sponsored by the Friends of the Ashland Library, presents “Poison Dust,” about the dangers of radioactive depleted uranium………
“Poison Dust” tells the story of three young men from New York who could not get answers to questions about their mysterious ailments after their National Guard unit’s 2003 tour of duty in Iraq. Filmmaker Sue Harris skillfully weaves, through interviews, their journey from personal trauma, to positive test results for uranium poisoning, to learning the truth about radioactive depleted uranium (DU) weapons. Their frustrations in dealing with the Veterans Administration’s silence becomes outrage as they realize that thousands of other GIs have the same symptoms.
During the current Iraq War, the U.S. use of radioactive DU weapons increased from 375 tons used in 1991 to 2,200 tons. Geiger counter readings at sites in downtown Baghdad record radiation levels 1,000 and 2,000 times higher than background radiation. The film argues the Pentagon has bombed, occupied and contaminated Iraq, and millions of Iraqis are affected.
Over 1 million U.S. soldiers have rotated into Iraq. Today, half of the 697,000 U.S. Gulf War troops from the 1991 war have reported serious medical problems and a significant increase in birth defects among their newborn children.
The effects on the Iraqi population are far greater.
Library friends’ film series tackles uranium weapons – Ashland, MA – Ashland TAB
Tags: antinuclear, depleted, nuclear, uranium
