From David Leigh
I was initially surprised that Lewis Moonie (5 April, p 28) should be naive enough to believe that there can ever be such a thing as an independent report on matters as politically sensitive as British and American forces leaving depleted uranium scattered across Iraq.
However, careful reading of his letter reveals an evasive use of language. He writes, “Many independent reports have been produced that consider the battlefield effects of using DU munitions. None of these has found a connection between DU exposure and illness…”. But it is not the “battlefield effects” that we are particularly worried about, rather the long-term effects of this stuff on the environment.
Similarly, he quotes two Royal Society reports which state that, “The inhalation intakes from resuspended DU are considered to be unlikely to cause any substantial increase in lung cancer or any other cancers.” Apart from the obvious questions (How unlikely? What is substantial? Who decides and in whose interest?) inhalation is by no means the only route by which people can be contaminated by DU. Nor is cancer the only possible effect.
Stanstead Abbotts, Hertfordshire, UK
