If I didn't read it myself I wouldn't believe it was possible. How can our government be so stupid!

I was wondering why their eyes would glow.

Maybe you folks forgot that we are at war. Perhaps waking one morning to find Manhattan just a smoking hole where 5,000,000 Americans once lived would focus the issues a bit.

Depleted uranium rounds are used in a last-chance defensive system employed by our aircraft carriers and other capital ships. Without these defenses our sons and daughters are sitting ducks for many third-world weapons. Testing is critical, despite very, very slight risks, so slight in fact that nobody can clearly identify them.

Any health hazards from the firing of depleted uranium at sea are negligible if not non-existent.

It is impossible for the present day media to report on anything in a fair, accurate and unbiased manner (probably cuz that approach would not sell as well).

Where the article mentions protective clothing should be worn w/in 25 yards is irrelevant, as any one who has ever dealt w/OSHA and the Code of Federal Regulations can attest.

Please don't believe everything you read!!

Sincerely,
Roger

"But a coalition of Northwest environmental and anti-war activists say they are considering seeking an injunction to halt the tests"

Consider the source ...

"The Navy insists the use of depleted uranium off the coast poses no threat to the environment. "

Maybe this is a true statement but keep this in mind.

The armed forces also said that Agent Orange does not cause cancer.

They also said that no chemicals were released during Desert Storm that could affect our soldiers.

Yes the news over exaggerates everything, but the military has proven it is not trustworthy

Well if you are all against the navy firing test weapons,don't fly in any airplanes. Depleted Uranium is used in the tail sections for weghts on the elevators and rudders.

I hate to do this but Iam going to claim to be a expert on du rounds.
I servied as a Ammo tech in the United States Marine Corps for eight years. Whats a ammo tech do? Well we are the guys you come see if you want DU rounds for your tank.
I supervised a ammo dump for eight years and have handled DU rounds thousands of times and no that does not EXPLAIN anything about me, looks or brain wise.
The Du round is used becouse the urainam core is dencer then the armour on most tanks and therefore punches hole in the enemy tanks faster and easier then other rounds. I have haad the privlage to fire a tank and it was great.
The round them selves are not radioactive at all. I repeat the rounds are not radioactive at all. The warning that the milatary put out that stated not to go near the rounds had to do with equipment (tanks and truck etc...) that had been shoot by the rounds.
Some lawers for some vets claim but have not proven that when the DU round hits a hard target that burns it some how releases the urainam in to the air and covers the area. I can not say that this is true or not. I have read reports that go both ways but all end by saying more study is needed.
I would say that the report posted was very misleading. Yes the military posted warning but not for handling the rounds thenselves.
Agian look at the soures in the story and ask your self what is their agenda? I have to go fix a flat tire in the girl freinds truck. She called about 10 mins ago but I was writing to you guys. Do you think she will understand or should I not tell her????

thanks for sharing starcraft...its good to see unbiased common sense on this board

By no means am I agreeing with the article or the "facts" by posting it here. I would say something to that effect if that were the case. I do find it very weird, for lack of a better word, how some feel that you need to prove something harms the environment before it stops where others feel you need to prove it doesn't harm the environment to allow it to continue. This has been going on since 1977, unless the press is lying. Is it harming the environment? The fact is nobody knows for sure. Should it stop? I don't know. Is it that necessary to be test firing these into the ocean? Maybe. Maybe not.

I would have to agree with you that we should have to test to see if somthing is harmful before we use it and It is my experines with ammo and the eviromental laws controling the training areas on marine bases, and beleive me there are alot of them, The DU rounds have been tested for their inpact on the wildlife. Twenty nine palms marine base,known to us that have been their as the stumps, Has monitoring equipment all over the traininng and firing ranges for things just like this. I just find it effencive that people think the military and its personal have no concerns for the world we live in and bad mouth us all the time. What is the military? Its a group of your freinds,family,and neigbors. People we all know, as made clear by the good bye post to a few of the members of this board over the last few days. Some groups use the military as a scape goat for many thing and try to turn the american people aginst us as if we are not american people are selves but some evil empire that exsit independently for the rest of us.
Remember that training has to happen somewhere or are people will not be able to defend them selves in combat. Does any one know what type of weapons system the navy is firing out their?? does anyone know where the steelhead are? well this is a fishing board.

Starcraft Tom -- AMEN, Bro

I hate to sound like I'm trying to claim expert status, but as a Chemistry and Physics teacher I can tell you that the terms "radioactive" and "toxic" are media buzzwords that sell newspapers but don't necessarily mean squat in terms of science.

Fact: The human body is made largely of Carbon, some of which is in fact radioactive (this is how carbon dating works). Your wives, girlfriends and kids are radioactive, so if radioactivity scares you, don't go hugging them or letting them sit in your lap. In fact, you had better vacate your own body if you think the radioactivity is going to kill you.

Fact: The shampoo you wash your hair with, the beer you drink and the lead you fish with are all toxic. So are the gas fumes you put in your car and the tobacco you chew or smoke. If you're scared of toxic things, you'll have to stop bathing, driving, fishing, and drinking. You might as well stop breathing too, because not only is the air toxic, you probably don't want to live in a world where you can't fish, drive or have a beer.

So get out there and catch all of those toxic radioactive fish you can. Take them home and eat them. Sure they cause cancer, but so does having sex, and I'm pretty sure that'll get me long before the fish does.

I am no expert on any of these things, except perhaps as a subject for the print media, which I have been numerous times. I can say with authority that I was almost always misquoted and that my statements were almost always misrepresented. I can also say with authority that the subject I was involved in was usually made controversial even if it wasn't, for the express purpose of making it "news". I also know, because of a study I was involved in, that more people get their information from print media than anywhere else, and that they believe what they read in the newspaper before they believe what they hear from any other source. Ah, the unwashed masses that drive public opinion........

I've lived here and have been a fishing fanatic all of my life and this is the first I've heard of this. Nobody knows the long term effect of this stuff on either the sea life that swim and crawl around it nor on the humans and animals that consume it. It hasn't been around long enough for anyone to know.

Spawnout: If it weren't for newspapers we'd probably still be eating DDT and all the other poisons and toxins that have been pulled from the environment. And the people down wind from Hanford would never have had a voice.

Anyway, I'm not an environmental extremist. My ears are perked on environmental issues lately for good reason.