Cancer bombs

On Thursday, Iraqi scientists said that the numbers of birth defects and children suffering from cancer have risen dramatically since the end of the Gulf War because of the depleted uranium used in American and British anti-tank shells. The scientists, who held a two-day conference in Baghdad devoted to the problem, also urged an international ban on the use of arms containing such substances.

In a statement released at the end of the conference, 600 Iraqi experts called on the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to expedite an inquiry on the alleged radiation pollution in southern Iraq, where most of the cancer cases have been reported. The scientists also called for compensation from the US and British governments for the Iraqi victims.

To support its claim, the Iraqi government has for several years been releasing statistics on infant deaths from cancer in the three southern provinces most affected by the alleged contamination. According to official Iraqi figures, the overall number of new cancer patients registered in 1990 was 7,058, rising to 8,526 in 1992, excluding the three northern provinces under Kurdish control.

Iraqi doctors attending the conference did not release any new statistics but said that cases of leukemia, cancer of the eye, the thyroid and the kidney were increasing at a disturbing rate. Dr Nafi Al-Ani, in a study presented to the conference, claimed that Iraqi soldiers exposed to the shells displayed unusually high rates of leukemia and lymphomas. Another study showed a threefold increase in the number of abortions in Basra between 1989 and 1997. Other doctors claimed that many cases of cancer were not reported.

The United States and Britain dismissed the claims, describing them as propaganda aimed at arousing international sympathy for Iraq's campaign to lift UN sanctions. In Washington, the Pentagon's spokesman Kenneth Bacon described the conference's allegations as "completely unfounded." Instead he blamed the Iraqi government for the increase in cancer cases. "If there is increased incidence of cancer among children, it could well be that this comes from the use of mustard gas in that area by the Iraqi forces during the war against Iran," he said.

Britain has also rejected the Iraqi charges, claiming that depleted uranium rounds of the type used by the British Challenger tanks produce only small amounts of radioactive material which could not harm people outside the war zone. It also claimed that British units operated at a considerable distance from populated areas.

The only Western scientist at the conference, Hari Sharma of Waterloo University of Ontario, Canada, cautioned the Iraqis against jumping to conclusions. He suggested that the increase in cancer cases could be due to other factors such as the chemical particles released from the huge oil well fires during the war.

WHO is perhaps the organisation best suited to investigate the problem and to provide a conclusive answer to questions regarding the use of the shells. According to some press reports, WHO has already dispatched a three-man team to Iraq but so far its officials have been tight-lipped on the results of their work. As previous confrontations have shown, accusations and counter-accusations will continue to be made in the never ending war of words between Baghdad and Washington.

Meanwhile, more Iraqis will die, whether from cancer, whose causes must urgently be identified, or from poverty and hunger caused by the UN sanctions.