Are there any epidemiological studies in DU contaminated areas?
While DU has the potential to cause various health problems including cancer, long-term medical and epidemiological studies are yet to be undertaken and much of what we know comes from laboratory experiments. However, responding to reports of rising cancers in Basrah, southern Iraq, ICBUW, together with IPPNW-Germany and other NGOs, is assisting in a detailed epidemiological survey in the area. Since the mid-90s there have been shocking reports of a rapid rise in uterine, thyroid and breast cancers and a leap in the number of patients suffering from lymphoma. It was also shown that the age at which patients were developing cancer was dropping significantly. The initial results of the survey have confirmed that breast cancer; lymphomas and some other cancers have clearly been increasing. In the next stage of the project, we will analyze all of the risk factors – including DU contamination – that might have caused this increase. According to the project’s Initial findings there are also
