New research set to be published this week shows birth defects
of newborn babies in the Iraqi city of Fallujah have reached epidemic
proportions since the city was annihilated six years ago by the US military.
The research, to be published this week
in the
International Journal of
Environmental Research and Public Health, examined an alarming increase of
birth defects in Fallujah and concluded for the first time that the
unprecedented levels of
newborns with cancers,
tumors, skeletal, cardiac and neural-tube defects could be linked to US
military assaults on the Iraqi city.
Authors of the study, which focused on
the genetic health of Fallujah, found deformities in the babies are almost 11
times higher than average rates. Those deformities spiked in the first half of
2010, the Guardian notes.
Mozhgan Savabieasfahani, an
environmental toxicologist, said: “We suspect that the population is chronically
exposed to an environmental agent. We don’t know what that environmental factor
is, but we are doing more tests to find out,” according to the
Guardian.
The new study names metals as being a
potential source of contamination in Fallujah, especially affecting pregnant
mothers. “Metals are involved in regulating genome stability,” the study states.
It added: “As environmental effectors, metals are potentially good candidates to
cause birth defects,” the Guardian reported.
Long
an issue of
denial, or no response, by the US military, uranium-laced weapons were used
extensively in the two battles of Fallujah, in April and yet again in November
2004. It does, however, acknowledge the controversial
use of white
phosphorous during the assaults.
The first assault of Fallujah by the
occupying military occurred after four US-employed Blackwater security
mercenaries were killed. The Bush-era assault involved extensive use of fighter
jets for bombarding the city combined with a heavy artillery assault. The
wholesale destruction of
the city occurred after former president Bush’s famous Mission Accomplished
speech.
Depleted uranium ammunition leaves
behind a toxic residue after hitting its target, some scientists claim. However,
satisfactory evidence has yet to prove this, other scientists claim. Ionizing
radiation is a core component of these deadly weapons.
According to the research, other sources
could be responsible for the deformities. “Many known war contaminants have the
potential to interfere with normal embryonic and fetal development. The
devastating effect of dioxins on the reproductive health of the Vietnamese
people is well-known,” the Guardian reported.
The Guardian
first
reported on the rising epidemic more than a year ago, and noted then that
extensive record-keeping of newborns had begun months before that. In that
report, obstetricians and neurologists stated the birth defects increase was
unprecedented, among them a baby born with two heads.
The current study on Fallujah centered
on 55 families that had newborns with severe deformities between May and August
2010. Dr. Samira Abdul Ghani, a Fallujah General Hospital paediatrician,
conducted the study. In May, serious birth defects occurred in 15 percent of 547
newborns. Additionally disturbing, the study also found 11 percent of newborns
occurred at less than 30 weeks and 14 percent of fetuses spontaneously aborted,
the Guardian stated.
These numbers do not reveal the true
crisis, as many families choose to have their babies born at home, as the
parents are doubtful of help from authorities.
“It is important to understand that
under normal conditions, the chances of such occurrences is virtually zero,”
Savabieasfahani said in the Guardian.
“An epidemic of birth defects is
unfolding in Fallujah, Iraq. This is a serious public health crisis that needs
global attention. We need independent and unbiased research into the possible
causes of this epidemic.
We invite scientists and organizations
to get in touch with us so that we may gain the strength to address this large
global public health issue,” Savabieasfahani added in the Guardian report.