By David Hambling April 20, 2009 8:59:00 AMYes, how we consistently hear from our wannabe slave owners how dangerous we citizens are supposed to be, but yet how often do we hear how their disrespect and stupidities consistently kill us- seems like everyday. Oh, yes, it is everyday with the rules, regulations and supposed laws designed to impede, hamper and disarm us (oh I mean make our lives oh so much better- BLECH!), without EVER considering the Law of Unintended Consequences.
In the 1990's the U.S. Army introduced a new set of "green" training ammunition designed to be less toxic and more environmentally friendly than the lead-filled rounds used before. But these new bullets may have left firing ranges contaminated and exposed soldiers to a new health hazard. Soon-to-be-released research suggests that a key element in the new ammo, once thought to be safe, may in fact be carcinogenic. The Army has stopped production of the bullets.
More than 90 million rounds of the "green" training ammunition has been used in the United States, since its introduction. It relies on a blend of tungsten and nylon, or tungsten and tin. That gives the bullets the same density and firing properties as the original, but without using lead. Tungsten was considered non-toxic. And it was thought to be "non-mobile," unlikely to dissolve and travel, so it wouldn't get into the groundwater.
But new research by University of Arizona Research Professor of Pediatrics Mark Witten points to a different conclusion: Tungsten may elevate the risk for cancer.
His study — to be presented later this month at the 2009 Experimental Biology Meeting in New Orleans — is sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The agency wanted to take a fresh look at leukemia clusters in Fallon, Nevada, and Sierra Vista, Arizona. Nearby tungsten mining appears to have raised tungsten levels in the towns.
WP
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