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Canadian army never told soldier about his depleted uranium test results

The 2001 lab results, copies of which were supplied to The Canadian Press by Lacoste, were performed two years before tests conducted by a civilian doctor also found high levels of uranium in his hair.

Lacoste’s  fight is also directed at helping other ex-soldiers he believes might be suffering from the health effects of depleted-uranium exposure, but might not even be aware of it.

Hunger-striking vet says Ottawa never disclosed his positive uranium tests, Winnipeg Free Press, By: Andy Blatchford, The Canadian Press, 11/2/2011  MONTREAL – A former soldier battling a series of health problems says the Canadian Forces failed to inform him that medical tests showed he was carrying an unusually high level of uranium.

Pascal Lacoste eventually filed a request under the Access to Information Act to see his own medical files, which revealed his hair samples contained “abnormally elevated” amounts of the metal.

The federal government has expressed doubt about cases like Lacoste’s and, in an interview, one independent medical expert questioned the reliability of using hair samples to test for uranium levels.

But Lacoste blames his declining health, including chronic pain and a degenerative neurological disorder, on depleted-uranium poisoning he believes he contracted while serving in Bosnia in the 1990s.

He says despite multiple requests over the last decade, the government has refused to treat him, even though the military has had two separate reports in its files since 2001 that show his hair contained high levels of uranium.

Lacoste is now planning to go on a hunger strike outside the Quebec riding office of Veterans Affairs Minister Steven Blaney — until he gets medical help, or until he dies.

After the government wouldn’t voluntarily release his medical records, Lacoste filed requests under access-to-information laws to obtain them.

The 2001 lab results, copies of which were supplied to The Canadian Press by Lacoste, were performed two years before tests conducted by a civilian doctor also found high levels of uranium in his hair.

He said the military never told him about the 2001 lab results — which he only received in 2008 via access to information……

Veterans Affairs has declined to discuss Lacoste’s case, citing privacy concerns.

Depleted uranium, the leftovers from uranium processing, has been used to make some types of military armour and munitions.

It is only believed to be harmful if dust from spent ammunition or damaged armour is ingested or inhaled.

The dense, low-cost metal was used in conflicts in the 1990s where Canadian troops were present: in the Balkans and the first Gulf War.

Concern that soldiers may have been contaminated with depleted-uranium has been a controversial topic for years…..

Lacoste’s  fight is also directed at helping other ex-soldiers he believes might be suffering from the health effects of depleted-uranium exposure, but might not even be aware of it.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/canada/breakingnews/hunger-striking-veteran-says-military-wouldnt-show-him-his-own-troubling-medical-records-133100048.html

November 3, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Canada, depleted uranium, health