What poisoned Fallujah can tell us about toxic risks in Gaza and Lebanon

In Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria, thousands of people have returned to their homes where they have been threatened by unexploded ordinances, a lack of access to safe shelter, and other necessities. Many people were forced to move war debris, which could endanger their long-term health.

How hazardous this debris can be, according to our new research from Fallujah, Iraq, which was just published by the Costs of War project at Brown University. The enduring health effects of war are still felt almost ten years after the US-led invasion and almost ten years after ISIS began to take control of the city.

In Fallujah, our team’s X-ray fluorescence bone sampling revealed lead in 100% of the study participants’ bones, compared to uranium in 29 percent of those bones. Lead levels were 600 percent higher than those of comparable-age US populations. Any presence of uranium in healthy adults’ bones is important because it should be absent.

Lead and uranium have significant negative effects on infant development, general neurological health, cardiovascular health, and birth outcomes.

One of our study participants, Reina (not her real name), and her young family escaped to the relative safety of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq in 2014 after ISIS occupied Fallujah. ISIS fighters used their home to store weapons while they were away. The entire neighborhood was then bombarded by Iraqi and US warplanes, causing extensive damage to the family’s home.

After returning to their home two years later, Reina almost entirely emptied the rubble, constantly breathing in a toxic mixture of burned-out remnants from her home’s interior and concrete dust during her first trimester.

Her son, who had a congenital anomaly, was born in 2017. Reina and her family faced post-war clean-up activities that resulted in the deferred health risks that thousands of returning residents of Fallujah faced. Reina continues to be concerned about how well her home has been fully restored, saying, “I can’t tell if the house is still making us sick.”

Her concerns are legitimate. Fallujah’s heavily armed areas still have higher levels of heavy metals in the soil than other regions. However, Iraqis are also at risk from the bombardment for their toxic effects.

In ‘burn pits’, the US army burned a lot of military equipment and weapons, creating toxic fumes that spread to nearby population centers as it reduced its presence in Iraq. These burn pits, as well as short-term exposure, were well known to cause serious health issues for US veterans.

For returnees in Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria, Reina’s story and thousands of others resemble hers teach important lessons.

One of the most important findings of our recent study, led by Kali Rubaii at Purdue University and Samira Alaani and Abdulqader Alai in Fallujah, is that those who were the first to rebuild and return from war-damaged areas may be more vulnerable to reproductive health issues.

Children of men and women who participated in postwar cleanup activities may have a higher rate of congenital anomalies and less favorable birth outcomes than those who later returned or did not directly participate in rebuilding. This is most likely because their parents were much more frequently exposed to toxins from destroyed buildings, incinerated materials, dioxins, and other types of dust than those who returned after the restoration of the buildings.

As well as a number of other similar spikes in early-onset cancer and respiratory diseases, Fallujah’s rise in birth anomalies and birth anomalies has been linked to exposure to the weapons of war.

Another finding is that families face nutritional gaps when moving, returning, and re-establishing their families, which can increase the risk of future ills, even for the next generation. A decreased intake of crucial nutrients can lower the body’s ability to deal with toxins and increase the risks for reproductive health because clean-up frequently brings malnourished bodies into contact with myriad harmful materials.

Insufficient folate intake, for instance, can cause neural tube defects in a baby during the first trimester of pregnancy. Heavy metals can also be found in war debris, which can impair pregnant women’s folate metabolisms.

Returnees who have been subject to the double burden of military violence are also likely to experience intergenerational health effects in the same cities where we have seen public health patterns in Fallujah’s heavily bombarded cities.

Without bombing cities first, is undoubtedly the most effective way to reduce heavy metal toxicity from war. There are however, remedies that can be used to lessen toxic exposure’s compounded health effects.

First, there should be access to safe drinking water and adequate nutrition for people living in war-torn areas.

Second, information about direct actions displaced people can take to protect their own health when they return to their homes should be distributed by international NGOs, health institutions, local clinics, and regional radio stations.

For instance, it is crucial for returnees to cover up their masks and scarves to prevent inhaling fine dust while cleaning and reconstructing sites. Burning trash instead of burning it can also reduce the level of toxins that are exposed to the general public. Women should steer clear of engaging in dust-producing cleanup and rebuilding activities when pregnant or trying to conceive.

Additionally, vitamin C and D in food or supplements can inhibit the absorption and release of heavy metals accumulated in bones. Women in the first trimester of pregnancy should prioritize consuming folate-rich foods like spinach, broccoli, fortified rice, and enriched wheat, as well as folic acid supplements (aka vitamin B9) when available.

These are a few ways, though limited, can be used to lessen post-war harm and better protect future generations.

In the meantime, our collective and active defense of military bombardment is still the most efficient method for shielding communities from short- and long-term health risks brought on by war.

Source: Aljazeera