Military board dismisses health complaints by soldiers' on Bosnia duty tour

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July 4, 2002

Military board dismisses health complaints by soldiers' on Bosnia duty tour

HALIFAX (CP) -- A military board of inquiry has dismissed the complaints of

nearly three dozen Canadian soldiers who say they are plagued by a series of

unexplained health problems related to their tour of Bosnia in the

mid-1990s.

The soldiers were interviewed as part of an inquiry called after concerns

were raised by Warrant Officer Peace, stationed at Canadian Forces

Base Gagetown, N.B., who died of a brain tumour in October 2000.

The health complaints raised by the soldiers ranged from persistent

headaches, vision and memory problems to mysterious bleeding. All are

symptoms that have also been reported by other returning veterans of the

Gulf War.

Some soldiers link their illnesses to exposure to chemical agents, or spent

depleted uranium munitions.

While the military panel agreed the soldiers are sick, the board's final

report, completed earlier this year, concluded that troops were not exposed

to any " significant levels " of toxic material.

The 34 soldiers are members and former members of the Royal Canadian

Regiment, based in Gagetown and who served in Visoko, Bosnia, in 1994-95 at

the height the ethnic conflict in the area.

Just before his death, Peace asked his military superiors to investigate

whether dust from special modifications made to armoured vehicles

contributed to the development of his tumour.

The cutting and pasting of special ceramic tiles to armoured personnel

carriers and reconnaissance vehicles was done in the basement of the

building where troops were billeted.

The board that held the inquiry in the fall of 2000 found the " add-on "

armour was not toxic and played no role in his death.

The board also looked for other factors, such as depleted uranium weapons

and multiple chemical sensitivity, that might have made Peace and the other

soldiers sick.

It found none.

" Depleted uranium is not considered a factor in the reported illnesses, "

said the report obtained by The Canadian Press.

" We have no information whether or not it was used by belligerent factions,

but it is clear soldiers did not pick up anything that might have been

depleted uranium, nor did they work around any hazard (tank hulks) that

might have had depleted uranium dust. "

A senior medical officer said an independent toxicology report found

nothing unusual and that the illness complaints are all part of modern

warfare.

" We're paying more attention to what we believe is a stress-related

phenomenon, " Lt.-Col. Greg Cook, a physician and specialist in internal

medicine, said in an interview.

He said troops, as far back as the U.S. Civil War, returned from combat

with similar complaints as those reported by Gulf War and now Balkan War

veterans.

" We have to work with (our veterans) and convince folks that (these

ailments) are not unique to them. It's a common experience with a lot of

people. "

But Peace's widow rejected the inquiry findings and Cook's assessment.

" I believe that the troops were exposed to chemicals, " said Ann Peace.

" It is what made them sick. It is what made Mike sick. "

From speaking to some of her husband's former comrades, Peace said there

are more than 34 cases of illness in the regiment.

" The guys are afraid to say what's wrong with them. They have to work

there. They are not going to do anything to jeopardize their jobs. "

Peace also did her own research into the chemical composition of the tiles

and obtained reports, using the Access to Information Act, on the soldiers'

living conditions in Visoko.

In a written response to the inquiry, Peace said the cutting and burning of

tiles produces crystalline silica which, according to the U.S. Labor

Department, constitutes a serious health hazard. It can cause silicosis, a

sometimes fatal lung disease.

The military said all soldiers involved in the modification work wore

proper protective gear.

But soldiers testified fumes from the modification work was so strong it

woke them from their sleep at night.

A 1995 post-deployment report noted that " the dusty living conditions (at

Camp Visoko) were probably the worst. This problem was compounded by the

amount of fumes that seemed to flow freely into the living area. "

Other soldiers testified there was a chemical runoff in ditches near the

living quarters after rain storms.

Peace's response highlighted statements from troops who reported

" fragments " laying around the compound following the occasional attack by

one warring faction or another.

" Was this depleted uranium? " she asked.

Since the mid-1990s, the Forces has beefed up its environmental testing of

deployment areas.