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Post by ngatimozart on Jun 25, 2012 13:41:49 GMT 12
Kiwi service personnel returning home from Afghanistan are being tested for radiation levels because of the US use of depleted uranium rounds. Apparently the NZG are being stingy in paying for the proper tests. About 1/3 of 800,000 US and UK Iraq vets are claiming disability payments because of a mystery illness which some believe is from depleted uranium munitions used by the US. www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/7163787/NZs-Afghan-veterans-tested-for-radioactivity |
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Post by Calum on Jun 26, 2012 11:25:24 GMT 12
The NSG being stingy withthe health of their service people...that’s traditional in my experience
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Post by mtwallet on Feb 5, 2013 18:28:44 GMT 12
Sounds very stingy indeed but I would not expect anything less. After being stationed in the former USSR (NZ Embassy) during the Chernobyl nuclear disaster
and on return to New Zealand I requested at my Discharge Med Board to be tested for contamination as I was exiting the services. I was almost laughed off base.
I hope our Afghan vets are routinely monitored.
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Post by ngatimozart on Feb 5, 2013 18:33:02 GMT 12
Gidday mate. Welcome aboard.
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Post by aircraftclocks on Feb 5, 2013 18:36:57 GMT 12
The radiation is not the problem, depleted uranium is not that hot.
The problem with depleted uranium is that it is a heavy metal. We should be concerned our troops are being exposed to heavy metal poisoning.
We see exposure to lead and mercury in this light.
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Post by steveh on Feb 6, 2013 12:44:58 GMT 12
The NZG being stingy, that doesn't sound in character at all.  Are there echos of the Agent Orange scandal in this I wonder? Steve. |
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Post by themantis on Feb 7, 2013 7:00:51 GMT 12
I think the NZDF has always tested for DU on RTNZ from Afghanistan. They certainly did it in 2005 when I returned, although it was organised poorly. After clearing customs in Christchurch we were sprung by some medics and we had to use the public toilets in the airport for the sample.
I wouldn't be at all surprised if NZDF was doing it on the cheap though, after all we now only get a medial exam if you deploy or once you are 35 (then every five years). In over 15 years I had never taken sick leave or even gone to the MTC because I was sick. Now I go there for every little sniffle or ache just to get a little value from the system (we pay for medical care whether we use it or not).
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Post by Dave Homewood on Feb 7, 2013 7:49:16 GMT 12
Medicals used to be annual and compulsory when I was in the RNZAF. Have they discovered a cheaper alternative to Solprin for everything yet?
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Post by themantis on Feb 7, 2013 8:08:00 GMT 12
Medicals used to be annual and compulsory when I was in the RNZAF. Have they discovered a cheaper alternative to Solprin for everything yet? Yes they've discovered an alternative. It's called nothing, when they changed the medicals they changed a lot of other medical policy too. Basically, you now get no medicine (other than generic panadol equivalents) and have to pay for any subscriptions yourself. For a while the MTCs were running out whatever stock they had. The 2010 VfM report stated that the level of (garrison) medical support in the NZDf should not exceed that provided by the NZ public health system. As one can imagine NZDF accountants gleefully rung their hands together at this great opportunity to cut costs. |
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Post by Dave Homewood on Feb 7, 2013 11:04:52 GMT 12
God, the NZDF continues to make the lifestyle more and more unattractive. We were so lucky 20-odd years ago. I hate to be negative but seriously it makes me wonder how they get anyone to join up these days.
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Are there echos of the Agent Orange scandal in this I wonder?
