Man loses depleted uranium action

A former defence worker who claimed that his life was
made a "living
hell"
by exposure to depleted uranium at a factory has lost
his High Court
action.

Richard David, 51, of Seaton, Devon, sued Normalair
Garrett - now owned
by Honeywell Aerospace - for compensation.

The company denied depleted uranium was ever used at
the plant in
Yeovil.

Mr Justice Walker sitting in London said that Mr David
had not shown
that
he was exposed to depleted uranium at the time he was
employed by the
firm.

Mr David, who left work through ill health in July
1995, claimed that
medical
tests had revealed mutations to his DNA and damage to
his chromosomes
which could only have been caused by ionising
radiation.

The former component fitter on fighter planes and
bombers said he now
suffered from respiratory problems, kidney defects,
bowel conditions
and
painful joints.

He alleged that radiation from the uranium isotope had
ruined his
health,
robbed him of the ability to earn a living and caused
the collapse of
his
marriage and family life.

"The last nine years has been a living hell
hand-to-mouth existence
marked
by many GP and hospital consultations for unusual and
even very serious
health problems," he said in court.

Mr Justice Walker however said he had failed to
establish that there
was or
had been any depleted uranium in his body, and had
been unable to
demonstrate that his illness must have been caused by
exposure to it.

"That being so, he has no basis on which to assert
that the defendant
used
DU in his workplace," he said.

"My conclusion that the claimant's case fails does not
involve any
aspersion
upon his honesty.

"It must also be recognised that the defendant, and
its senior
management,
have over a period of years had hanging over them a
charge that they
allowed a highly dangerous material to contaminate one
of their
workers.

"For the reasons I have given, after examining all
that can reasonably
be
said on behalf of the claimant, I conclude that on the
basis of the
evidence
before me the charge made by the claimant against the
defendant is
unjustified," he said.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/england/somerset/4766580.stm

Published: 2006/03/02 12:25:03 GMT



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