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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR Ortiz y Pino

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

2-14-2007

HB

SHORT TITLE Outreach for Veterans Exposed to Uranium

SB 840

ANALYST Dearing

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

$25.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Relates to House Bill 736, Senate Bill 841

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Department of Health (DOH)

Veterans’ Services Department (VSD)

Energy Minerals and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 840 appropriates $25 thousand from the general fund for expenditure in FY08 to the

Veterans’ Services department to develop and provide health-related information for military

veterans who may have been exposed to depleted uranium, or other radioactive isotopes in

multiple military campaigns including the Persian region, Iraq, or Afghanistan.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $25 thousand contained in Senate Bill 840 is a recurring expense to the

General Fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY08 shall

revert to the General Fund.

Senate Bill 840 – Page

2

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

Concerns have been raised that American military personnel have been exposed to depleted

uranium from military weapons during the Middle East conflicts in the past two decades. These

exposures may have some long-term health effects.

Depleted uranium is widely used in the manufacture of heavy munitions and armor in many of

the U.S. military and other western military’s weapons systems. The material is 1.7 times denser

than lead, and provides an advantage when competing against more traditional materials. Dusts

and particulates from these munitions exist in the air and on the ground in battlefield conditions.

Exposure to aerosolized depleted uranium particulates has been thought to cause acute

irreversible damage to kidney function and other organ damage when very high exposure levels

occur.

1

There is usually an extended time period between an exposure to radioactive materials

and the growth of related cancers, such as leukemia and other types.

2

According to the Department of Health, there is health information on uranium exposure

available on multiple websites including the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.

However, developing targeted educational outreach, in language understandable by the lay

person, would address specific concerns of veterans exposed to depleted uranium.

RELATIONSHIP

Senate Bill 840 relates to House Bill 736. House Bill 736 provides uranium training to veterans.

Senate Bill 840 complements Senate Bill 841, which appropriates $200 thousand and seeks to

establish a testing protocol, develop and establish a health registry, and contract with appropriate

testing laboratories and coordinate affected parties in regard to voluntary testing program for

military veterans who may have been exposed to depleted uranium.

TECHNICAL ISSUES

There is a substantial amount of available information regarding this issue in existence. The bill

does not clarify whether the Veterans’ Services department would be responsible for producing

information/ research on the depleted uranium, or whether they would be compiling existing

research to distribute to affected veterans.

PD/nt

1

Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, Properties, use and health effects of depleted uranium (DU): a general overview, 2-5-2002

2

Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, Properties, use and health effects of depleted uranium (DU): a general overview, 2-5-2002