© MC2 Ace Rheaume / NavyBuilder 2nd Class Eric Clark, assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 5, is caught in a sandstorm May 4 at Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan. A Navy study suggests that dust from Afghanistan contains metals that may cause respiratory problems and brain damage.
Researchers studying dust in Iraq and Kuwait say tiny particles of potentially hazardous material could be causing a host of problems in humans, from respiratory ailments to heart disease to neurological conditions.
After taking samples, scientists found fungi, bacteria and heavy metals - including uranium - that could all cause long-term health effects."You can see the dust," said Dale Griffin, an environmental public health microbiologist with the U.S. Geologic Survey. "It's what we can't see that will get you."
Three recent reports detail the problems, and Griffin said there are more to come.
Capt. Mark Lyles, who chairs the medical sciences and biotechnology department at the Center for Naval Warfare Studies, part of the Naval War College, co-authored with Griffin a report that they presented last year at the International Seminars on Planetary Emergencies in Italy.
The paper summarized their analysis of sand samples taken in 2004 in Iraq and Kuwait, which revealed a "significant biodiversity of bacterial, fungi and viruses of which 25 percent are known pathogens."
Just as troubling, according to the paper, was the presence of 37 elements - including 15 bioactive metals, including uranium, known to cause serious, long-term health effects in humans.
Comment: Since stress is such a prevalent problem among women (due to their increased sensitivity to the environment), they would greatly benefit from the vagus nerve activation (that wanders throughout the body, including the neck area) to reduce their neck pain and stress.