WSU to Study Iraq Toxins' Effect
Spokesman-Review
by Bert Caldwell
Research to examine how exposure might damage offspring of soldiers
Washington State University scientists will use a $1.7 million grant to study what multi-generation genetic damage might be done by toxins U.S. troops could encounter in Iraq.
The research using laboratory rats, not humans, will be the first for the military to examine the epigenetic effects of pesticides, herbicides and other compounds, said lead scientist Michael Skinner, director of the university's Center for Reproductive Biology.
Previous studies have looked at the health effects of other substances, notably the Agent Orange used to defoliate jungles in Vietnam, on the soldiers directly exposed, he said, not on their children or grandchildren.
"The science really had not caught up with the trans-generational stuff," said Skinner, one of several WSU pioneers in the field of epigenetic, or multi-generational, inheritance.
Besides herbicides and pesticides – which and in what combinations has not been determined – the study also will look at the effects of explosives residues, he said.
The four-year study will allow researchers to see how any changes in genetic chemistry that develop are passed along through two subsequent generations of rats, he said, noting that only the first two years of research have been funded.
Among the problems that might develop are kidney disease, or changes in the male and female reproductive organs, he said.
If any genetic markers are identified in rats, Skinner said, follow-up research could look at whether they might show up among members of the military as well.
That would be of particular interest to Dave Holmes, interim chief operating officer of the Institute for Systems Medicine, which was awarded the U.S. Department of Defense grant passed through to Skinner.
Holmes' son, Tim Hammond, did two tours in Iraq with the U.S. Marine Corps.
"They sprayed all kinds of stuff on them," Holmes said.
Although the grant money, the first awarded ISM, will fund work in Pullman, he said the organization's supporters hope any subsequent clinical studies will be done in Spokane.
"There's a lot of excitement about making it happen," he said.
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Officers’ restraint earns Veteran commendations
Though they are not officially part of the military, police officers are often former servicemen, and all feel a kinship with the armed forces at home and abroad.
Dispatched Jan. 24 to a West Hillsboro neighborhood, Hillsboro Police Department officer Stephen Beaver and Sgt. Bruce Kelley encountered a 45-year-old disabled veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom who suffers from Post-traumatic Stress Disorder.
Dressed in full camouflage with a flak jacket, the distraught former Marine alternately held a jagged hunting knife menacingly to the officers and then to his neck.
“I recognized the name and knew this subject from previous contacts,” said Beaver, a former Marine himself and veteran of the Gulf War. “Over the past few years, I had built a rapport with (him) and learned he suffers from PTSD …
“I started to walk towards (him) and called out his name.”
The man held a homemade Molotov cocktail he made by stuffing a gasoline-soaked rag into and empty beer bottle, Beaver said. The man lit the cloth sticking out from the top, then threw it in the officers’ direction. When the bottle broke, gas erupted and spread fire all over the ground.
Beaver knew he had to make some fast decisions.
His Taser would not penetrate the man’s flak jacket, and with all the gasoline, the electric current from the device might ignite a fire, Beaver said. One of the HPD’s Force and Tactics instructors, Beaver knew he’d probably be well within protocol to use the deadly force of his sidearm. But his gut told him to use restraint.
“I told him I wasn’t there to hurt him but I wanted him to drop the knife and talk to me,” Beaver continued. But the man went into a shed in the back yard instead.
Through a window, Beaver could see more Molotov cocktails assembled. He watched horrified as the man lit another cloth fuse and threw it on the floor of the shed.
“Instantly flames went up everywhere around him,” Beaver wrote in his report. “The floor and surrounding area was now engulfed in flames.”
Disregarding his safety, Beaver rushed into the shed and pulled the man to safety, as the shed exploded into flames. The man begged to be shot and put out of his misery, but with Kelley’s help, he was handcuffed and calmed.
The officers drove the man to the Portland Veterans’ Administration hospital. He was agitated, but received the medical attention he needed.
Beaver’s quick actions diffused a potentially explosive situation, probably saving the man’s life, Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs Director Jim Willis said.
For drawing on experience and camaraderie in exhibiting restraint, both Beaver and Kelley were awarded the Director’s Commendation for Exemplary Service on Wednesday.
“There’s a vet alive today I hope will recover and live a long and fruitful life because of the actions of these two police officers,” Willis said.
Willis also had high praise for the HPD, one of the few departments in the state who have any training dealing with mentally distressed veterans. He thanked Chief Lila Ashenbrenner and former Chief Ron Louie, the former Navy man who hired Beaver.
“The importance of leadership is not ability,” Willis said. “It’s the ability to recognize ability in others.”
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