Huge environmental and health crises such as the use of Depleted Uranium (DU) munitions during the military activities against Iraq and the required responses are amongst the fields that Iraqi higher education institutions (HEIs) may have a crucial role. Similar international cases, such as Agent Orange (Vietnam), Three Mile Island (USA) and Chernobyl (Ukraine) were discussed, pointing out the consequences of participation/non participation of such institutions. Liberation of academic and research curriculums and programs from the strict controls of governmental authorities, and general modernization campaign for courses offered by the relevant institutions were found essential to define and meet the modern challenges and changes, via the adoption of national/international interaction and expertise exchange with similar institutes. An effective communication and information sharing system would be an important corner stone in any mutual cooperative effort; either inside HEIs community or between them and the relevant entities.