Depleted Uranium

Depleted uranium (DU) is mostly composed of a radioisotope of the element uranium. It has commercial or civilian uses such as counterweights in aircrafts, medical equipment, and containers to transport radioactive materials. It also has military uses such as defensive armor plating and armor piercing projectiles. On its ammunition uses there is controversy for it is believed to have potential long-term health effects due to its toxicity. (Wikipedia, Depleted Uranium; Introduction) When a nation goes to war to protect its welfare and that of their population, they go and destroy whatever threats their security. We all know the United States went to war with Iraq because the Iraqi government had possession of “nuclear weapons”. They went to war with a large amount of troops and even more ammunition. The question to ask is if the ammunition shot only kills the desired target.

There is not a number for the amount of bullets that will be fired in a war. No nation goes to a war knowing that the only casualties will be any threat into the security of the armed forces. Whenever there is a conflict that involves weapons, there is a risk for the civilian population to get caught by the live fire that does not ceases in the sought for victory. Troops advance through towns, airplanes bomb near hospitals, tanks firing at schools, or ships leveling an entire living complex. These are not examples to exaggerate. They are the sole reality whenever we turn on the television to see the events that are happening in the campaign on Iraq.

But if in top of these threats that already exist, you add the danger of ammunition and military equipment containing DU, what is the logic way to win a war without affecting the innocent. If a substance is radioactive and toxic, it is not meant to be used in the outside world or to be controlled by soldiers. It belongs in the laboratory where scientists can explore the whole properties of uranium, which for itself it is a very complex element.

DU is considered a radioactive and toxic hazard and when the ammunition penetrates armor or burns, it creates uranium oxides that can be inhaled or contaminate wounds. The toxicity of DU is greater when in an organism than its radiological hazard. Health effects depend on the extent of exposure and whether it was internal or external. Studies show that uranium accumulates in organs such as the liver, the spleen, and the kidneys. (Wikipedia, Depleted Uranium; Health considerations) This gives it access to the human body essential parts easily.

External exposure to radiation from pure depleted uranium is less of a concern because the alpha particle emitted by its isotopes travel only a few centimeters in air or can be stopped by a sheet of paper. The radiological dangers of pure depleted uranium are lower (60%) than those of naturally occurring uranium due to the removal of the more radioactive isotopes, as well as due to its long half-life (4.46 billion years). Depleted uranium differs from natural uranium in its isotopic composition, but its biochemistry is for the most part the same. (Wikipedia, Depleted Uranium; Radiological Hazards)

In 1996, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) gave an advisory opinion on the legality of the threat or use of nuclear weapons. They stated that “The terms have been selected and understood, in the practice of the States, in their ordinary sense as covering weapons whose prime, or even exclusive, effect is to poison or asphyxiate.” This gave DU ammunition and weaponry coverage from all treaties that made illegal nuclear weapons and tactics whose prime effect were to poison or asphyxiate. The ICJ made it legal to use DU for they determined that its purpose in war was to destroy material and kill soldiers through kinetic energy. (Wikipedia, Depleted Uranium; Legal status in weapons)

It is a mistake to lave a toxic material to be used for ammunition and weapons. The International Coalition to Ban Uranium Weapons consists of more than 100 organizations that seek for a ban on the production and military use of DU weapons. As well, France, Britain, the Netherlands, and the Czech Republic voted against a United Nations General Assembly resolution to hold a debate in 2009 about the effects of the use of armaments and ammunitions containing DU. This shows how organizations and governments are joining to remove DU from military inventory. It is only used only by 3 nations as of today. In December 2008, the UN General Assembly passed by 141 to four votes a resolution requesting to update the positions of organizations like the WHO, IAEA, and UNEP on the impact of DU weapons on human health and the environment. (Wikipedia, Depleted Uranium; Request for a moratorium on military use)

You do not have to be a soldier or be involved in a warlike conflict to be near DU. It has commercial uses that may expose consumers to this toxic material. It is used in the shielding from gamma radiation in industrial radiography cameras. It was also incorporated into dental porcelain (false teeth) to stimulate fluorescence of natural teeth. In 1999, concentrations of ten percent DU were being used in “jaune no. 17”, a yellow enamel powder being produced in France by an enamel pigment factory. This clearly shows how the consumer or industrial worker was exposed to a radioactive and toxic material through the products they may use on a daily basis. DU is also used in the trim weights of aircrafts. It is said that it does not possess any harm as long as the plating is intact. But in case of a crash, the DU is to be spread along the crash site and contain a harmful effect for the nature surrounding it. As well, in case of a fire in the airplane, the heat will cause the DU to oxidize to a fine and toxic powder that can be harmful for passengers and crew of the aircraft. (Wikipedia, Depleted Uranium; Civilian applications)

Studies on the airborne exposure to depleted uranium showed that uranium combustion product particles would quickly settle out of the air and thus could not affect populations more than a few kilometers from target areas, and that such particles, if inhaled, would remain undissolved in the lung for a great length of time and thus could be detected in urine. Burning uranium droplets violently produce a gaseous vapor comprising about half of the uranium in their original mass. Uranyl ion contamination in uranium oxides has been detected in the residue of DU munitions fires. (Wikipedia, Depleted Uranium; Chemical toxicity)

This is put in a way the military would like us to read it. This are pretty words hiding an ugly truth. DU has health concerning properties but not as much as you might think. The effects are only dangerous in a radius of some kilometers and if inhaled it can be detected in the urine. But the real problem is that when a ship is firing millions of rounds and all of those DU shells are put together, there is a larger radius than some kilometers big. And if it is toxic and radioactive, it is not meant for human beings to inhale it.

The Gulf War Syndrome is an illness reported to affect combat veterans from the 1991 Persian Gulf War. Its major symptoms include immune system disorders and birth defects. Other symptoms of this syndrome have been wide-ranging, including chronic fatigue, loss of muscle control, headaches, dizziness and loss of balance, memory problems, muscle and joint pain, indigestion, skin problems, shortness of breath, and even insulin resistance. It has some probable causes like the anthrax vaccine, the use of chemical weapons, infectious diseases such as leishmaniasis, from sandfly bites, and fungal mycoplasma parasites. (Wikipedia, Gulf War Syndrome; Introduction)

But one of the main causes is the use of DU. DU was used in tank kinetic energy penetrator and autocannon rounds on a larger scale for the first time during the Gulf War. There have been many studies that show how harmful the depleted uranium was to the combatants and the civilians around the warzone. For example, a study showed that Gulf War veterans contained dangerous levels of DU in their urine. DU has recently been identified as a neurotoxin, meaning it contains poisonous components that damage the neurons and the nervous system of the body, which is the main controller of our body. A 2001 study showed that Gulf War veterans showed an increase by 1.8 (men) and 2.8 (women) times in the risk of having children with birth defects. (Wikipedia, Gulf War Syndrome; Possible Causes: Depleted Uranium)

It is no longer a question if DU is harmful to human beings. It should be removed from the inventory of bullets and other commercial products. It is a toxic element that can cause harm to the environment, but most important it can hurt human beings. Disasters strike without notice. If one is prepared the consequences may not be as lamentable as they can be. Having DU as part of the weapons a nation uses to invade another country is a risk they are taking. It affects their own soldiers for DU can be harmful if it is not managed with care or if it catches fire. Most important, the major threat is not to those who fight the war, but to those innocent lives that are put in play every time a bullet is fired. The true risk is for the people who have nothing to do with the decision of a nation going to war and still may get health problems or death in the worse case just for the sake of politician’s bad decisions.