Depleted uranium?

Question

Depleted uranium is used in American weapons and has been since the 1991 Gulf War. This has created a huge controversy. Who agrees with using DU and who disagrees with it and why?

If you make any specific claims, back them up if possible please.

This is for a research paper I'm doing. I'm just curious what public perception is.

In case anyone is interested in some real facts... many studies have been done on DU, including by environmental organizations such as Greenpeace and Human Rights Watch. Other organizations, such as the UN Environmental Progrm and the World Health Organization have also conducted studies. There is one glaring common notation made in all of them: Depleted Uranium has never been found to be responsible for ANY adverse health effects. With the exceptions of veterans who have DU fragments still in their bodies, uranium exposure in combat is less than what the average American experiences in everyday life. Gulf War Syndrome and all the bad stuff experienced by Iraqi civilians after the 1991 Gulf War has been generally attributed to Mustard Gas and other stuff used during the Iran-Iraq War and by oil fires and pesticides and chemicals let loose in the air during the war.
Interesting huh? So much for depleted uranium, the curse of America.

Answer 1

The supposed 'dangers' of DU are a media myth. People have this really bad habit of assuming that anything related to nuclear is deadly.

DU has a similar human health hazard profile as lead. In fact - for people working with DU in an industrial setting the only safety requirements are to avoid making uranium dust or powder (because it is a fire hazard) and to wash their hands before eating.

In fact DU is about as radioactive as a similar amount of granite.

All of the claims about the dangers of DU are based on hype - not science.

Answer 2

DU is a great Round to use against Tanks. I doubt a TC (Tank Commander) is going to give a fire command to load SABOT in the tube now since such targets are not being used the terrorist.

The HEAT round or Co-ax machine gun would be more effective against a softer targets like a truck, APC or building.

As for DU poisoning, yes, ingesting or breathing it in are pretty much the only way to get poisoning.

NOTE: this is a Heavy Metal Poisoning. The Radioactive poisoning issue is a Red Herring. DU is less radioactive that natural U. That is why they call it depleted.

http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/du.htm

It is dangerous when hits a target and vaporizes inside the target.

Then again, being in a tank getting hit with a long rod penatrator, I would be way more worried more about getting sucked through the 2" back hole vaccum when the SABOT round goes through the turret verses any DU poisoning issues.

World Health Organization Kosovo report and fact sheets. Their report even disprove the Anti-war DU crowds arguements.

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs257/en/

http://www.who.int/ionizing_radiation/pub_meet/en/Report_WHO_depleted_uranium_Eng.pdf


I've had addtional NBC class training and served as a Company NBC officer. My rule would have been that you wear your protective mask and gloves & boots if you had to go into a shot up tank or PC. wash up afterwards.

Then again, it would be the same rule if my guys were doing touch up painting on the M1 tank. The Chemically Resistant Paint is really bad for your lungs!

As far as I can tell by the research the DU would not travel farther than a few hundred feet from the destroyed vehicle. Also, since it usually only takes 1 round to kill a tank, the amount of uranium would be blended into the ground.

Finally, Tank on Tank engagements in GW1 and this recent invasion did not take place in town and cities.... I doubt the stories of how hundreds of little children are getting "DU poisoning". What are the doing? Are Iraqi parents driving out several miles to a burnt out tank and then the parents let the kids play on burnt out RUSTY and SHARP METAL vehicles?

I think M1A1 mike golf can answer some DU questions better than I can.

Update for OP.. Correct on the Mustard Gas - It has been known to cause birth defects.

Answer 3

I say use it. The radioactive content of a depleted uranium/tungsten round (such as that used by the M1A1, Challenger and Leapord Tanks, as well as the guns used on the A-10 Warthog and AH-64 Apache) is about the same (<1% radioactive material) as the iridium used to make the average wristwatch glow in the dark, as opposed to 5-6% for nuclear reactor fuel, or 8-10% for weapons grade material, there is no real risk of radiation poisoining to either those troops that use it, or (gasp at the thought!) to our enemies, although they have bigger problems than radiation to worry about.

What makes the APDU (armor piercing, depleted uranium) round so effective, as used by the M1A1 Abrams is this.

Uranium and tungsten are very dense materials, something like two or three times the density of steel. The M1A1 uses a 120mm smooth bore cannon. The round is actually a 40mm dart with an adapter collar that allows it to be fixed on the casing for a 120mm round. Once that round is fired, the collar falls away, and you have a ten pound or so projectile moving much faster than something that weight and size were ever meant to. So when it strikes a target, it uses sheer kinetic energy (as opposed to the chemical reaction of explosives) to punch through armor, something like a million pounds per square inch striking an area the diameter of a #2 pencil (about 1/4").

Why don't we put greenpeace downrange and let them test the radioactivity.

BTW- Raw uranium (yellow cake) is actually comprised of <1% radioactive material. Only when it is refined does it become lethally radioactive. Nobody seems to worry about that though, do they?

Answer 4

DU is one military urban legend that will not die. It is one of the favorites of the so called "anti-war" and "anti-military" crowd. For the record on one charge: Everything is radioactive. DU is the by product of enriching uranium. For all practical purposes its radioactive level is so low that you could sleep all night with a hunk of it under your pillow and suffer no ill effects except for a stiff neck. The danger with DU is if you inhale it. Just as you would be in danger if you inhaled tungsten dust which is the most widely used metal for penetrators in the world today and with machine tools. Or lead which is used in bullets. But as far as a long term danger from radioactive exposure it is non existent.

Answer 5

In any war, it's a matter of who has the better weapons and how they use them. We have DU for good reasons. Nothing can stop them and it is used to skirt the tanks as a kind of bullet proof armor plating. If the enemy doesn't have it then tough shite. Their loss is our gain.

Answer 6

DU makes good projectiles because of its high density and it is available as a by-product from nuclear power plants, but...

It is still radioactive so it probably isn't the most responsible thing to be scattering it all over battlegrounds that people will inhabit in the future.

Answer 7

If you need armor piercing bullets, DU all the way.

If you aren't fighting against an enemy with armored vehicles, then it is overkill.

Especially when your enemy is blowing you up left and right with low tech.

Answer 8

The effects of DU as a weapon are great, The effects of DU health wise is horrible. So in essence we are slowly killing our soldiers to kill an enemy.

Answer 9

If you ingested it or breathed any of the explosive residue.then you are probable going to be sick ,like in desert war syndrome,they figured out that was the culprit .so ya go use it ,makes a good bomb better.bush will have his military use it,and breath it to...no comment...

Answer 10

I agree with its use for its devastating affect on targets.