Depleted Uranium (DU) Bombs

[Guest evenflowDDT]

From Wired (note, I'm only using excerpts but the entire article is available there):

 

U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf may be armed with radioactive bombs and missiles hundreds of times more potent than similar weapons used during the Gulf War and the U.N. military campaign in Bosnia.

 

As evidence that the United States is expanding its use of depleted uranium weapons beyond the relatively small 30-millimeter to 120-millimeter armor-piercing bullets and shells used by tanks and tank-killer aircraft in the Gulf and Balkans, weapons watchdogs cite the so-called "bunker-buster" bombs and missiles unleashed on Afghanistan.

 

The Pentagon has not confirmed the use of uranium or depleted uranium in the bunker-busters, and it has refused to identify the composition of the dense-metal warheads that enable the missiles to penetrate structures deeply buried under earth, steel and reinforced concrete.

 

But critics such as British researcher Dai Williams contend that only uranium -- in one form or another -- possesses the density and other characteristics necessary to achieve the penetration levels attributed to such weapons as the 2,000-pound AGM 130C air-to-ground cruise missile, and the guided bomb unit, or GBU, series of laser-guided hard-target penetrators intended to pierce bunkers and other reinforced structures.

 

Williams and others also claim that patents covering conversion or modification of earlier generation bombs for use as bunker-busters indicate that depleted uranium is being used in these weapons.

 

For example, the patent application for a narrow-profile version of the BLU-109B bomb (which is delivered by a GBU-24) specifically refers to penetrating bodies made of tungsten or depleted uranium.

 

"If they're really using tungsten, why keep it classified?" Williams said.

 

...

 

Perhaps the most extraordinary official endorsement of depleted uranium's benign nature came from former Secretary of Defense William Cohen, who once deemed it as safe as "leaded paint." Federal law has banned the use of leaded paint in residential structures since 1978 because of its extreme toxicity.

 

...

 

In early 1991, the Army sent physicist Doug Rokke to Iraq as part of the task force charged with assessing the after-battle effects of the estimated 300 tons of depleted-uranium weapons expended during the Gulf War. In the mid-1990s, he was recalled to active duty and made director of a project intended to develop training and management procedures for handling depleted uranium contamination.

 

According to Rokke, "we are seeing adverse health effects among the entire group of warriors exposed during combat in Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait (and) civilians exposed in Iraq" and at U.S. and foreign installations where depleted uranium weapon testing and training has been carried out.

 

Rokke also said the Pentagon was aware of "the probable hazards" prior to the Gulf War, a contention bolstered by an Army Armament, Munitions and Chemical Command report -- issued shortly before Iraq invaded Kuwait -- that stated that depleted uranium is "linked to cancer when exposures are internal."

 

It seems that Gulf War Syndrome is going to be making a big-time come-back... Iraqi soldiers (but who cares, they're the enemy, right?), civilians (ahh, but that's the cancer of LIBERATION~!), U.S. troops (hey, they signed up for it, it's not like they were drafted or anything), everybody loses in modern war! I wonder if the effects will be so widespread because of the increased amount this time that the Pentagon will be forced to admit the connection to Gulf War Syndrome?

[Guest DrTom]

It seems that unless someone eats the uranium component -- unlikely, IMO -- that they're spared the worst of the health risks. The rest is just speculation. Remember how saccharine and radon were going to Kill Us All? Of course, it's not good to be constantly exposed to something that's radioactive, but to say this is the cause of Gulf War Syndrome seems to be something of a reach, based on what you posted.

[Guest evenflowDDT]

Based strictly on that article, you're right - I forget I'm around people who might not all believe there's a link. However...

 

...in 1999, not only did the Pentagon warn NATO of health risks from DU, and fears/studies of the effects of such radiation existed all throughout Europe, to the point where the Italian government pleaded for a moratorium on such weapons

 

...a 2000 report ordered by Senator Russell D. Feingold and House Representatives Bob Filner and Lane Evans, and to determine "whether exposure to [DU] could be a cause of the illnesses that many servicemembers have experienced since the Gulf War" found, amongst other things, that "the scientific understanding of DU's effect on health is still evolving" and that although in the cases they found on direct link between uranium and cancer or kidney failure, "most DU-exposed veterans with embedded fragments continue to have elevated uranium levels in urine, which were related, in some cases, to lowered performance on computerized tests...and to high levels of the prolactin hormone associated with reproductive health. The clinical significance and long-term health consequences of these findings are undetermined."

 

More from the second link:

When a DU munition penetrates a hard target, it breaks into fragments and fine particles that ignite easily, and it produces uranium dust particles that can be inhaled or ingested.  [Exposure of U.S. troops during the Gulf War] included incidents in which U.S. tanks mistakenly fired DU armor-piercing munitions into other U.S. combat vehicles.

...

Personnel may have also been exposed to DU, by inhalation, during and following a fire at Camp Doha, Kuwait, in which DU munitions detonated and burned.  Other personnel may have been exposed to DU as they passed through and inhaled smoke from burning DU, handled spent DU munitions, or entered DU-contaminated vehicles on the battlefield or in salvage yards.

...

Following their service in the Persian Gulf War, many veterans experienced health problems such as fatigue, muscle and joint pain, gastrointestinal complaints, headaches, memory loss, and sleep disturbances.

...

Because DU is a low-level radioactive heavy metal, Department of Defense believes that servicemembers' exposures to it should be kept as low as reasonably possible.

 

Exposure can result from simple inhalation and contact. You don't have to consume it.

 

...The American Gulf War Veterans Association estimates 300,000 of the 700,000 troops serving at the time of the Gulf War conflict are sick as a result of their military duty...The Department of Defense acknowledges some 90,000 veterans have symptoms ranging from headaches and joint pain to more serious problems, according to Lt. Col. Dian Lawhon, of the department's Office of the Special Assistant for Gulf War Illnesses. About 20,000 veterans in this group have undiagnosed illnesses.

 

...a Ministry of Defense document from 1997 stated that: "Inhalation of insoluble uranium dioxide dust will lead to accumulation in the lungs with very slow clearance - if any," it says: "Although chemical toxicity is low, there may be localised radiation damage of the lung leading to cancer."

 

Even if DUs aren't the cause of Gulf War Syndrome (I mean for God's sake, it's radiation specifically crafted to penetrate objects much more solid than the human anatomy), the fact is that the effects of the last war were far beyond the "literal" (can't think of a better term) casualties occurring at the time. And since the military is stepping up this time, one can only expect there to be even more cases of Gulf War Syndrome in the years to come, regardless of how quickly the upcoming "war" ends.

[Guest EricMM]

(I mean for God's sake, it's radiation specifically crafted to penetrate objects much more solid than the human anatomy)

 

Strictly speaking IIRC, the radioactive effects of DU shells, if any, have nothing to do with their use. They're used becuase they are so dense and able to hit harder and stay together better until they detonate.

[Guest DrTom]

I see where you're going with it, FLow, and it certainly looks like there's a connection to be made. Then again, it's only common sense that unprotected exposure to something that's radioactive isn't good for you. Isn't it possible, though, that, in the twelve years since we last deployed DUs in Iraq, we've learned more about protecting our soldiers and avoiding the effects, whatever they may be?

[Guest evenflowDDT]

I see where you're going with it, FLow, and it certainly looks like there's a connection to be made. Then again, it's only common sense that unprotected exposure to something that's radioactive isn't good for you. Isn't it possible, though, that, in the twelve years since we last deployed DUs in Iraq, we've learned more about protecting our soldiers and avoiding the effects, whatever they may be?

For the sake of our boys I certainly hope so... but for all the talk of weapons advancements I haven't heard anything about radioactive prevention. I hope they're just not telling us, 'cuz I've seen some photos of Gulf War kids' birth defects and that's some sick shit. I've given up on trying to stop the war, for the obvious reason that it never would've worked, but I just want to make sure there as few of these after-effects as possible. Modern war is very frightening to me, one of the reasons I opposed it so greatly, even against a man like Saddam.

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

For the record, Uranium is the most dense naturally occuring element at a whopping 238 g/mol. Weapon grade U is a little lighter at 235. The depleted stuff I'm not sure about, but I'm betting it's even heavier.