![]() ![]() Department of Defense and Veterans Administration started monitoring service members for DU exposure during the Gulf War, and this program is still running. In other instances, researchers studying Gulf War Illness in veterans did not find a difference in uranium concentrations in urine between exposed and unexposed groups. Some studies have observed uranium above natural concentrations in samples collected from soldiers serving in the Gulf War, Bosnia and Afghanistan who had embedded DU fragments in their bodies. Investigations have included reviews of military personnel exposed during and after combat. They include health studies of soldiers hit by DU shrapnel, and biomonitoring – collecting samples of urine, feces, fingernail clippings and hair from exposed individuals. ![]() Numerous studies have investigated the potential health effects of exposure to depleted uranium. Stan Honda/AFP via Getty Images Will these munitions create health or environmental risks on Ukrainian soil? Army 25 mm rounds of depleted uranium ammunition, photographed Feb. But it may become a health hazard if it is ingested or inhaled, or shrapnel fragments are retained in the body. The alpha radiation that DU emits is not strong enough to penetrate human skin, so just being near depleted uranium is not a health risk. It can also be used as ballast to balance weight and provide stability in ships and aircraft. Its high density makes it useful for stopping radiation in medical, research and nuclear facilities. and the U.K., Russia, France and China are known to have DU munitions in their arsenals, and other countries may be importing them.ĭU also has nonmilitary applications. Where have depleted uranium munitions been used?ĭepleted uranium munitions have been used in the Gulf War in 1990-1991, the Kosovo conflict in the Balkans in 1998-1999 and in U.S. Once the munition penetrates a target, it may fragment into smaller pieces and ignite, causing further damage. Advanced tanks use DU in their armor to protect against armor-piercing munitions.ĭU’s density also gives the munition a higher momentum, which enables it to push through materials. Formed into a projectile, such as a bullet or shell, its high density helps the munition penetrate into a target. This gives it some desirable characteristics in munitions.īecause DU is a byproduct of the nuclear fuel cycle, plenty of it is readily available. Why is depleted uranium used in munitions?ĭepleted uranium can be manufactured into a very dense material – about 1.7 times more dense than lead. In this process, they produce specific isotopes of other radioactive elements such as thorium, protactinium and radium. All isotopes of uranium decay over time, emitting both radiation and energetic particles and transforming into different chemical elements. U-235 has a half life of about 700 million years and represents about 0.72% of natural uranium.ĭepleted uranium is about 40% less radioactive than natural uranium. ![]() It takes approximately 4.5 billion years – roughly the life of the Earth – for half of a given quantity of uranium-238 to decay into other elements. U-238, the most abundant naturally occurring isotope, constitutes about 99.27% of all natural uranium. What’s left over after this process removes some of the U-235 is called depleted uranium.Īll uranium is radioactive, and each isotope has its own unique half-life. U-235 in fairly low concentrations is used as fuel in commercial nuclear reactors in high concentrations, it can power nuclear weapons.Įngineers use a process called enrichment to extract U-235 from natural uranium ore. The isotope U-235 is fissile, which means that it can be split in a reaction that releases a lot of energy. Depleted uranium is mainly U-238, with small amounts of other isotopes, including U-235. These isotopes are all uranium and have the same chemical characteristics, but they have slightly different masses, as indicated by the numbers 234, 235 and 238. Natural uranium is composed primarily of three isotopes: U-234, U-235 and U-238. Uranium, symbolized by the letter U, is a naturally occurring element that is radioactive. Health physicist Kathryn Higley explains what depleted uranium is and what’s known about potential health and environmental risks. But soldiers or civilians can be exposed to the uranium, either in combat or afterward. Britain has already delivered tanks to Ukraine equipped with depleted-uranium shells.ĭU munitions, developed in the 1970s, are not nuclear weapons and do not produce a nuclear explosion. The Biden administration has agreed to provide Ukraine with depleted uranium shells to equip M1A1 Abrams tanks that the U.S. ![]()
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