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Depleted uranium: the health debate
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| 26 April 2006 |
By Andy Oppenheimer JCBW Editor
A radiation dose from depleted uranium would be about 60 per cent of that from purified natural uranium with the same mass. The radioactive particles are largely insoluble and can remain in the environment for many years. The harmful effects of depleted uranium are caused primarily by inhaling or ingesting particles and fragments released after detonation, or when such particles come into contact with open wounds. The substance is also genotoxic, meaning it chemically alters DNA.
Studies by the US Department of Defense, the UK Ministry of Defence, the International Atomic Energy Agency and other bodies have concluded that there is no connection between poor health in servicemen (for example, the range of ailments grouped under the term 'Gulf War Syndrome', which include fatigue, memory loss, bronchitis and many other medical conditions) and their exposure to depleted uranium.
However, according to a paper published in The Lancet medical journal in 1998, the death rate per 1,000 Iraqi children under five years of age increased from 2.3 in 1989 to 16.6 in 1993, and cases of lymphoblastic leukaemia more than quadrupled. It has been argued, however, that this was caused by the Iraqi Army's use of chemical weapons.
Uncertainties remain about the levels of depleted uranium intake that could occur in different situations on the battlefield. There is a lack of good experimental data on the amounts that could be inhaled by people inside or near tanks struck by a depleted uranium penetrator, and an almost complete lack of any measurements of depleted uranium in urine samples taken soon after exposure to a depleted uranium impact aerosol. There is also a lack of data on populations affected by bombing.
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