What is the DEAL with depleted uranium?

[gsmoove23]

Could someone tell me the reasons we use depleted uranium shells/bullets in our military? Is it simply because this is a heavy metal? are there other reasons? How radioactive is the stuff, does the word 'depleted' mean it is no longer dangerous? Do the advantages it offers outweigh the obvious problems? By using it in a military action aren't we causing major problems for local inhabitants for years to come?

Ever since I first heard about that Navy firing range in Puerto Rico I have been mystified by the fact that our military feels it is appropriate to be flinging bits of radioactive metal around willy-nilly. Whats even more amazing to me is that every time I hear a news report that mentions it they never find it necessary to explain what depleted uranium is and why we use it.

Curious, armchair generals please respond.

[Japher]

quick google search yielded this web site


Not harmful, good armor piercing due to high density.

[Inverse Icarus]

yup. it's for bustin up heavy tank hulls.

[Sava]

It's a very dense and hard metal. It's very good for piercing armor. Also, it spawls when it hits a target. Spawling is quite devastating to the occupants of a vehicle. The Abrams tanks use a depleted uranium round that don't contain an explosive shell. The sheer kinetic energy obliterates its target.

It's radioactivity is depleted. As for being harmless? Well, I wouldn't want to have some depleted uranium around my sack for any amount of time. But feel free if you think it is harmless.

[Jon Miller]

if you look into it's radiation effects, is is quite harmless unless you are breathing it in or something

than it is really bad

Jon Miller

[Sandman]

DU is highly toxic. This is main problem with it, not the radioactivity.

[Arrian]

I think extensive testing would have to be done in order to be sure of the harmful effects (or lack thereof) of DU. The Army is unlikely to step up and do those tests. It is in their interest not to. It's apparently a very effective material to use for armor-piercing shells.

The problem with exposure to something like DU is that it's probably tough to tell what is due to the DU exposure and what could be due to growing up next to a chemical plant, or smoking a pack a day, or some other exposure to something else entirely.

-Arrian

[Japher]

Yeah, Sava, I work with nasty chemicals, elements, and compounds all day, so my definition of harmless is probably not the best definition to go on.

[Arrian]

@ Japher.

-Arrian

[Jon Miller]

I don't know much about toxicity

Jon Miller

[gsmoove23]

It seems the jury is out on whether it is harmless. Japher, the site you gave me has a number of links, some that aren't too sure that DU is safe, others think it is hazardous. Of course, there is a Rand corp. study saying its completely safe but this also came from your site http://www.iacenter.org/depleted/mettoc.htm

I can't help but think of the oft quoted statistic of cancer rates rising 600% in Iraq after the Gulf War.

[Arrian]

Just like the oft-quoted figure of 500,000 iraqi children killed by the evil Americans?

Not that I'd trust the Rand study either.

-Arrian

[TCO]

It is an alpha emitter. So if just set it next to your nutsack it won't do much. but if you breath it, it will lodge in your lungs and stay there for long periods of time (can't remember if it is months or forever). If you drink it, it passes from your body quickly, but it does have some chemical toxicity (like lead).

[Sava]

Originally posted by Arrian
Just like the oft-quoted figure of 500,000 iraqi children killed by the evil Americans?

Not that I'd trust the Rand study either.

-Arrian

500,000+ people have died in Iraq since GW1 because of various reasons. That is a fact. Who is responsible? Well that's a different story.

[Sava]

Originally posted by GP
It is an alpha emitter. So if just set it next to your nutsack it won't do much. but if you breath it, it will lodge in your lungs and stay there for long periods of time (can't remember if it is months or forever). If you drink it, it passes from your body quickly, but it does have some chemical toxicity (like lead).

Again, I'll take your word for it. But I'm not about to let that **** near my boys.