Depleted uranium article

[leafer]

As a long time listener of KPFK.org, a station that did an extensive covering of DU and the Gulf War Syndrome, though I wouldn't drink machine oil, but if I agree to bath in it, would you skinny dip in a pool of DU?

[GGTharos]

Would you skinnydip in a pool of lead or mercury? Very, very close to the same thing.

[Kuky]

Just for the record here, DU radiation is not that dangerous normally as DU U238 mostly, radiates Alpha particle which are large and heavy form of radiation which travels only few CM in air and are easily stopped by skin and can't penetrate it (but will damage your skin if exposed for long time) but what is dangerous is if U238 is inhaled as very fine dust.. then it is very damaging to your body and can and does cause cancers.

[GGTharos]

... primarily because it is a very toxic heavy metal. While the radiation is there, at this point it's a secondary consideration.

[Kuky]

It's different cause of damage to your body GG, both DU and Lead for example are not dangerous even if you hold them both in hand but if they enter your bloodstream etc you are in trouble, they damage your body in deffirent way... DU radiates Alpha particles and lead doesn't so you shouldn't continue saying DU is dangerous because it is a heavy metal and not for it's radioactivity.

[GGTharos]

Yes Kuky, you are technically correct (the best kind of correct! :D ) but on the other hand, it's a little bit like saying that drinking too much water will kill you. You would need a LOT of DU to suffer significant radioactivity damage. When I say a LOT, I mean a heckuvalot more than those rounds. And you'd have to be around it /all/ the time, is very large quantities. This isn't your extremely dangerous radioactive fuel where you die in 45min the moment you get exposed to the stuff while it's having a chain reaction.

 

It isn't even as dangerous as X-Rays in that respect (at elast within the context of using DU weapons) and where ugly stuff -does- happen, it ends up being highly localized, and then nature takes care of it.

 

It's different cause of damage to your body GG, both DU and Lead for example are not dangerous even if you hold them both in hand but if they enter your bloodstream etc you are in trouble, they damage your body in deffirent way... DU radiates Alpha particles and lead doesn't so you shouldn't continue saying DU is dangerous because it is a heavy metal and not for it's radioactivity.

[nscode]

It can't penetrate skin, but if taken with food or air, it will radiate from inside you. Even if the concentration is too low to be toxic, it's enough to cause harm by radiation (much slower than by toxicity).

 

And while it is used in civilian applications, it is used in a controlled fashion. It's very unlikely that it will get into aerosol form from an airliner, whereas it is very likely that it will get into aerosol form from being used as a warhead or armor.

Edited July 25, 2009 by nscode

[Kuky]

X-Rays are also damaging only in regular exposure, which is not very frequent at all, body tisue has enough time to regenerate, but if you were to have X-rays taked every moths for a while, you would get more damage to your body then it can take... so how much of DU is bad for you is open to discussion, I would not though trust military on their research results and statements on it, but rather scientific personnel. Question is how much quantity is there in air or dust on destroyed tanks etc that lay on war affected area for months if not years, and local kids play on them... I would call that long term exposure of those kids and especially since young people are more susceptible to such tissue damage (everyone knows young skin is more sensitive to pretty much everything). Also in area like Iraq it's always dry and dusty... gives more chance to DU dust to raise in air and gets inhaled by locals... so how much do you think you would like to inhale of this DU dust, that is the question :D

[GGTharos]

Yep nscode, but the question is, how much exposure?

 

Kuky, it isn't this simple. Natural processes dilute the DU; as in particles/area lessen.