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Update:
United States
2:06 AM CEST, September 8, 2023 A look at the uranium-based ammunition the US is sending to Ukraine. The U.S. has announced it’s sending depleted uranium anti-tank rounds to Ukraine, following Britain’s lead in sending the controversial munitions to help Kyiv push through Russian lines in its grueling counteroffensive. The U.S. announcement about sending depleted uranium anti-tank rounds to Ukraine came late today during a visit to Kyiv by Secretary of State Blinken. When Britain announced in March it was sending Ukraine the depleted uranium rounds, Russia warned that their use would open the door for further escalation. In March, Kremlin spokesman Peskov said that the U.S. decision to supply depleted uranium ammunition to Ukraine was “very bad news.” He claimed that their use by the U.S. in the former Yugoslavia has led to “a galloping rise” in cancers and other illnesses and affected the next generations living in those areas. “The same situation will inevitably await the Ukrainian territories where they will be used,” Peskov said in a conference call with reporters. “The responsibility for that will lie entirely on the U.S. leadership.” The Pentagon has defended the use of the munitions. The U.S. military 'has procured, stored, and used depleted uranium rounds for several decades, since these are a longstanding element of some conventional munitions,' Pentagon spokesman Marine Corps Lt. Col. Garn said in a statement in March. Depleted uranium munitions, as well as depleted uranium-enhanced armor, were used by U.S. tanks in the 1991 Gulf War against Iraq’s T-72 tanks and again in the invasion of Iraq in 2003, as well as in Serbia and in Kosovo. The rounds have 'saved the lives of many service members in combat,' Garn said, adding that “other countries have long possessed depleted uranium rounds as well, including Russia.” In a social media post on Telegram, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zakharova slammed the U.S. decision to give Ukraine the munitions, writing, “What is this: a lie or stupidity?” She said an increase in cancer has been noted in places where ammunition with depleted uranium was used. U.S. troops have questioned whether some of the ailments they now face were caused by inhaling or being exposed to fragments after a munition was fired or their tanks were struck, damaging uranium-enhanced armor. Depleted uranium is a byproduct of the uranium enrichment process needed to create nuclear weapons. The rounds retain some radioactive properties, but they can’t generate a nuclear reaction like a nuclear weapon would, RAND nuclear expert and policy researcher Geist said. The depleted uranium is extremely dense - more dense than lead - a quality that makes it highly attractive as a projectile. It just keeps going through the armor - and it heats it up so much that it catches on fire. When fired, a depleted uranium munition becomes 'essentially an exotic metal dart fired at an extraordinarily high speed,' RAND senior defense analyst Boston said. The 120 mm rounds will be used to arm the 31 M1A1 Abrams tanks the U.S. plans to deliver to Ukraine in the fall, he said. In the 1970s, such armor-piercing rounds were developed by the U.S. during the Cold War to destroy Soviet tanks, including the same T-72 tanks that Ukraine now faces in its counteroffensive. The U.S. Army has since added depleted uranium to composite tank armor to strengthen it. It also has added depleted uranium to the munitions fired by the Air Force’s A-10 close air support attack plane, known as the tank killer. The low-level radioactivity of a depleted uranium round 'is a bug, not a feature' of the munition, Geist said, and if the U.S. military could find another material with the same density but without the radioactivity it would likely use that instead. The U.S. military is still developing depleted uranium munitions, notably the M829A4 armor-piercing round for the M1A2 Abrams main battle tank, Boston said. The U.S. military has studied the impact of depleted uranium on U.S. troops in the Gulf War and to date has said it has not found higher risk of cancers or other illnesses in those servicemembers who were exposed. It has said it will continue to monitor those who were exposed. Depleted uranium munitions' emission of low levels of radiation has led the U.N. nuclear watchdog to urge caution when handling and warn of the possible dangers of exposure. The handling of such ammunition “should be kept to a minimum and protective apparel (gloves) should be worn,” the International Atomic Energy Agency cautions, adding that “a public information campaign may, therefore, be required to ensure that people avoid handling the projectiles. “This should form part of any risk assessment and such precautions should depend on the scope and number of ammunitions used in an area.” The IAEA notes that depleted uranium is mainly a toxic chemical, as opposed to a radiation hazard. Particles in aerosols can be inhaled or ingested, and while most would be excreted again, some can enter the blood stream and cause kidney damage. “High concentrations in the kidney can cause damage and, in extreme cases, renal failure,' the IAEA says. (Source: apnews)
Iraq (2005 -) During the 1991 Gulf War 140.000 tonnes of traditional bombs were dropped Iraq. Depleted uranium weapons were used extensively. More than 400 tonnes were used in southern Iraq. During the 2003 invasion and occupation, 1000-2000 tonnes were used throughouth much of Iraq. The background levels of radiation is Basra pre-2003 were 0.008 Roentgens. After 2003 levels rose to 5 Roentgens. An expposure of 500 roentgens in five hours is usually lethal for human beings. Official Iraqi government statistics show that, prior to the outbreak of the First Gulf War in 1991, the rate of cancer cases in Iraq was 40 out of 100,000 people. By 1995, it had increased to 800 out of 100,000 people, and, by 2005, it had doubled to at least 1,600 out of 100,000 people. Current estimates show the increasing trend continuing. Cancer rates and congenital birth malformations in Fallujah, attributed to what many doctors and scientists believe to be weapons used by the US military during two brutal sieges against the city in 2004, have been referenced as "the highest rate of genetic damage in any population ever studied. Birth defect incidence rates in Fallujah are approximately 14 times the rate in the Hiroshima and Nagasaki areas of Japan, where the US dropped nuclear bombs." (Source: Webapps.AlJazeera): https://tinyurl.com/4efnu9ft
See also: 'Depleted uranium' / InternationalAtomicEnergyAgency:
( In indention 8 ): "What studies have been done on people exposed to Uranium or DU?
'The results of these studies have been published and the main conclusion is that the war veterans do show a small (i.e., not statistically significant) increase in mortality rates, but this excess is due to accidents rather than disease. This cannot be linked to any exposures to DU'.
Note: The IAEA's referenced literature is only from before 2001.
Would you be kind enough to update it ?
( In indention 8 ): "For information on doses and risks to miners, see:
Lubin J., Boice J.D., Edling C. et al., Radon and lung cancer risk: A joint analyses of 11 underground miners studies, US Department of Health and Human Services, NIH Publication 94-3644, Washington D.C. (1994).
For information on the health of people working with uranium, see:
McGeoghegan D. and Binks K., J Radiol Prot 20 11-137 (2000).
For information on studies of military personnel exposed or potentially exposed to DU see:
M A McDiarmid et alia, Environ. Res. A 82 168-180 (2000), G J Macfarlane et alia, The Lancet 356 17-21 (2000)'.
( In indention 12 ). 'What are the potential routes of exposure from depleted uranium ammunitions?
For information on properties of airborne uranium, see:
Scripsick, R.C., Crist, K.C, Tillery, M.I., Soderholm, S.C., Differences in in vitro dissolution properties of settled and airborne uranium material, Report presented at Conference on occupational radiation safety in mining, Toronto, Ontario (Canada) 15-18 Oct 1984, Los Alamos National Lab, NM (USA) (1984)'.
(Source: InternationalAtomicEnergyAgency): https://www.iaea.org/topics/spent-fuel-management/depleted-uranium
or: https://tinyurl.com/2fxnjsfb
Would you be kind enough to update it ?
Thank You, in advance!
"Danube"
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