Let's Get The Story Straight 12 April 2004

DU or DU coating?

In this specific case, the author used the phrase "depleted uranium coated bullets" in one place and "depleted uranium tipped weapons" in another. The words "coated" and "tipped" are entirely wrong, and tend to leave the impression that not very much DU is involved. After all, take a bullet, paint it with a DU coating, and how much DU have you really used?

In fact, a 30mm DU bullet (those used by the A-10A Thunderbolt II aircraft) is almost SOLID depleted uranium (a small amount of titanium (1%) or molybdenum (2%) is added to make for a stronger alloy). Each shell contains 300 grams of DU. That's 2/3 of a pound! These are the bullets fired from the 7-barrel GAU8A cannon in the A-10A's nose. A 4 second burst from this gun delivers between 140 and 280 rounds, depending on the firing rate. 140 rounds spread approximately 93 pounds (42 kg) of DU into the environment. If a fully loaded gun, with its ammunition capacity of 1350 rounds, were fired till empty, 891 pounds (405 kg) of DU munitions will have been expended.

105mm and 120mm tank penetrators used by the US and UK armies in their Abrams and Challenger tanks are much larger. Each of these shells contains a long rod of SOLID depleted uranium alloy. Imagine a fat broom handle made out of DU. The DU rod in a 120mm penetrator is 27 inches (68 cm) long. The 105mm shells contain between 7.41 and 8.08 pounds (3.36 kg to 3.67 kg) of DU, and the 120mm shells contain between 6.90 and 8.69 pounds (3.13 kg and 3.95 kg) of DU.

As you can see, using the terms 'tipped' and 'coated' in a description of these munitions totally misrepresents the amount of environmental contamination from DU weapons. Military spokespersons are more than happy to let this error slip by.

Alpha, beta, gamma...

Another misconception is one that is perpetrated (purposely) by military spokespersons and is seldom corrected by the anti-DU activists debating them. "Depleted uranium is an alpha emitter," they will say, "and alpha particles are the least penetrating type of radiation." Everything in that statement is 100% correct. But the statement itself tells only half of the story - the half the military would like you to believe.

The nature of radioactive decay is such that alpha or beta emission from a radioactive atom results in that atom's being transformed into a new and different element. When an atom of U- 238 (the 99.8% component of DU) emits an alpha particle, it decays into an atom of thorium, Th-234, which is also radioactive, but which is a BETA emitter. Furthermore, with a half life of only 24.1 days, this thorium atom will soon decay, emitting its beta particle, and transforming itself into an atom of protactinium, Pa- 234, which is ALSO a beta emitter, and has a half life of 6.75 hours. So within hours, that atom also decays and emits its beta particle. Both of these beta decays are accompanied by strong GAMMA ray emission as well. A gamma ray is a very high-energy X-ray, and is extremely penetrating.

To make a long story short, a sample of DU fresh out of the processing plant where it has just been purified, emits only alpha particles. But within days, testing that same sample will reveal beta and gamma radiation as well. After the sample is five or six months old, the concentrations of Th-234 and Pa-234 will have built up enough so that the amount of beta and gamma radiation from the sample will each be TWICE the amount of alpha radiation.

Thus external exposure to DU entails exposure to alpha, beta and gamma radiation. Although the skin will block alpha particles, beta and gamma radiation can penetrate beyond the dead outer skin layers and create damage to living tissue. Beta particles can penetrate up to 2 cm, while gamma radiation (which, through a process called the Compton effect) generates beta particle radiation all along its track through the body. Not all external exposure to alpha radiation is harmless, either. Cataracts, for example, can be caused by exposure to alpha radiation.

Just how radioactive is DU? I read a transcript the other day of a radio interview with a well known and widely traveled anti-DU activist. When her host asked if DU was radioactive, she replied, "Oh, yes. It is very radioactive." Once again I cringed. I could only assume that she misspoke accidentally under the pressure of the microphone. I've been there, so I understand.

Most of the substances with which we come into contact every day are not radioactive at all. But of the substances that are radioactive, depleted uranium is one of the least radioactive substances known to man. The military has that fact right on the money. Generally, the longer a substance 's half-life, the lower its specific activity. U-238, with a 4.5 billion year half life, thus ranks near the bottom of the scale for radioactivity. One milligram of U- 238 has a specific activity of 14.4 Becquerel, which means it emits 14.4 alpha particles every second. For comparison, it is not uncommon for a particular radioactive substance to have a specific activity of several millions of Becquerels.

Now before you rip me to shreds for daring to say the truth about DU's radioactivity, let's remember that the important issue is NOT "how radioactive is DU", but rather "how is DU's radioactivity dispensed?" If DU shells merely shattered into fragments when striking a target, the larger pieces could be picked up and stored in a repository. Only a tiny fraction of the DU would remain behind as smaller fragments dispersed into the environment. Although this would increase the background radiation levels, the observable health effects on the exposed population would be difficult to measure. (Note, however, that the presence of radioactive transuranics in the DU, such as plutonium, neptunium and americium, totally nullifies this last statement.)

However, this is not how a DU shell behaves. When the penetrator strikes a hard object, its kinetic energy is converted to heat. The heat causes the DU to ignite. Military studies report that from 10% to 70% of the DU in the penetrator is converted to micron-sized aerosol particles of DU-oxide. Other studies show that over 50% of these particles are smaller than 5 microns in diameter. Particles that small, when inhaled, become permanently lodged into the deepest recesses of one's lungs.

Inside the lungs, these particles are in intimate contact with living cells. No layer of dead skin stands between the particle and live tissue. Every alpha, beta and gamma ray that is not absorbed internally by the particle itself slices a path of destruction through living tissue. Over a year's time, 1 mg of DU undergoes over 450 million alpha decays, and the decay products (thorium and protactinium) produce over 900 million beta decays and release over 900 million gamma rays. Because the DU-oxide particles are so small, it can be assumed that a significant fraction of that radiation actually makes it into the victim's body tissue.

Dr. Durakovic has been able to estimate the initial DU-oxide body burden of several 1991 Gulf War veterans by measuring the levels of DU in their urine nine and ten years after the war (a fact that in itself proves how long-lasting DU can be when absorbed into body tissues). He determined that these veterans had absorbed an average of 0.34 mg of DU that became permanently incorporated into their bodies. (Their initial actual exposure may have been much greater.) If this is the case, then over 750 million total radiation events (1/3 of the total given in the previous paragraph) have taken place in these veteran's bodies every year, year after year, since 1991. Even if you assume that only a very small fraction of this radiation exits the particle, say 0.2%, this still results in 3.3 damaging radiation events every minute, or 1.7 million damaging events each year from the 0.34 mg of DU dispersed throughout the lungs in the form of 4.3 million 2.5 micron diameter particles.

Most scientists now believe that there is no safe level of exposure to ionizing radiation. This comes from a realization that cancer and genetic damage begins with unrepaired damage to crucial molecules (such as DNA) within a single cell. Molecular damage is exactly what takes place when alpha, beta or gamma radiation passes through a cell. Electrons are ripped from molecules as the ionized particles zip by. Each radiation event leaves a wake of disrupted molecules behind it, most in the form of free radicals. Alpha particles, being much larger and more massive than beta particles, can actually destroy whole cells. Although the body maintains a marvelous system for DNA repair and cell replacement, over time, with so many assaults, it is completely illogical to assume that no permanent damage takes place.

Atomicity

A new term was introduced in October, 2003 at the Hamburg World Uranium Weapons Conference. That term was "atomicity". Attenedees suggested that the number of radioactive atoms produced from 800 tons of DU is equivalent to 83,000 Nagasaki sized atom bombs. Since that conference, this statistic was quoted on the radio during the aforementioned interview, and I have seen it appear in print as well.

Unfortunately, the comparison between DU contamination and the Nagasaki atom bomb explosion is very misleading. Over 100,000 residents of Nagasaki were killed in the atomic blast, either instantly or shortly afterwards due to exposure to the intense radiation, which included neutrons as well as alpha, beta and gamma radiation. Over 18,000 buildings were destroyed. Comparing the atomic bomb blast and its effects to those of depleted uranium is dramatic and delivers a strong emotional appeal, but the comparison based on number of radioactive particles released (atomicity) is quite meaningless.

Secondly, no effort is made to qualify the different types of "atomicity" involved. The U-238 atoms in that 392 tons of DU have a half-life of 4.5 billion years. In other words, their radioactive decay is spread out over such a long period of time that only half of them will have decayed by the time this Earth comes to its end in the Sun's expanding corona. On the other hand, the majority of radioactive atoms dispersed over Nagasaki had much shorter half- lives. Many are essentially no longer radioactive, having progressed through 25 or 30 half-lives since 1945. But remember, the shorter the half-life, the more intense the radiation. Thus the Nagasaki victims who survived the initial blast were exposed to much more radiation in a very short period of time than the civilians in Iraq who have been exposed to depleted uranium, while the problem facing civilians where DU has been used is long term (read "forever") and chronic.

Thirdly, the Nagasaki blast produced a tremendous mixture of radioactive substances, each having its own unique biological impact on survivors. Strontium-90 replaces calcium in bone tissue; iodine-131 becomes concentrated in the thyroid; cesium-137 is a natural replacement for potassium in the body. With DU, the principal isotopes of concern are those of uranium, with very small amounts of thorium, protactinium, and contaminants such as plutonium. I say this not to understate the significance of exposure to DU, but merely to point out that the effects can be expected to be very different from exposure to elements resulting from an atomic bomb explosion.

Finally, the area significantly affected by direct DU contamination is much more wide-spread than that of a single atomic explosion. True, radioactive fallout from any nuclear test ultimately affects the entire earth, but with decreasing concentration the further one moves from the blast site. In a military conflict where DU munitions are used, every battle site throughout the entire country becomes contaminated with DU. And with the frequent sand storms that blanket wide areas, there is virtually no escape, no place to hide.

So, although it is true that there are far more radioactive atoms in the 392 tons of DU than there were resulting from the explosion of a single atom bomb over Nagasaki, there can be no meaningful comparison between the two. To attempt to do so merely clouds the issue and strains credibility, something we can ill afford to allow happen.

The Truth is Out

Sometimes those who lie become entangled in their own web of deceit. Last summer a van which contained several pounds of DU was stolen from a city street in Essex, UK. Authorities were particularly anxious to recover the vehicle and its contents. They publicly expressed the fear that terrorists might use the DU to create a "dirty bomb", that is, a bomb that could spread harmful radioactivity into an urban environment. If DU were as harmless as they wish us to believe, how could it be of any use in a "dirty bomb"? On the other hand, if it can be used effectively in that way, how can the USA and UK justify their use of DU weaponry in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo and Serbia? Every 30mm shell and 105/120 mm penetrator clearly becomes a miniature "dirty bomb". Their cumulative effect easily exceeds that of a dozens of large bombs. Would someone tell me why the use of such dirty bombs does not constitute a crime against humanity?