<<< Depleted Uranium
[JEROME MARTIN - In your March 20 issue you cited a 1995
report from the [...] That report was a deliberate downplaying of
the real issue. Yes, DU gives off very little radiation, (it has an
extremely long half-life), but during the actual battlefield
deployment of DU-coated artillery shells, the DU undergoes
radical chemical changes because of the high heat to which it is
subjected, both in the barrel of the firing gun, and in its
penetration of the target material. The subjection to super high
temperature changes DU to uranium oxide, which is highly
radio-active, as well as chemically toxic.]
BC - Radioactivity is immune to any chemical reaction. Only
extreme temperatures (e.g. in a star), bombardment with very
energetic particles (which is the same thing), or absorption of
neutrons (fast of slow depending on the nucleus) can affect
nuclei. The reason such uranium oxide is so harmful is because
it's so finely divided. The particle size is too small for the natural
cleaning of the lungs to expel it and it is difficult to wash off.
Furthermore, as it is an aerosol, the slightest wind will carry it far
from its source. Incidentally uranium, like lighter flint, is
pyrophoric, and, therefore, doesn't require a high temp. for it to
burn; that and its high density is why it is used as a munition.
Turnings, chips, powder, etc. must be carefully stored, especially
if wet, as it can spontaneously combust. Such fires are very
difficult to extinguish; water spray will make it worse.
Curiously, lung cancer spikes have not been reported while
leukemia and congenital malformations have. Either because lung
cancer requires a longer "gestation" time or only uranium's
chemical toxicity is important. Radiation exposure is typically
rather low in contaminated people, even when ingested.
Uranium's Alpha radiation is important only when ingested or
aspirated.
[The author is a physicist] >>>
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