ionesco...first you post a junk science article from a junk science left wing web site and I debunk it.
Then you say the U.S. government hasn't studied depleted uranium...and I show you studies that prove otherwise.
Now you play bait and switch yet again and try to switch to oxidized uranium and you use weak anedoctal evidence from biased left wing sources that do not use scientific data or studies to back it up.
I'll spoon feed the latest debunking to you.
Its from the Bush hating International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, Austria. So you can't claim political bias either.
What is the likely impact of DU on the environment?
The environmental impact of depleted uranium depends on the specific situation where DU ammunitions are used and the physical, chemical, and geological characteristics of the environment affected.
However, some general conclusions can still be made. Studies carried out at test ranges show that most of the DU aerosols created by the impact of penetrators against an armoured target settle within a short time (minutes) of the impact and in close proximity to the target site, although smaller particles may be carried to a distance of several hundred metres by the wind.
Once the DU aerosols settle on the ground, the depleted uranium particles combine with other material and increase in size, becoming less of an inhalation hazard. The potential risk from inhalation will be associated with material that is re-suspended from the ground by the action of the wind or by human activities, such as ploughing. With time, the concentrations of depleted uranium on the ground surface will decrease due to wind and precipitation that will transport the depleted uranium away or wash it into the soil. Any risk associated with inhalation of re-suspended material will thus decrease with time.
Depleted uranium present in the soil can migrate to surface and groundwater and flow into water streams. Plants will also uptake DU present in soil and in water. A very small fraction of DU in vegetation and water is the result of direct deposition onto water surfaces. The chemical and physical composition of the soil will determine the solubility and transportability of the DU particles. The DU in water and vegetation will be transferred to livestock through ingestion of grass, soil, and water. Studies have shown that bio-accumulation of uranium in plants and animals is not very high and, therefore, uranium is not effectively transported in the food chain.
Depleted uranium in the soil will be in an oxidized, soluble chemical form and migrate to surface and groundwater and be incorporated into the food chain. It is difficult to predict how long it would take for this to occur. As a result of chemical weathering, DU projectiles lying on the ground or buried under the surface will corrode with time, slowly converting the metallic uranium of the DU penetrators into uranium oxides. The specific soil characteristics will determine the rate and chemical form of the oxidation and the rate of migration and solubility of the depleted uranium. This environmental pathway may result in the long term (in the order of several years) in enhanced levels of depleted uranium being dissolved in ground water and drinking water.
Consumption of water and food is a potential long term route of intake of DU. Given this, monitoring of water sources may be a useful means to assess the potential for intake via ingestion. If the levels were considered unacceptable, some form of filtration/ion exchange system could be implemented to reduce levels of DU.
iaea.org
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