Depleted Uranium

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"The misnamed 'Depleted' Uranium is left after enriched uranium is separated from natural uranium in order to produce fuel for nuclear reactors. During this process, the fissionable isotope Uranium 235 is separated from uranium. The remaining uranium, which is 99.8% uranium 238 is misleadingly called 'depleted uranium'. While the term 'depleted' implies it isn't particularly dangerous, in fact, this waste product of the nuclear industry is 'conveniently' disposed of by producing deadly weapons." [1]

DU penetrators are inaccurately referred to as "weapons of mass destruction"(WMD):

However, this is misleading; While they are undeniably heinous and INDISCRIMINATE the comparison to ABC weapons exaggerates their effect and downplays the effect of WMD. DU penetrators are essentially "dirty bombs". Dirty bombs are referred to as "weapons of mass disruption" in nuclear science circles and emergency preparedness literature. This less alarmist term would be more accurate to use for DU weapons, while still acknowledging the undeniable disruptive effect it has on health and ecosystem.

  • The Uranium Medical Research Center is an information resource for so-called "depleted uranium" and other radiological activities. Their studies in Afghanistan are showing very high levels of "non-depleted" uranium in people, and bomb craters, there.[2]
  • "The Science of the Silver Bullet" -- Depleted uranium has been hailed as the military’s new silver bullet and condemned as Kosovo’s Agent Orange; Scientific American, 5 March 2001
  • A special investigation by Democracy Now! co-host Juan Gonzalez of the New York Daily News has found four of nine soldiers of the 442nd Military Police Company of the New York Army National Guard returning from Iraq tested positive for depleted uranium contamination. They are the first confirmed cases of inhaled depleted uranium exposure from the current Iraq conflict. After repeatedly being denied testing for depleted uranium from Army doctors, the soldiers contacted The News who paid to have them tested as part of their investigation.

In the U.S., it looks like uranium handling was controlled by the Dept. of Energy, at least until the "United States Enrichment Corporation's privatization (July 28, 1998) per USEC Privatization Act (Public Law 104-134, Sec 3109, paragraph (a)(3))."[3]


The U.S. Department of Energy "is committed to exploring the safe, beneficial use of depleted uranium and other materials resulting from conversion of depleted UF6 (e.g., fluorine and empty carbon steel cylinders) for the purposes of resource conservation and cost savings compared with disposal. Accordingly, a Depleted Uranium Uses Research and Development Program has been initiated. This program will explore the risks and benefits of several depleted uranium uses, including uses as a radiation shielding material, a catalyst, and a semi-conductor material in electronic devices."

"Alliant Techsystems or ATK is the largest supplier of all munitions to the U.S. Department of Defense, and works on many DoD contracts, including large and small caliber munitions employing depleted uranium penetrators" --ARMS TRADE RESOURCE CENTER, November 2000

The DU penetrators were manufactured by Nuclear Metals in Concord Massachusetts and shipped to TCAAP for ATK to assemble. Nuclear Metals is now the Starmet Corporation. [4]

At the Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant (TCAAP) ATK said it used DU provided by the government to melt and cast DU for its penetrators ( Jim Persoon, NRC meeting 3/31/2004 Arden Hills, MN). And while clean up and decomissioning of ATK's license at TCAAP is still ongoing, Apil 2004, pollution elsewhere continues: Alliant Techsystems recently won new ammunition contracts worth $38 million, as published in the Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE April 7, 2004 p. D2: Alliant Techsystems Inc., Edina, said it received new contracts in excess of $38 million from the U.S. Army's Armament Research Development and Engineering Center at the Picatinny Arsenal, N.J. Under the contracts, Alliant will provide 120 millimeter tactical ammunition for the Army's M1A1 main battle tanks. Deliveries will be completed by November 2005. The project manager of Maneuver Ammunition Systems manages the contract for the Army and Marine Corps.

As Alliant has removed all references to uranium or depleted uranium in its public notices, web pages and press releases, we can at this point only infer that the newest contracts are for uranium weapons or penetrates that contain uranium 238- until an investigative reporter picks up the story...

DU was made into metal by Nuclear Metals in Concord Massachusetts. Nuclear Metals is now the Starmet Corporation. "But while defense contractors profit handsomely, their neighbors are exposed to radioactive waste. Starmet Corp. -- among the Army's largest supplier's of DU weapons -- dumped 400,000 pounds of uranium and heavy metals into an unlined holding pond in Concord, Massachusetts, polluting soil and groundwater. Faced with a massive cleanup, Starmet filed for bankruptcy last year -- leaving taxpayers with cleanup costs estimated at $50 million. Cleanup at the Twin Cities Army Ammunitions Plant in suburban Minneapolis, littered with DU shells manufactured by Alliant, is expected to cost $235 million." Hillary Johnson, Rolling Stone, October 2, 2003 The juxtaposition of "clean"up costs at Starmet (only DU ) and TCAAP ( many other contaminants) is misleading. Most of the cost of the" clean"- up at TCAAP isn't because of DU- it would be hard to get the Army to committ to a $ number for just the DU "clean" up.

In case you wonder why DU never turns up on Army or regulatory websites about TCAAP, such as EPA [5]- Minnesota Pollutin Control Agency MPCA doesnt even have a website on Minnesota's largest superfund site-: EPA contends, that DU did not get released into the environment, despite clear evidence to the contrary ( soil via sewer , air). Hence in EPA logic DU "clean" up is not part of the Superfund program at TCAAP. Neat! NRC contends no release in excess of their limits was found. With 350 supersacks of debris and soil of the demolished DU room awaiting disposal in Andrews , TX one can only wonder what this doublespeak means. Environmental crime in the US goes largely unpunished.

Other Related SourceWatch Resources

External Links

Reference Links on Depleted Uranium in ammunition and armor (copied from PRWatch Forum):

  • 23 August 2001: "WHO studies depleted uranium in Iraq", BBCNews. Follow-up Depleted Uranium Fears, 6 January 2003.
  • 7 October 2002: "Fact Sheet on the Health Effects of Depleted Uranium. Studies find no evidence linking DU to serious health risks," U.S. Department of State.
  • 25 February 2003(Note: Link no longer active): "If war again comes to Iraq, depleted uranium munitions will be a mainstay of the American arsenal. For years, the Pentagon has discounted reports that the shells and bullets, made of solid nuclear-waste byproduct and used for the first time on a large scale in the Iraq war, bore calamity.... 'There just isn't any scientific foundation to draw a connection between exposure and the incidents of leukemia, other cancers or birth defects,' said Michael Kilpatrick, deputy director of deployment health support at the Pentagon. ... Last month, the Bush administration, intent on launching those munitions again if war breaks out, accused Iraq of tricking the media into reporting on false links to depleted uranium arms and cancer deaths. ... Dr. Doug Rokke...worked...securing depleted uranium depots for the army. Today, Rokke ... has become an opponent of depleted uranium arms . All of the soldiers assigned to the cleanup in Iraq have suffered chronic health problems, he said. ... 'When you go to war, you go to kill. The problem with (depleted uranium),' he said, 'is that it keeps on killing.'" SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News.
  • 27 March 2003: "UN warns of growing public health risk in Iraq", World Environment News.
  • 30 March 2003: "US forces' use of depleted uranium weapons is 'illegal'" by Neil Mackay, Sunday Herald.
  • 23 April 2003: "Death by DU. Depleted uranium: A deadly tool in the U.S. arsenal" by Beth Hawkins, City Pages.
  • 22 May 2003: "Afghans' uranium levels spark alert" by Alex Kirby, BBC News.
  • 20 June 2003: "Weapon of Mass Deception" by Frida Berrigan.
  • 28 June 2003: Gay Alcorn, The Age
  • 9 August 2003: Commentary by Steve Hesske on exposure illnesses of troops.
  • 9 September 2003: 6,000 medical evacuations of U.S. troops from Iraq.
  • 12 September 2003: "Iraq: Experts Warn of Radioactive Battlefields" by Katherine Stapp, Inter Press Services.
  • 16 September 2003: Mystery pneumonia toll may be much higher.
  • 2 October 2003: "Outbreak of pneumonia-like symptoms in US troops serving in Iraq", The Herald/UK.
  • 23 November 2003: "Ex-Pentagon doctor decries use of 'depleted' uranium weapons" by Nao Shimoyachi, Japan Times Online.
  • 14 December 2003: "Depleted uranium causing high radioactivity levels", Observer/UK.
  • 14 December 2003: "Army shells pose cancer risk in Iraq. Depleted uranium causing high radioactivity levels", by Antony Barnett, Guardian/UK.
  • 17 January 2004: "Bioweapons Conference. Presentations on Agent Orange and Depleted Uranium" by Joan A. Duffy, Veterans for Peace.
  • 9 February 2004, "Warning of Uranium Contamination Risks to NGO Staff, Coalition Forces, Foreign Contract Personnel and Civilians in Iraq", Uranium Medical Research Centre (UMRC).
  • 19 March 2004: "Soldiers' accounts reveal new details: 'depleted' uranium rounds devastated US troops at An Nasiriyah" by Jackie Notham, Traprock Peace Center.
  • 27 March 2004: "There Are No Words ... Radiation in Iraq Equals 250,000 Nagasaki Bombs" by Bob Nichols, Dissident Voice.
  • 4 April 2004: "Brazil Shielding Uranium Facility. Nation Seeks to Keep Its Proprietary Data From U.N. Inspectors" by Peter Slavin, New York Times.
  • 5 April 2004: "Army to test N.Y. Guard unit. [Senator] Hillary Clinton demands that all veterans of Iraq get checked" by Juan Gonzalez, New York Daily News.
  • 27 April 2004: "Depleted Uranium: The Toxic Killer. The Bush Administration knows about the health and the environmental consequences of using depleted uranium but it doesn't care" by Mick Youther, Intervention Magazine.
  • 27 April 2004: "Death By Slow Burn: How America Nukes Its Own Troops" by Amy Worthington, EnvirosAgainstWar.org.
  • 28 April 2004 Evidence Grows Against Depleted Uranium Weapons, Katherine Stapp, 28 April 2004, IPS: "Washington's insistence that depleted uranium (DU) munitions are not toxic has been undermined by revelations that four U.S. soldiers recently home from Iraq are suffering from radiation poisoning."
  • 19 May 2004: "Depleted Morality, The first signs of uranium sickness surface in troops returning from Iraq" by Frida Berrigan, In These Times.

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