US TO USE DEPLETED URANIUM - BBC News
A United States defence official has said moves to ban depleted uranium ammunition are just an attempt by America's enemies to blunt its military might. If war starts,
tonnes of depleted uranium (DU) weapons are to be used by British and American tanks and by ground attack aircraft.
Colonel James Naughton of US Army Materiel Command said at a Pentagon briefing:
"They want it to go away because we kicked the crap out of them,".
Depleted uranium, a by-product of uranium enrichment for nuclear weapons or nuclear reactors, is very dense, about 1.7 times heavier than lead, and not only very hard but unlike other materials
is self-sharpening when it penetrates armour. Depleted uranium is mildly
radioactive but the main health concern is that it is a heavy metal, potentially
poisonous. The likelihood of absorbing it is increased significantly if a weapon has struck a target and exploded because the DU vaporises into a fine dust and
can be inhaled.
The Iraqi authorities claim that DU is responsible for a marked increase in cancers from ammunition used in the Gulf War 12 years ago, and other conflicts. Some Gulf War veterans believe DU might have contributed to health problems they have suffered. And it has been blamed for a number of
leukaemia cases among former Balkans peacekeepers.
