2008 Guide to Depleted Uranium (DU) - Health and Environmental Effects, Clinical Guidance, Usage in Penetrator Weapons and Armor Plating (CD-ROM) [CD-ROM]

Department of Defense (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 6, 2008

This up-to-date and comprehensive electronic book on CD-ROM disc presents a vital collection of important documents, reports, and files about depleted uranium (DU) and its use by the U.S. military in penetrator weapons and armor plating, resulting in a controversy about radiation, health, and environmental effects. There is an extensive reproduction of documents from the U.S. Government, including the Department of Defense, Veterans Affairs (VA), U.S. Army, U.S. Navy and Marines, U.S. Air Force, the DoD Deployment Health Clinical Center, and much more. Depleted uranium or DU, as it commonly called, is derived from natural uranium. Natural uranium is ubiquitous in the environment. Virtually all of us have some naturally occurring uranium in our bodies due to small amounts of uranium present in much of the food and water we consume. DU is what remains of uranium ore after the more highly radioactive isotopes are removed when making uranium into nuclear weapons or nuclear fuel. DU is about 40% less radioactive than natural uranium. During the 1991 Gulf War, the US military used depleted uranium in combat weapons for the first time. DU is used in the manufacture of armor-piercing munitions capable of disabling enemy tanks and other weapons systems. It's high density and self-sharpening qualities make it better than other available materials for penetrating armor. The same properties make it ideal for use as armor on our Abrams tanks to provide added protection for its crews; DU armor, however, is not used on Bradley Fighting Vehicles. Most of our service members have little, if any, exposure to DU, especially to forms, which might be deposited internally in their bodies, in which case it could result in some concern. There are several battlefield scenarios, including friendly fire accidents, arising in the fog of war that may result in DU exposures to service members. DU that is not taken internally into the body presents virtually no health risk. For example, individuals who handle unexploded DU munitions or who work inside Abrams tanks that are equipped with DU armor are not at any significant risk from DU's low-levels of radioactivity or heavy metal toxicity. Similarly, even if DU remained in contact with skin for long periods of time, the external radiation dose would not be great enough to produce any tissue damage other than some mild skin irritation resulting in some reddening of the skin. When DU projectiles penetrate armor, the projectiles self sharpen and produce small shards. The projectiles obviously can kill or wound the individuals in those vehicles, but the shards can also burst into flames resulting in small dust-like particles that can be inhaled and that can contaminate wounds. Rescue workers or others who enter contaminated vehicles could inhale or ingest these dust-like particles when transferred from hand to mouth. There are some theoretical health risks that might be anticipated as a result of internal deposition of DU. Kidney damage resulting from DU's heavy metal toxicity is believed to be the most probable complication. The medical community, however, has yet to see any adverse health effects associated with internal exposure. Even among our 1991 Gulf War veterans who still have embedded DU fragments or who inhaled DU particulates, we still have not observed any medical problems associated with their DU exposures. Because we are not completely confident as to whether longer-term exposures might result in illness, a number of our most highly exposed veterans from the Gulf War continue to be monitored at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland. To help identify those individuals, who may have had internal exposures to DU during Operation Iraqi Freedom, we have the benefit of a urine bioassay to verify whether internal DU exposure has occurred.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

This CD-ROM disc is packed with over 22,000 pages reproduced using Adobe Acrobat PDF software - allowing direct viewing on Windows and Macintosh systems. The Acrobat cataloging technology adds enormous value and uncommon functionality to this impressive collection of government documents and material. This CD-ROM uses next-generation search technology that allows complete indexing and makes all files on the disc fully searchable. Our news and educational discs are privately compiled collections of official public domain U.S. government files and documents - they are not produced by the federal government. They are designed to provide a convenient user-friendly reference work, utilizing the benefits of the Adobe Acrobat format to uniformly present thousands of pages that can be rapidly reviewed, searched by finding specific words, or printed without untold hours of tedious research and downloading. Vast archives of important public domain government information that might otherwise remain inaccessible are available for instant review no matter where you are. This book-on-a-disc format makes a great reference work and educational tool. There is no other reference that is as fast, convenient, comprehensive, thoroughly researched, and portable - everything you need to know, from the federal sources you trust.

Product Details

• CD-ROM: 22619 pages
• Publisher: Progressive Management (January 6, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1422014355
• ISBN-13: 978-1422014356
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 4.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,251,038 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)