Depleted Uranium and Human Health

Annali di chimica

Depleted uranium is a by-product of the process of enrichment of natural uranium and is classified as a toxic and radioactive waste; it has a very high density (approximately 19 g cm-3), a remarkable ductility and a cost low enough to be attractive for some particular technical applications. Civilian uses are essentially related to its high density, but the prevailing use is however military (production of projectiles). From the radioactive point of view, the exposure to depleted uranium can result from both external irradiation as well as internal contamination. The associated risks are however mainly of chemical-toxicological kind and the target organ is the kidney. In the present note the recent military uses and the possible effects of its environmental diffusion are discussed.

Great Development in the military industry had been witnessed in the past two decades, especially in depleted uranium weapons. These weapons were first used by USA and its allies in 1991 in Iraq. Later they were used in Bosnia (1995), Kosovo and Serbia (1999) Afghanistan (2001) and finally Iraq (2003). The manufactures and users of these weapons continued to blackout the nature of these weapons and deny the harm caused on the public health, animals and the environment. After a short period of time, facts were revealed by the investigations and research executed by large number of scientists and investigators. This paper highlights the important effects caused by the use of depleted uranium weapons on human health and environment.

Toxics, 2014

Natural uranium is comprised of three radioactive isotopes: 238 U, 235 U, and 234 U. Depleted uranium (DU) is a byproduct of the processes for the enrichment of the naturally occurring 235 U isotope. The world wide stock pile contains some 1½ million tons of depleted uranium. Some of it has been used to dilute weapons grade uranium (~90% 235 U) down to reactor grade uranium (~5% 235 U), and some of it has been used for heavy tank armor and for the fabrication of armor-piercing bullets and missiles. Such weapons were used by the military in the Persian Gulf, the Balkans and elsewhere. The testing of depleted uranium weapons and their use in combat has resulted in environmental contamination and human exposure. Although the chemical and the toxicological behaviors of depleted uranium are essentially the same as those of natural uranium, the respective chemical forms and isotopic compositions in which they usually occur are different. The chemical and radiological toxicity of depleted uranium can injure biological systems. Normal functioning of the kidney, liver, lung, and heart can be adversely affected by depleted uranium intoxication. The focus of this review is on the chemical and toxicological properties of depleted and natural uranium and some of the possible consequences from long term, low dose exposure to depleted uranium in the environment.

In response to a Congressional request, the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army (OASA) Installations, Logistics & Environment (I,L&E) tasked the Army Environmental Policy Institute to study the health and environmental consequences of using depleted uranium (DU) on the battlefield. The study also examined the potential for remediating DU contamination, ways to reduce DU toxicity, and methods to protect the environment from the long-term consequences of DU use. Results from the study were initially presented in a Summary Report to Congress. Documentation and detail about the findings and conclusions of the summary report are presented in this technical report.

Environmental Research, 2017

The main aim of this review is to summarize and discuss the current state of knowledge on chemical toxicity and radioactivity of depleted uranium (DU) and their effect on living systems and cell lines. This was done by presenting a summary of previous investigations conducted on different mammalian body systems and cell cultures in terms of potential changes caused by either chemical toxicity or radioactivity of DU. In addition, the authors aimed to point out the limitations of those studies and possible future directions. The majority of both in vitro and in vivo studies performed using animal models regarding possible effects caused by acute or chronic DU exposure has been reviewed. Furthermore, exposure time and dose, DU particle solubility, and uranium isotopes as factors affecting the extent of DU effects have been discussed. Special attention has been dedicated to chromosomal aberrations, DNA damage and DNA breaks, as well as micronuclei formation and epigenetic changes, as DU has recently been considered a possible causative factor of all these processes. Therefore, this approach might represent a novel area of study of DU-related irradiation effects on health. Since different studies offer contradictory results, the main aim of this review is to summarize and briefly discuss previously obtained results in order to identify the current opinion on DU toxicity and radioactivity effects in relation to exposure type and duration, as well as DU properties. 1. What is depleted uranium (DU)? Uranium is a heavy metal from the actinide series that is both chemically toxic and radioactive (

2019

Introduction To assess any population’s health risks related to radioactive isotopes like depleted Uranium (DU) munitions we need to know several factors where they have been used, type and mass of the radioactive radionuclides dispersed, contaminated residential areas, and the mechanism of internal and external exposure to the human body. The US and UK armed forces used Depleted Uranium (DU) munitions for the first time in recent history during the First Gulf War in 1991. The weapons were extensively used close to populated areas in Southern Iraq like Basra and its vicinity. About one million bullets, projectiles and missiles were fired along the “Highway of Death” leading from Kuwait City to Basra, then up to Nasiriya, and other Iraqi cities in 1991 [1] , figure 1 shows these places.

Journal of Toxicology …, 2004

Medical surveillance of a group of U.S. Gulf War veterans who were victims of depleted uranium (DU) "friendly fire" has been carried out since the early 1990s. Findings to date reveal a persistent elevation of urine uranium, more than 10 yr after exposure, in those veterans with retained shrapnel fragments. The excretion is presumably from ongoing mobilization of DU from fragments oxidizing in situ. Other clinical outcomes related to urine uranium measures have revealed few abnormalities. Renal function is normal despite the kidney's expected involvement as the "critical" target organ of uranium toxicity. Subtle perturbations in some proximal tubular parameters may suggest early although not clinically significant effects of uranium exposure. A mixed picture of genotoxic outcomes is also observed, including an association of hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyl transferase (HPRT) mutation frequency with high urine uranium levels. Findings observed in this chronically exposed cohort offer guidance for predicting future health effects in other potentially exposed populations and provide helpful data for hazard communication for future deployed personnel.

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 2006

Health effects stemming from depleted uranium (DU) exposure in a cohort of Gulf War veterans who were in or on US Army vehicles hit by friendly fire involving DU munitions are being carefully monitored through the Baltimore Veterans Affairs (VA) DU Follow-Up Program initiated in 1993. DU exposure in this cohort has been directly measured using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometer (ICP-MS) isotopic analysis for DU in urine specimens. Soldiers with embedded DU fragments continue to excrete elevated concentrations of U in their urine, documenting ongoing systemic exposure to U released from their fragments. Biennial surveillance visits provide a detailed health assessment that includes basic clinical measures and surveillance for early changes in kidney function, an expected target organ for U. Tests also include measurements of genotoxicity and neuroendocrine, neurocognitive and reproductive function. With the exception of the elevated urine U excretion, no clinically signific...

Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part B, 2004

Depleted uranium (DU) is a by-product from the chemical enrichment of naturally occurring uranium. Natural uranium is comprised of three radioactive isotopes: 238 U, 235 U, and 234 U. This enrichment process reduces the radioactivity of DU to roughly 30% of that of natural uranium. Nonmilitary uses of DU include counterweights in airplanes, shields against radiation in medical radiotherapy units and transport of radioactive isotopes. DU has also been used during wartime in heavy tank armor, armor-piercing bullets, and missiles, due to its desirable chemical properties coupled with its decreased radioactivity. DU weapons are used unreservedly by the armed forces. Chemically and toxicologically, DU behaves similarly to natural uranium metal. Although the effects of DU on human health are not easily discerned, they may be produced by both its chemical and radiological properties. DU can be toxic to many bodily systems, as presented in this review. Most importantly, normal functioning of the kidney, brain, liver, and heart can be affected by DU exposure. Numerous other systems can also be affected by DU exposure, and these are also reviewed. Despite the prevalence of DU usage in many applications, limited data exist regarding the toxicological consequences on human health. This review focuses on the chemistry, pharmacokinetics, and toxicological effects of depleted and natural uranium on several systems in the mammalian body. A section on risk assessment concludes the review.