Depleted uranium: Properties and health effects

[Depleted uranium: sources, exposure and health effects].

Properties, use and health effects of depleted uranium (DU): a general overview.

Depleted uranium (DU), a waste product of uranium enrichment, has several civilian and military applications. It was used as armor-piercing ammunition in international military conflicts and was claimed to contribute to health problems, known as the Gulf War Syndrome and recently as the Balkan Syndrome. This led to renewed efforts to assess the environmental consequences and the health impact o...

The health effects of depleted uranium munitions: a summary.

There has been a substantial amount of public discussion on the health effects of the use of depleted uranium (DU) munitions. In response to this concern the Royal Society set up an independent, expert working group to investigate the health effects of DU munitions. The Royal Society has now produced two reports, and this summary covering the key conclusions and recommendations from both report...

Depleted Uranium and Its Effects on Humans

The article summarizes contemporary scientific knowledge of depleted uranium effects on human health due to its use in military conflicts. The discussion covers cases of minimal risk due to external irradiation resulting from the storage and handling of depleted uranium ammunition and, in contrast, important toxicological and radio-toxicological risks of late effects resulting from the inhalati...

What Is Depleted Uranium

T na m What Is Depleted Uranium? Depleted uranium is created as a byproduct during the processing of natural uranium to make it suitable for use as fuel in nuclear power plants or as a component in nuclear weapons. In natural uranium, 99.27% of the mass consists of atoms of uranium-238. About 0.72% of the mass consists of atoms of uranium-235, and a very small amount (0.0055% by mass) is uraniu...