An increased prevalence of birth defects was allegedly reported in Iraq in the post 1991 Gulf War period, which was largely attributed to exposure to depleted uranium used in the war. This has encouraged further research on this particular topic. This paper reviews the published literature and provided evidence concerning birth defects in Iraq to elucidate possible environmental exposure. In ad...

s and Presentations Lasley, S.M. and Vietti, K.R. Acute exposure to uranium decreases potassium-stimulated hippocampal glutamate release. The Toxicologist 78, 1140, 2004. Lasley, S.M. and Vietti, K.R.N. Acute exposure to uranium in vitro decreases potassiumstimulated hippocampal glutamate release. Military Health Research Forum, San Juan, Puerto Rico, April 25-28, 2004. Lasley, S.M. and Vietti,...

BACKGROUND Depleted uranium is being used increasingly often as a component of munitions in military conflicts. Military personnel, civilians and the DU munitions producers are being exposed to the DU aerosols that are generated. METHODS We reviewed toxicological data on both natural and depleted uranium. We included peer reviewed studies and gray literature on birth malformations due to natu...

During the Persian Gulf War, soldiers were injured with depleted uranium (DU) fragments. To assess the potential health risks associated with chronic exposure to DU, Sprague Dawley rats were surgically implanted with DU pellets at 3 dose levels (low, medium and high). Biologically inert tantalum (Ta) pellets were used as controls. At 1 day and 6, 12, and 18 months after implantation, the rats w...

The second point makes the matrix matching of standards to samples for direct analysis impossible and, in order to normalize all samples to a similar matrix, the analysis of a diluted (or digested) solution is preferable. High instrumental sensitivity is then required to reliably measure the resulting single digit pg g-1 uranium concentrations. While the quantification of uranium is therefore d...