The argument surrounding the use of radioactive nuclear

material, such as the nuclear bomb is one that has fumed for
many years. Many wise minds have waged in on this debate and
offered various positives and negatives on the various uses of
radioactive material both efficiently and morally. One side of this
dispute, that has escaped public eye is the use of Depleted
uranium in modern warfare.

Chemically, depleted uranium has all the identical features to

natural uranium, however most of the 235 isotopes have been
extracted leaving the non fissionable 238 isotope. The external
radiation dose from DU is about 60% of that from the same mass
of natural uranium. The reason why Uranium is used in modern
warfare is due to the fact that its the most naturally occurring
dense metal, due to its high relative atomic mass. As Depleted
uranium is 1.7 times denser than lead and is relatively low cost, It
make logical sense to use this material, as an armour piercing
weapon.

The gulf war saw an estimated 350 tonnes of DU fired at Iraqi

troops by American and British servicemen. In southern Iraq,
scientists reported five times higher levels of gamma radiation in
the air, which increases the radioactive body burden daily of
inhabitants. In fact, Iraq, Yugoslavia and Afghanistan are
uninhabitable. In the years that followed Iraqi doctors found an
increased number of cancer cases and birth defects, and had
reason to believe that they were caused by DU contamination
from tank battles. The pentagon was quick to point out that there
was not substantial evidence to support this claim, as foreign
investigators were allowed in for testing.

DU is a substance that has a adverse affect on the health of our

bodies. DU is a genotoxic substance. Genotoxic substances are
defined as those that potentially mutagenic or carcinogenic ,
specifically meaning, capable of causing hereditary modification
and of contributing to the development of tumors and cancers. The
‘bystander’ effect (highlighted by miller) is now thought one way
DU damages the human body. The bystander effect states that
the radioactive does not just effect the cell it hits directly, but
also effect the neighbouring cells. When a contaminated cell
divides, it is also growing in the contamination. This leads to
many cells becoming contaminated until a tumour or cancer has
developed.

Over the past decade, research has also surfaced that the
damage done by DU radiation may not show up immediately. In
the 1991 Gulf war, 100 soldiers were exposed to DU
contamination, after being mistakenly shot at. The majority
inhaled uranium oxide, which inturn is alpha particles and gamma
radiations and in most cases no cancers or kidney problems were
found that may have been expected from DU contamination. A
study done by the Bremen institute of Prevention research, social
medicine and Epidemiology in Germany found that all was not as
well as it seemed for the veterans. They found that a number or
chromosomes in the veterans had broken strands of DNA, which
had been incorrectly repaired, due to genetic mutation. This was
in contrast to a control group who had not been exposed to any
radiation and had no chromosomal abnormalities. Increased
chromosomal damage (like in that of the veterans) is associated
with an increased incidence of cancers.

DU is a substance, which has proved hazardous to many soldiers,

and civilians who have been exposed to the element through DU
tipped shells. This is really the only major use for DU and another
substitute for DU could be found to make contamination less
likely.
DU is slowly eating away at many veterans’ cells and is
dangerously shortening their life spans How does it solute our
soldiers, when the country who sent them out to war, has caused
them to suffer, the injustice of others mistakes. It is for this
reason, DU tipped shells must be discharged from military use.