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Re: DU in Iraq
Hi all:
According to several references, the crustal average of Uranium is about 2.5
mg/kg [2.5 ppm]. Since the land area of Iraq is 432,162 sq.km this equals 4.32E+
18 cc to a depth of 1 meter. At an average density of soil of 1.6 gm/cc the mass
of this first meter of surface would be:
6.9E18 gm which would contain 1.72E13 gm of Uranium = 1.72E10 kg of Uranium =
1.7E7 metric tons Uranium in the first meter of Iraq surface area. To a depth of
the first 0.3 meters only, this estimate would equate to 5.1E6 metric tons
uranium vs. Bjorns derived estimate below of 0.6E6 metric tons, about 8.5 times
less. Does Iraq's surface area have uranium at the crustal average of 2.5 ppm? No
idea but it's a good starting point for a crude estimate of total uranium in the
surface layer of the country.
Since our good friend Norm Cohen in an earlier post stated a rough estimate of
military action in Iraq having scattered 75 tons of depleted uranium rounds in
Iraq, by my estimate derived above the uranium content of Iraq's surface one
meter of soil will have been increased by an average of less than 0.0004 percent
on average.
Stewart Farber
farbersa@optonline.net
==============
5/18/03 5:10:34 AM, Bjorn Cedervall <bcradsafers@HOTMAIL.COM> wrote:
>>Have you made any progress on Otto's question about calculating the amount
>of naturally occurring uranium in Iraq?
>
>---
>Here is an estimate of the magnitude - please double check, critisize or
>correct
>if necessary (I am doing the calculation directly on the sqreen as I am
>typing this):
>
>Area of Iraq: 434,925 km2 = approx 4.34 E11 m2.
>
>Amount of uranium and thorium in a "typical English garden" taken from my
>memory of the video film by and with Lord Marshall some 15 years ago:
>8 kg - I am uncertain about the relative parts but it may be 2 kg U + 6 kg
>Th.
>The garden was given for a depth of 1 m and an area of 10 m x 40 m.
>
>For a depth of 0,3 m this gives us an "area density" of
>2,4 kg/400 m2 = 0,6 kg/100 m2 = 0,006 kg/m2.
>
>Assume the same percentage of U and Th for Iraq as for England (I have no
>idea
>whether this is reasonable - can any geologist or just well read Radsafer
>comment?)
>
>Finally: 4.34 E11 x 6 E-3 = 2.6 E9 kg = 2.6 E6 tons.
>
>Now if 25 % of that is uranium we would land somewhere around 0,6 E6 tons.
>
>My personal initiative only,
>
>Bjorn Cedervall bcradsafers@hotmail.com
>
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