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RE: Isotope Analysis Shows Exposure To Depleted Uranium In Gulf War Veterans
Eric,
I agree with the finding that it is remarkable to still detect DU in the
urine of the middle group. The researcher must have access to an excellent
mass spectrometer with high sensitivity, such as a tandem van de Graff. I
will study his uncertainty analysis carefully.
As a nuclear physicist and visiting research associate and before I became a
health physicist, I helped with such a research project at the University of
Rochester under Harry Gove on their 20-MV machine in 1976-1977. I may even
be able to send in an intelligent comment on the article!
I will watch for the article in the Journal. An unopened one is on my desk
at work that probably has the article in it.
Thank you for the alert. Hope you don't mind that I added RADSAFE as CC. I
deleted your e-mail address and BCC'd you this note.
Bob
Bob Cherry
bobcherry@cox.net
-----Original Message-----
From: Eric Golden
Sent: Friday, January 23, 2004 5:12 PM
To: bobcherry
Cc:
Subject: Isotope Analysis Shows Exposure To Depleted Uranium In Gulf War
Veterans
Bob, I thought you'd want to see this. A real science paper for a
change (but no references to health effects, only to detection capability).
Eric
Source:
University Of California Santa Cruz
Date:
2004-01-22
Isotope Analysis Shows Exposure To Depleted Uranium In Gulf War Veterans
U.S. veterans who were exposed to depleted uranium during the 1991 Gulf
War have continued to excrete the potentially harmful chemical in their
urine for years after their exposure, according to a new study published
in the journal Health Physics.
The study indicates that soldiers may absorb depleted uranium particles
through inhalation, ingestion, or wound contamination, said Roberto
Gwiazda, an environmental toxicologist at UC Santa Cruz and lead author of
the study.
Fine particles of depleted uranium are created when munitions made with
the material strike a target. The new study did not address the health
effects of exposure to depleted uranium, a subject of ongoing debate, but
focused on a technique for detecting past exposure.
Low concentrations of uranium in the urine are normal due to ingestion of
naturally occuring uranium in food and water. Depleted uranium is a
by-product of the enrichment process used to make nuclear fuel, in which
one isotope of uranium (235U) is extracted, leaving behind material
depleted in that isotope. Depleted uranium is still weakly radioactive
and, like other heavy metals, can be toxic in high doses. Because of its
high density and other properties, it has been used in armor-piercing
ammunition and in armor for fighting vehicles.
Gwiazda and Donald Smith, professor of environmental toxicology, developed
a sensitive analytical technique to detect depleted uranium in urine
samples. By measuring the relative abundances of different isotopes of
uranium in the urine samples, the researchers were able to distinguish
between natural and depleted uranium.
"This is the only unambiguous way to determine past exposure and uptake of
depleted uranium," Gwiazda said.
The analysis of samples from Gulf War veterans was performed in
collaboration with the Baltimore Veterans Affairs Depleted Uranium
Follow-up Program, which is assessing, treating, and monitoring veterans
who may have been exposed to depleted uranium during the war.
The researchers applied their technique to three different groups of Gulf
War veterans. The first group of soldiers had shrapnel in their bodies as
a result of "friendly fire" incidents in which their tanks or armored
vehicles were hit by munitions containing depleted uranium. The second
group consisted of soldiers who did not have shrapnel in them but were
involved in the friendly fire incidents to different degrees, either
because they were in the vehicles that were hit or because they
participated in recovery operations. The third group was a reference group
and consisted of soldiers who participated in the war but not in combat
operations.
As expected, the soldiers with embedded shrapnel had high concentrations
of uranium in their urine, and the isotope analysis showed that it was
depleted uranium, presumably being released into their bodies from the
shrapnel.
A more striking finding was the presence of depleted uranium in the urine
of a significant number of soldiers in the second group, without embedded
shrapnel but with potential exposure through inhalation, ingestion, or
wound contamination. The uranium concentrations detected in this group
were, on average, six times higher than in the reference group, but were
still within the normal range for the U.S. population. Nevertheless,
Gwiazda said, it was remarkable that the signature of depleted uranium
could still be detected so many years after the exposure.
"These samples were taken six to eight years later," he said. The Veterans
Affairs (VA) monitoring program has not reported any findings of
clinically significant health effects related to exposure to depleted
uranium, even in the highly exposed soldiers with embedded shrapnel.
Any health effects of exposure to depleted uranium may not be detectable
without studying a large number of exposed individuals. The technique
developed at UCSC could be used to screen a large number of people to
identify those with past exposure to depleted uranium.
In addition to possible health effects in soldiers exposed during combat,
concerns about depleted uranium include environmental contamination of
battlefield sites. Civilian populations may be exposed through contact
with depleted uranium fragments and dust left in the soil or with
contaminated military equipment left behind after a conflict.
"We don't know if that kind of exposure will have any health effects. But
now we have a technique that enables us to detect past exposure to
depleted uranium," Gwiazda said.
The paper was published in the January issue of Health Physics. The
authors include Katherine Squibb and Melissa McDiarmid of the University
of Maryland School of Medicine, in addition to Gwiazda and Smith.
This story has been adapted from a news release issued by University Of
California Santa Cruz.
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