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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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