[ RadSafe ] Re: AW: U3O8 + O2 --> UO3, auf Deutsch

[James Salsman]

Franz,

Thank you for your reply:

> This is a rather old citation and of course I do not know, when it had
> been updated.

The citation is to R.J. Ackermann, R.J. Thorn, C. Alexander, and
M. Tetenbaum,  "Free Energies of Formation of Gaseous Uranium,
Molybdenum, and Tungsten Trioxides," J. Phys. Chem., vol. 64,
pp. 350-5 (1960.)  From their abstract, "gaseous monomeric uranium
trioxide is the principal species produced by the reaction of
U3O8 with oxygen."  This occurs at 1000 degrees Celsius and
above, well below the fire temperature.

> Whether U3O8 evaporates to UO3 is of no importance to your claims,
> because the DU munition does not contain U3O8, but metallic uranium.

The U.S. Army tests have repeatedly found the combustion products as
25% UO2, 75% U3O8, but not accounting for the entire mass of the burned
uranium (that should have been their first clue that there were other
combustion products.)

> Furthermore I do not understand what UO3 would change in any dosimetric
> model. 

It's soluble in lungs with a half-life of less than two months (much
quicker than U3O8 or UO2.)  The heavy metal toxicity is literally one 
million times worse than the radioactivity.

> Any molecules would attach extremely fast to aerosol particles and they
> would not escape any aerosol collecting device.

Do you have any idea how to determine how fast the monomolecular UO3
gas precipitates?

Sincerely,