[ RadSafe ] pyrophoric uranium considered nonessential

[James Salsman]

Otto Raabe wrote:

> According to the Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, CRC Press, UO3 is 
> not a gas but rather an insoluble yellow red powder that is highly 
> unstable and decomposes at room temperature....

R.J. Ackermann, R.J. Thorn, C. Alexander, and M. Tetenbaum, in "Free
Energies of Formation of Gaseous Uranium, Molybdenum, and Tungsten
Trioxides," Journal of Physical Chemistry, vol. 64 (1960) pp. 350-5
state within their abstract, "gaseous monomeric uranium trioxide is
the principal species produced by the reaction of U3O8 with oxygen."
They indicate that this occurs at about 1000 degrees Celsius and above,
below the temperatures reported elsewhere for pyrophoric uranium
ordnance fires. By "monomeric," the authors clearly mean
"monomolecular," and indicate that almost all such UO3 produced is in
the gaseous state and comprised of single molecules.

The 1960 Ackermann et al. study is still considered authoritative, in
that the following recent peer-reviewed scientific publications cite
it as an authority:  K. Nakajima and Y. Arai, in "Mass-spectrometric
investigation of UO{sub 3}(g)," J. Nucl. Mater., vol. 294, no. 3 (2001)
pp. 250-255, which has been cited by other scientific publications at
least once. D.W. Green, "Relationship between spectroscopic data and
thermodynamic functions; application to uranium, plutonium, and thorium
oxide vapor species," J. Nucl. Mater., vol. 88, no. 1 (1980) pp. 51-63,
which has been cited by other scientific publications at least six
times. R.J. Ackermann and A.T. Chang, "Thermodynamic Characterization of
U3O8-Z Phase," J. Chem. Thermodyn., vol. 5, no. 6 (1973) pp. 873-890,
which has been cited by other scientific publications at least thirty
times. Four earlier peer-reviewed publications which cite the Ackermann
et al. (1960) paper, which together have been cited at least 98 times,
are provided with their full bibliographies on the internet at:
   http://www.bovik.org/du/2bibs.html

Simon Cotton, in his scholarly expository monograph entitled 
"Lanthanides and Actinides," (New York: Oxford University Press, 1991)
on page 127 writes, "Aerial oxidation of any uranium compound
eventually results in the formation of a uranyl compound."

The abstract of P.E. Morrow, et al., "Inhalation Studies of Uranium
Trioxide," Health Physics, vol. 23 (1972), pp. 273-280, states:
"inhalation studies with uranium trioxide (UO3) indicated that the
material was more similar to soluble uranyl salts than to the so-called
insoluble oxides ... UO3 is rapidly removed from the lungs, with most
following a 4.7 day biological half time." This indicates that uranium
trioxide is is as non-radiologically toxic as the most hazardous uranium
compounds.

Monoolecular gasses are absorbed directly into the bloodstream, no
matter what their ostensible solubility characteristics are.

> Uranium is not a toxin (look up "toxin" in your dictionary). The 
> toxicology if uranium has been under study for more than 50 years....

U.K. Materials Safety Data Sheets list all hexavalent compounds of
uranium, including uranium trioxide, as "very toxic by inhalation," 
"very toxic by ingestion," and "with cumulative effects." That is
the greatest category of toxicity (U.S. M.S.D.S's have fewer
toxicity categories.)

In fact, uranium has been known as a reproductive toxin by
authorities on uranium toxicology since as far back as 1953:

   "Degenerative changes in the testes resulting in aspermia in the
   testes and epididymis [were] apparently a result of uranyl nitrate"
   -- Maynard, E.A., Downs, W.L. and Hodge, H.C., "Oral toxicity of
   uranium compounds," in Voegtlin, C. and Hodge, H.C., editors,
   _Pharmacology and Toxicology of Uranium_, Volume 3 (New York:
   McGraw-Hill, 1953), pp. 1221-1369.

Recent studies confirm this fact:

   "In rats, there is strong evidence of depleted uranium accumulation
   in tissues including testes, bone, kidneys, and brain." -- Pellmar,
   et al., "Distribution of uranium in rats implanted with depleted
   uranium pellets," _Toxicol Sci_, vol. 49 (1999) pp. 29-39.

   "existing data indicate that implanted DU translocates to the
   rodent testes and ovary, the placenta, and fetus.... DU has been
   shown to be genotoxic...." Benson, K.A., Evaluation of the health
   risks of embedded depleted uranium (DU) shrapnel on pregnancy and
   offspring development, Annual Report No. 19981118065, October 1998.

That obscure publication cites A.C. Miller of the U.S. Armed Forces
Radiobiology Research Institute, who indicates that the chemical
toxicity of uranium is about six orders of decimal magnitude worse
than its radiological hazard, in "Depleted uranium-catalyzed
oxidative DNA damage: absence of significant alpha particle decay,"
Journal of Inorganic Biochemistry, vol. 91 (2002), pp 246–252:
   http://www.bovik.org/du/Miller-DNA-damage.pdf

Uranium has also been a known developmental toxin since as far back
as 1989, "The Developmental Toxicity of Uranium in Mice," Toxicology,
vol. 55 (1989), pp. 143-152:  http://www.bovik.org/du/devtox-mice.pdf

In February, 1991, and more recently, a large number of people
serving in the U.S. Armed Forces were exposed to uranium combustion
products by inhalation, along with other substances such as fossil
fuel combustion products, insect repellents, antidotes, and
vaccinations, all of which have been shown, according to Pentagon
officials, to free from reproductive hazards either alone or in any
combination.  However, the exposed veterans suffered significant
reproductive harm:

   "Overall, the risk of any malformation among pregnancies reported
   by men was 50% higher in Gulf War Veterans (GWV) compared with
   Non-GWVs" -- Doyle et al., _Int. J. Epidemiol._, vol. 33 (2004),
   pp. 74-86:  http://ije.oupjournals.org/cgi/content/full/33/1/74

   "Infants conceived postwar to male GWVs had significantly higher
   prevalence of tricuspid valve insufficicieny (relative risk [RR],
   2.7; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.1-6.6; p = 0.039) and aortic
   valve stenosis (RR, 6.0; 95% CI, 1.2-31.0; p = 0.026) compared to
   infants conceived postwar to nondeployed veteran males. Among infants
   of male GWVs, aortic valve stenosis (RR, 163; 95% CI, 0.09-294; p
   = 0.011) and renal agenesis or hypoplasia (RR, 16.3; 95% CI, 0.09-294;
   p = 0.011) were significantly higher among infants conceived postwar
   than prewar." -- Araneta, et al., "Prevalence of birth defects among
   infants of Gulf War veterans in Arkansas, Arizona, California,
   Georgia, Hawaii, and Iowa, 1989-1993," _Birth Defects Res A Clin Mol
   Teratol._, vol. 67, no. 4 (April, 2003) pp. 246-60:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12854660&dopt=Abstract

It is estimated that exposure to only 0.34 mg of uranium can result
in symptoms:  "Estimate of the Time Zero Lung Burden of Depleted
Uranium in Persian Gulf War Veterans by the 24-Hour Urinary Excretion
and Exponential Decay Analysis," _Military Medicine_, vol. 168, no. 8
(2003) pp 600-605:  http://www.bovik.org/du/inhalation-est.pdf
Please see also:
   http://www.bovik.org/du/chromosome-abberations.pdf
   http://www.bovik.org/du/5_Durakovic.pdf
   http://www.bovik.org/du/4_Durakovic.pdf

I have obtained the data in this graph, originally published by the
Iraqi government in early 2001, and since confirmed in 2004 by
physicians working in Basrah, Iraq.  It represents the birth defect
rate in Basrah, Iraq over years:
   http://www.bovik.org/du/basrah.gif

Sincerely,
James Salsman