[ RadSafe ] Tungsten Alloy Munitions Pose Unforeseen Threat -NIH research

[farbersa at optonline.net]

Hi:
Regarding the long-running depleted U issue health risk thread, see the  
recently published research summary about tungsten alloy munitions [a  
suggested "benign alternative" to depleted U] and tungsten's unexpected  
health threats just published in Environmental Health Perspectives of the  
NIEHS [National Instit. of Environmental Health Safety of NIH.

The intro paragraph and link is given below.

Tungsten Alloy Munitions Pose Unforeseen Threat
In response to concerns about the human and environmental health effects  
of materials used to produce munitions, countries including the United  
States have begun replacing some lead- and depleted uranium-based  
munitions with alternatives made of a tungsten alloy. But this solution  
may not be the "magic bullet" it was once envisioned to be. Researchers  
 from the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute and the Walter Reed  
Army Institute of Research now report that weapons-grade tungsten alloy  
produces aggressive metastatic tumors when surgically implanted into the  
muscles of rats [EHP 113:729-734]. These findings raise new questions  
about the possible consequences of tungsten exposure, and undermine the  
view that tungsten alloy is a nontoxic alternative to depleted uranium and  
lead.


http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/docs/2005/113-6/ss.html#noma

It appears quite likely that tungsten alloy munitions are far more  
hazardous to human health than depleted U weapons.

Stewart Farber
[203] 367-0791 [office]


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