Re[2]: Kosov DU - New Scientist Report

[col_eric_daxon@MEDCOM2.SMTPLINK.AMEDD.ARMY.MIL]

     Al Tschaeche wrote:
     
     
     >>>290 tonnes of DU is a LOT of DU.  One can imagine many people inhaling 
     milligram quantities of fine DU dust when they are climbing in and around 
     tanks distroyed by DU shells.  Does anyone know of any credible studies to 
     determine whether the chemical toxicity of DU affected any American troops 
     in the Gulf War?  This clearly would not be a radioactive problem, but 
     people know that  uranium is radioactive and might be thinking too much 
     about the radioactivity and not enough about the chemical toxicity.  Any 
     real information out there about that?<<<
     
     
     Key points to remember regarding 290 tonnes.
     
        +  Not all of the 290 tonnes hit their targets.  So the DU remains in 
     solid form not aerosolized.  Only a limited number of rounds actually 
     struck a target.
     
        +  When a round strikes a soft target (trucks, cars) very little if any 
     is aerosolized.
     
        +  When a round strikes a hard target (tank, armored personnel carrier), 
     only a fraction (typically 10 to 35%) is aerosolized.
     
        +  Of the fraction aerosolized, a significant fraction remains outside 
     of the vehicle.
     
        +  Of that aerosolized only a fraction (approx. 60% to 96%) is 
     respirable and resuspendable.
     
        +  Most importantly, the DU was used over a very large area.  There were 
     dispersed battlefields in Kuwait and in Iraq.  If you use the average 
     uranium soil concentrations there are approximately 400,000 tons of natural 
     uranium in Kuwait.
     
     Yes, there are studies of both the contamination and the resuspension. 
     DOD and DOE conducted over 35 tests of DU striking armored vehicles 
     and DU involved in fires.  The only time someone could inhale 
     milligram amounts is for personnel inside the vehicle immediately 
     after the penetrator penetrated the crew compartment.  This was a 
     worst case estimate.
     
     Airborne concentrations around the vehicle at the time of the strike 
     were also measured and were found to be below NRC and OSHA DACs and 
     PELs respectively.
     
     The measured airborne concentrations from resuspension inside struck 
     vehicles (worst case because of the confined areas) were below the 
     OSHA limits and NRC limits for continuous occupancy.  The soil 
     contamination levels around these vehicles were below the limits for 
     unrestricted use of the land.
     
     Eric G. Daxon, PhD, CHP
     Daxfam@aol.com
     (210) 221-6612
     
     
     


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