Article

2009-08-25 Iraq

Radioactive US weapons taking toll in Iraq

Archived material is restricted to Rantburg regulars and members. If you need access email fred.pruitt=at=gmail.com with your nick to be added to the members list. There is no charge to join Rantburg as a member.

Posted by Fred 2009-08-25 00:00|| || Front Page|| [5 views ] Top

#1 Except of course that it isn't radioactive ...

But, it's Uranium for gawd's sake! ;-)

Posted by gorb 2009-08-25 02:57|| 2009-08-25 02:57|| Front Page Top

#2 But it doesn't become pure lead for a gazillion years.

Source: Press TV. Isn't that the Iranian mouthpiece?

Posted by Bobby 2009-08-25 06:05|| 2009-08-25 06:05|| Front Page Top

#3 We have 25 million mines in Iraq
And who planted them? The Allied troops tended to be mobile - you don't want to plant mines when you are moving around, cuz you might forget where you put them.

Posted by Rambler in Virginia">Rambler in Virginia 2009-08-25 07:28|| 2009-08-25 07:28|| Front Page Top

#4 Though depleted Uranium is not significantly radioactive, it is a heavy metal, and as such I would suspect it had some unhealthful effects. Doctor ~~Pink~~ Salmon - any comments on those potential effects?

Posted by Glenmore 2009-08-25 07:57|| 2009-08-25 07:57|| Front Page Top

#5 "For one person we have one mine planted"

So, all you Iranians, go stand on your personal land mine.

Posted by Glenmore 2009-08-25 07:58|| 2009-08-25 07:58|| Front Page Top

#6 As a heavy metal, it is toxic -- similar to though less toxic than lead. Appreciable exposures do cause kidney failure.

Posted by Steve White 2009-08-25 08:06|| 2009-08-25 08:06|| Front Page Top

#7 Let's see. The US has 1.5M cancers each year or 0.50%/year. If Iraq had 140,000 over 6 years, that's 0.01%/year. So either the Iranians are lying their asses off again or DU is very, very good for you.

Posted by ed 2009-08-25 08:16|| 2009-08-25 08:16|| Front Page Top

#8 Although punching a hole in a body has the same effect with either element.

Posted by whitecollar redneck 2009-08-25 08:16|| 2009-08-25 08:16|| Front Page Top

#9 Getting shot by it is harmful enough.

Posted by Eric Jablow">Eric Jablow 2009-08-25 08:17|| 2009-08-25 08:17|| Front Page Top

#10 0.01%/year

Sorry, typo. That's 0.10%/year.

Posted by ed 2009-08-25 08:19|| 2009-08-25 08:19|| Front Page Top

#11 Uranium is radioactive, albeit weakly. Here is an article from the World health Organization on depleted Uranium. If even WHO is not alarmed, why should anyone else be?

Posted by Spot">Spot 2009-08-25 08:19|| 2009-08-25 08:19|| Front Page Top

#12 Yeah yeah. Sure pal. Whatever you say...

Posted by mojo 2009-08-25 10:14|| 2009-08-25 10:14|| Front Page Top

#13 I was in Basrah last year doing Civil Affairs work. Once the Iraqi Army cleared out a neighborhood, we'd follow in behind and spread some bucks around for removing debris, hauling away burned-out cars, etc. (Lest you think this a horrible waste, remember that the fewer wrecks in the road, the fewer places to hide IEDs).

We developed a good working relationship with the IA brigade commander and several local business leaders. One day we sit down and ask them about their priorities now that the Shia militias were gone. One of them trots out the "Your depleted uranium has caused many birth defects. You must give us money." So I ask them to bring me some of the kids who are suffering so that I can see. The gentlemen just smiled at me and changed the topic to what we could do about improving the sewer system.

In short, the Iraqis themselves probably don't believe this crap, but they know they have a decent shot of getting $$$ from some gullible graduate of the American public education system.

Posted by Dreadnought 2009-08-25 10:21|| 2009-08-25 10:21|| Front Page Top

#14 Not mentioned is that cement sidewalks, streets and buildings are more radioactive that depleted uranium.

Posted by Frozen Al 2009-08-25 11:18|| 2009-08-25 11:18|| Front Page Top

#15 And don't forget your ceramic dental fillings!

Posted by gorb 2009-08-25 14:47|| 2009-08-25 14:47|| Front Page Top

#16 Okay, so ... what IS depleted uranium.

Why isn't it called ... lead, which I believe uranium decays into?

/Genuinely curious

Posted by Mizzou Mafia 2009-08-25 15:34|| 2009-08-25 15:34|| Front Page Top

#17 Quick summary, Mizzou-
Uranium can occur in different isotopes (same number of protons, so all are Uranium, but different number of neutrons, so different atomic weights - 'isotopes'). U238 is the more common and more stable isotope, U235 is scarcer and much more unstable. Unstable is just what you want if you are trying to make a nuclear reaction, so we work very hard to separate the U235 from the original mixture of Uranium - that is, we 'enrich' it. What is left behind after we collect the U235 is U238 - Uranium 'depleted' of its reactive isotope. It won't make a nuclear reaction, it won't emit significant radiation, it's just a not-particularly-useful heavy metal.
It does have one notable use - for armor-penetrating ammo. It is very dense, so when you get it moving really fast it packs a real whallop.
As far as your observation that lead is the end product - well, yeah, it is an end product of the chain of radioactive decays, but not of U238, because it doesn't really decay.

Posted by Glenmore 2009-08-25 16:06|| 2009-08-25 16:06|| Front Page Top

#18 Yah, but the Tort Litigators are in excellent health.

Remember the riots when ambulance chasers went for Bhopal money? That is not to deny legitimate compensation.

Posted by Spanky Slamp9315 2009-08-25 16:22|| 2009-08-25 16:22|| Front Page Top

#19 Thanks, Glenmore.

Came back for the explanation, left satisfied.

Once got to rub an Abrams tank in a carrier vessel in the Baltic Sea; apparently their shields are also made of DU. No wonder it gets about 50 gallons to the mile.

Posted by Mizzou Mafia 2009-08-25 16:44|| 2009-08-25 16:44|| Front Page Top

#20 Glenmore, thanks for allowing me to be pedantic, but U238 is reactive but to only very energetic neutrons. When an H-bomb explodes (US and Russian anyway), there is a casing of U238 surrounding the trigger and TN device to focus gammas on the TN pencil. The fission trigger emits high energy neutrons and they will cause the casing to detonate. Thus in US and Russian H-bombs there are three distinct spikes (fission-fusion-fission) that can be detected by high speed sensors.
[/pedantic mode]
TeeHee!

Posted by AlmostAnonymous5839">AlmostAnonymous5839 2009-08-25 17:28|| 2009-08-25 17:28|| Front Page Top

#21 And to continue, in commercial nuclear reactors, U-238 absorbs neutrons and eventually turns into Plutonium 239. In the later stages of core life, a very large percentage of the fission occuring is from Pu-239.

U-238 would also be used in breeder reactors, if we had such things in this country.

Our friend U-238: helpful, but misunderstood.

Posted by Dreadnought 2009-08-25 17:34|| 2009-08-25 17:34|| Front Page Top

#22 I'm willing to bet that your granite counter-tops are more radioactive than DU.

Posted by Mitch H.">Mitch H. 2009-08-25 17:43|| http://blogfonte.blogspot.com/]">[http://blogfonte.blogspot.com/] 2009-08-25 17:43|| Front Page Top

#23 It's said that coffee from certain areas is low level radioactive.

Posted by Bright Pebbles 2009-08-25 19:26|| 2009-08-25 19:26|| Front Page Top

#24 AlmostAnonymous5839: but U238 is reactive but to only very energetic neutrons. When an H-bomb explodes (US and Russian anyway), there is a casing of U238 surrounding the trigger and TN device to focus gammas on the TN pencil. The fission trigger emits high energy neutrons and they will cause the casing to detonate.

Well, if you're going to post nuclear pr0n, then ...

Posted by Mizzou Mafia 2009-08-25 19:34|| 2009-08-25 19:34|| Front Page Top

#25 check out your milk and bananas if you want a scare

Posted by Frank G">Frank G 2009-08-25 19:58|| 2009-08-25 19:58|| Front Page Top

#26 Or your salt.

Posted by Deacon Blues">Deacon Blues 2009-08-25 20:06|| 2009-08-25 20:06|| Front Page Top

#27 Steven Den Beste dealt with with this pretty thoroughly several years ago. link

Posted by Cromert 2009-08-25 23:01|| 2009-08-25 23:01|| Front Page Top

23:55 abu do you love
23:22 texhooey
23:01 Cromert
22:49 Barbara Skolaut
22:23 trailing wife
21:56 trailing wife
21:52 Black Bart Spirt1954
21:46 Alaska Paul
21:31 Skunky Glins 5***
21:25 Eric Jablow
21:20 Eric Jablow
21:10 whitecollar redneck
21:08 Ptah
20:56 eLarson
20:50 Rambler in Virginia
20:48 Procopius2k
20:23 Procopius2k
20:06 Deacon Blues
20:02 JosephMendiola
19:59 JosephMendiola
19:58 Frank G
19:56 JosephMendiola
19:55 Matt
19:50 JosephMendiola