One could argue that the development of DU munitions was in response to the acumulation of a large amount of a heavy metal waste stream from the production of nuclear weapons and nuclear fuel....
On Tue, 1 Apr 2003 06:31 am, Tom Tibbits wrote: > There are some people on this list who think they know it all, but > actually.... READ ON > references: > http://www.theecologist.org/archive_article.html?article=174&category=90 > http://civic.net/civic-values.archive/199710/msg00053.html > http://www.theecologist.org/archive_article.html?article=127&category=79 > http://www.iacenter.org/depleted/du.htm > > http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectID=DFE476A2-D7E9-4D77-9D16E6222FEA >F06D http://www.sundayherald.com/32522 > http://www.heureka.clara.net/gaia/du.htm > > > Depleted uranium, or DU, is a highly toxic heavy metal that continues > > to emit low levels of alpha radiation. It is a byproduct of nuclear > > power plants and various military activities. > > > > The United States has hundreds of thousands of tons of DU lying > > around, and for the Gulf War it developed a new use for the stuff: > > load > > it > > > into warheads. > > Lets get it right, DU, ammunition was not made for the Gulf War. It was > developed during the Cold War for dealing with heavy Soviet armor, to > give a higher percentage of one shot tank kills, because it was heavy and > hard, the right combination needed to penetrate thick advanced armor. It > is not loaded into warheads, it is a solid peace of metal that is milled in > to a very precise shape. > > Yes, let's get it right. DU ammunition was developed because Uranium is a > remarkably dense metal, like lead, and thus has lots of inertia when fired > into someting at high speed. unfortunately it's also a toxic 'heavy metal' > and radioactive. It is designed to be incorporated into the tip of a > shell/warhead, to increase penetration efficiency. THe reason why DU is > preferable to anything else is that it is a 'low level waste' which can be > got rid of by using it in weapons. Bear in mind that 99.3% of all uranium > mined is DU (U238) and when the nuclear fuel cycle makes U235 (the fissile > isotope), 141kg of U238 is left over as process waste for every kilo of > U235 extracted. So it's dirt cheap, and cheaper to dispose of in weapons > that to get rid of properly. > > > Though not technically "nuclear," because the material is not really > > fissionable, uranium is a heavy metal ideal for lethally effective > > "warhead > > > penetrators" that can pierce through armored tanks and fortified > > positions. > > Generally fortified positions are going to be attacked with a HEAT type > of round which is explosive, but, is not the SABOT ( non-explosive ) round > that is being talked about in conjunction with DU. > > Ah yes, but when something travelling 500 mph weighing several pounds is > stopped suddenly by a large sheet of steel, all that kinetic energy turns > to heat, which vapourises the DU, creating clouds of Uranium oxide dust. > This can travel large distances airborne, and is easily inhaled. See later. > > > When the munitions explode, the area is bathed in a fine dust of DU > > that > > can > > > be easily inhaled. These aerosols also taint soil and water and > > pollute ground water. > > This DU SABOT ammunition type is not made to explode, but, just punch > through the armor. On the other hand the Uranium is pyroic like common > cigarette lighter flints, and when struck hard ( like when it hits armor > ), it will give off a spark in the same way ( just allot bigger spark ) > this encourages fuel and ammo to burn, some alloys of zirconium do the > same thing, in fact, other types of ammunition ( generally small caliber ) > is made with zirconium alloys because of this. Not all SABOT used in the > Gulf War was DU, nor, were all tank attacks made with the SABOT, the > farthest confirmed tank to tank kill in the Gulf War was made by the > Brits., and it was made over 5 km, with 2 HEAT rounds. > > The dust is a by product of the hit, and is for the most part uranium > oxide, and was never figured to be a factor in the attack. > > Whether or not hte dust was 'figured' to be in the attack, the fact > remains that the dust produced by these shells is highly toxic and > radioactive, and under geneva convention such weapons are actually illegal, > due to the toxicological side-effects.... The fact that it is pyroic is > neither here nor there. Napalm is a much more effective incendiary. > > > DU warheads are essentially dirty bombs -- not very radioactive, but > > poisonous, and this is why there is an increasing global outcry > > against using DU in combat as tips for armor-piercing rounds as well as > > in > > artillery > > > shells and Tomahawk missiles, among others. > > The last part is pure propaganda BS. DU has only been used ( and is only > useful ) in defeating armor and in making tank armor. DU has no place in > Tomahawks, artillery shell or any other exploding ( chemical explosion ) > type of munitions, because, despite this persons claims, DU is not an > explosive. > > No DU is not an explosive, and it is not being claimed to be an explosive > by Hoagy, he correctly states that it is employed in the tips of shells, > rounds and in missiles. DU is also used as a counterweight in some > missiles, and even some aeroplanes (cruise is an example). It is used > bcause it is so dense, so lots of inertia can be packed into a small shell. > > > Such warheads were used very successfully by the U.S. in the Gulf War, > > when more than 350 tons of depleted uranium were dropped on Iraq, and > > later > > > in Kosovo when about 13 tons of DU were exploded in the conflict > > there. > > To claim that "350 tons of DU was dropped on Iraq", and "about 13 tons > exploded in Kosovo" when DU in not used by dropping or is exploded, is > cast doubt on some of the other "research" this person has done in this > area > > Indeed I doubt that the US even had 350 tons of DU Sabots in the entire > theater, let alone in the was able to drop on Iraq. Consider that each > Anti-Tank round weighs under 100 lbs. and only a portion of that is the > DU Sabot. If you take divide 100 lbs ( for each Anti-Tank Sabot round ) > into 350 tons, and figure in each attack had better than a 80% first shot > tank kill, this means that a hell of a lot of BS is being passed around, > because Iraq never at any time had enough tanks for 350 tons to be used ( > let alone the tanks that got away ), especially when you consider that many > of the tanks were killed with conventional explosives. > > The PENTAGON figure is 325 tons, and some agencies put the figure as high > as 900 tons. I know who I'd rather believe. Conventional explosivces > contain DU, unfiortunately!! and the hit rate is about 25%. All in all, > there is plenty of DU in Iraq. As i demonstrated before, there is plenty of > DU around in the world, look at our nuclear programs.!! USA alone has > 500,000 tons DU stockpiled. > > The "Balkan syndrome" that emerged among the military and civilians > > > after the U.S. bombing there bears a similarity to the Gulf War > > syndrome. > > > > Though the findings are controversial, many scientists now see these > > afflictions as the result of heavy metal poisoning and possibly > > exposure > > to > > > very low levels radiation. > > While heavy metal poisoning is a possibility, the Alfa rays that DU gives > off are the weakest of all radiation, and a piece of paper can block > them, let alone the clothing that people wear. As to DU causing Gulf War > syndrome, consider that some scientist have been finding similarities of GW > syndrome with symptoms of Vets from other wars including the US Civil War > > Another myth: someone who claims to understand nuclear science, but > clearly doesn't. Greg, are you a physicist? Alpha radiation may be the > most short ranged, it is true that paper stops alpha particles in their > tracks. However, alpha radiation is actually the most energetic. It is its > particle size which means it is short ranged. Helium nuclei (alpha > particles) are massive in comparison to electrons (beta radiation) or > photons (gamma radiation). Hence they are more likely to hit another > molecule in a short distance. The energy of the particle is several mega > electronvolts (MeV) - and this is where the mutagenic effects manifest > themselves. If you inhale an alpha source, which lodges in your lungs, all > the radiation is absorbed by you lung tissue, whichis quickly irradiated, > changing the DNA (ie cancer). If you inhale a gamma source. 99.9% of the > radiation passes through your body and back out again, so it is a lot less > damaging. Also, heavy metal poisoning is a reality. The fact that it is a > heavy metal means that body can not metabolise it out easily. Talk about > BS....... > > in respiratory and kidney problems, rashes and, > > > longer-term, bone cancer, as well as damaged reproductive and > > neurological > > > systems. > > As are other things. > As is DU > > > Iraqi civilians -- many more than the 100,000 who died in the conflict > > or as a result of the war -- also suffer from a range of similar > > health problems. > > > > Families of soldiers should be very worried. > > > > A huge amount of ordnance has already been unleashed in Iraq, and > > there is no way of knowing how many thousands of tons of depleted > > uranium will find "permanent storage" in the rubble of Iraq, its soil > > and the > > bodies > > > of its people and U.S. occupying forces. > > The only use, for DU, is Tank to Tank fighting, the 25 mm chain gun on > the Bradley and the 30 mm gatling gun on the A-10 Warthog, and DU is not > the only option for those uses, other metals are available and have been > used for making SABOTs. Since the majority of the fighting and ordinance > is not being used on Anti-Tank fighting, then it is more than safe to say > only a fraction of it may be DU, even if the US even is using it. > > Plenty of DU is being dropped on Iraq. Each Cruise missile has some in > it, and shells of all diameters have DU in them. Any 'piercing' ammunition > will probably contain the metal. The DU weapons used in the Gulf War > included 120, 105, 30, 25 and 20mm rounds for use by tanks, aircraft, naval > cannon and machine guns. > > > The rosy fantasies of a democratized Arab world might make for good > > sound bites. But the reality of widespread DU use brings to mind the > > epitaph > > The only known wide spread use of DU in this war so far, has been in the > e-mail that this post is responding to, and much of it, is fiction. > > Hmm, I wonder where you get your fiction from, Greg. > > > Susanna Hecht is a professor in the School of Public Policy and Social > > Research at UCLA. She is head of the environmental analysis and policy > > program. > > A professor knows to do research. If she had checked her facts about DU, > how it is used, and the type of ordnance used in both Gulf wars, she > could not have made as many phony/fake claims as she did. > > So, Prof Greg, where did you get your research from?? I have at least > provided references to my claims. To suggest that an eminent scientist is > making it up is a serious allegation! > > Greg H. > > Tom T > > -- > Tom Tibbits > PG, EXSS, > The Blackett Laboratory, > Prince Consort Road, > London > SW7 2BW > http://www.sc.ic.ac.uk/~q_pv/ > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > -- > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > > > Biofuel at Journey to Forever: > http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html > > Biofuels list archives: > http://archive.nnytech.net/ > > Please do NOT send Unsubscribe messages to the list address. > To unsubscribe, send an email to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ -- Dr Paul van den Bergen Centre for Advanced Internet Architectures caia.swin.edu.au [EMAIL PROTECTED] IM:bulwynkl2002 It's a book. Non-volatile storage media. Everyone should have one. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Make Money Online Auctions! Make $500.00 or We Will Give You Thirty Dollars for Trying! http://us.click.yahoo.com/yMx78A/fNtFAA/i5gGAA/FGYolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Biofuels list archives: http://archive.nnytech.net/ Please do NOT send Unsubscribe messages to the list address. To unsubscribe, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
