Properties, use and health effects of depleted uranium

Depleted uranium (DU) has been claimed to contribute to health problems both in military personnel directly involved in war actions as well in military and civilian individuals who resided in areas where DU ammunition was expended. Due to the low specific radioactivity and the dominance of alpha-radiation, no acute health risk can be attributed to external exposure to DU. Internalised DU is both chemo- and radio-toxic. The major risk is from inhalation of DU dust or particles with less than 10 mu m aerodynamic-equivalent diameter, formed when DU ammunitions hit hard targets (aerosol formation) or during weathering of DU penetrators. One major conclusion is that for all post-conflict situations, the inhaled DU quantities (central estimates) produced radiation doses that would be only a fraction of those normally received by the lung from natural radiation. Hence no long term lung effects due to these DU amounts can be expected. These conclusions also hold for whole-body exposure from ingestion of DU in local food and water. (c) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.