Operation Just Cause... ...for as long as it takes
By Linda D. Kozaryn
WASHINGTON -- Beware. Be careful. But don't be overly alarmed.
Depleted uranium, found in some ammunition and armored vehicles,
is a potentially toxic heavy metal, but defense officials say
limited exposure is not dangerous.
The Defense Department has launched a DoD-wide training
initiative to ensure service members know the pros and cons of
the substance known as "DU."
"Depleted uranium carries a 'radioactivity tag' that makes some
people nervous," said Dee Dodson Morris, a retired Army chemical
corps colonel and the Lessons Learned Implementation director in
the Office of the Special Assistant for Gulf War Illnesses.
"What we're trying to do is make sure service members understand
the hazard and what they can do to mitigate it."
The services have incorporated DU awareness training into their
overall training programs. Recruits' basic training now includes
DU instruction, and more advanced training is given to such
service members as nuclear, biological and chemical specialists
and others likely to encounter DU.
Depleted uranium is used in M-1 Abrams tanks, Phalanx gun
systems and some cruise missiles, as well as A-10s, Harriers and
other military and civilian aircraft. The Abrams, Bradley
fighting vehicles and other weapon systems use ammunition
containing DU penetrators.
DU is used in armor because its superior strength, hardness and
density can defeat conventional armor-piercing ammunition. By
the same token, ammunition with needle-like DU penetrators
punches right through conventional armor.
Morris said the U.S. armed forces first used DU munitions and
armor during the Gulf War and decisively demonstrated its
effectiveness. In one incident, a DU round went through a bermed
revetment, through an Iraqi vehicle and through the berm on the
far side. In another incident, three Iraqi vehicles ganged up on
and couldn't stop a lone Abrams tank -- the Abrams crew
destroyed all three Iraqis.
Radiation is the "bogey" associated with DU, Morris explained,
but it's not the real health problem. She said DU emits only
extremely low levels of gamma radiation and low levels of alpha
and beta particles that are easily blocked by skin and clothing.
Running a radiation meter over DU armor or ammunition would
indicate radioactivity, but at a level so low that career-long
exposure wouldn't be enough to hurt you, she said.
"DU is about 40 percent less radioactive than naturally
occurring uranium, and natural uranium is something we live with
every day," Morris said.
She said the primary health concern is DU's chemical toxicity.
"Uranium is a heavy metal, like lead. It can, in fact, poison
the body, but it takes an awful lot to do that." Prolonged
exposure is known to cause kidney failure, Morris said, but
Department of Veterans Affairs studies done since the Gulf War
have found no evidence of kidney damage, even among veterans who
still have DU fragments embedded in their bodies.
Gulf War friendly fire incidents exposed American troops to the
heavy metal. About 113 soldiers were in or near combat vehicles
hit by DU rounds. Another 30 to 60 rescuers entered these
vehicles immediately after the hits. Some soldiers inhaled or
ingested DU particles or were struck by DU fragments. Others had
DU contaminate their wounds.
A VA program in Baltimore is assessing the health effects on 33
of these service members. About half still carry DU fragments in
their bodies. They've shown higher than normal levels of uranium
in their urine since monitoring began in 1993, while veterans
with no retained fragments show normal levels, VA officials
said.
Overall, Morris said, the study has found no adverse health
effects that can be attributed to DU. Tests of kidney functions
in the 33 subject veterans have all been normal. Their
reproductive health also appears to be normal -- there have been
no birth defects in any of the babies they've fathered since
1991.
The Army, executive agent for the training initiative, has
produced a video slated to reach the field by October. The film
explains how to operate safely and effectively in environments
where service members could encounter DU contamination.
Working with DU is safe if done in accordance with the training
the military provides, Morris stressed. Ammo handlers should
take the same precautions with DU that they would with any other
ammunition, she said. Service members in a vehicle struck by a
DU munition, or in a DU armored vehicle struck by any munition,
can safely exit their vehicle without any concern for what they
might be breathing, she added.
"There is no need to take specific precautions at that time
because it would take an awful lot of the aerosolized uranium
oxide from the impact to harm them," Morris said. "Their first
concern should be emergency exit and life saving."
People assigned to decontaminate those vehicles and to assess
battle damage, however, should protect themselves by wearing a
respirator and covering exposed skin, she added. "It's a simple
precaution, because they are on the site a lot longer," she
said.
In fact, Morris pointed out, the vast majority of Gulf War DU
exposure cases didn't occur in combat, but were people who
toured the battlefields and climbed in and on vehicles struck by
DU munitions.
"So the big message in the video is: Leave things alone. If you
don't need to touch something, don't," she said.
Sent in by Veterans News and Information Services
American Forces Press Service
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