Possible Impacts of Depleted Uranium (DU) Ammunition on Health and Environment
by Dragana Popović, Gordana Ðurić and Dragana Todorović [1]
abstract of the article presented at the round-table conference "Destructive Impacts on Life and Natural Resources in the Southeast Europe in the Last Decade of the Twentieth Century" (January 31st 2001.)
Uranium in the Environment
Natural uranium is a mixture of three radioisotopes: uranium-238 (99%, half-life 4,5x109 years), uranium-235 (0,71%, 7.1x108 years) and uranium-234 (0,006%, 2.48x105 years). Considering the possible impact on human health and environment, the most important radionuclides among the uranium daughters are Ra-226 (1602 years), Rn-222 (3.8 days), Pb-210 (20.4 years), Po-210 (38.4 days). Average global concentrations of U-238 and U-235 in soils are 50-125 Bq/kg and 0.2-5 Bq/kg, respectively, but some of the rocks as aluminum shale rich with uranium could contain up to 5000 Bq/kg of U-238 (4,6,9).
In Serbia, natural uranium is found in greater amounts (mean 50-100 Bq/kg, up to 200 Bq/kg, due to the mineral content in soils), in the mountain regions of Bukulja, Janja, Stara Planina, Kučani-Beljanik, Avala-Kosmaj-Babe, Rudnik, Cer, Vranje-Pčinj, Fruška Gora and Vršacko brdo The distribution of uranium correlates with radioecological areas of Central-Eastern Serbia, Central Serbia, Southern and South-Eastern Serbia (4,13,29). Besides from natural sources, uranium and its daughters are found in the environment due to (agro)technological procedures. The most important sources of the technologically enhanced natural radioactivity are uranium mines, lead and coal mines, steam power plants and their by-products; particularly important sources are mineral fertilizers production plants. Therefore, mostly due to the technological increase in natural radioactivity, the level of natural radiation has increased about 30 to 40 times in the last thirty years. Annual import of 1.000.000 tons of phosphorite, with average uranium concentration of 150 ppm (1 ppm = 1gram/tonne), makes the import of 150 tons of uranium or 50 TBq of radioactivity, disseminated as fertilizers on agricultural land (1,18,20,23).
In the environment, uranium is generally found as water-soluble and therefore, it is easily taken by plants and introduced into the food chains and soil/water ecosystems, migrating from the source of pollution to man. An reliable bioindicator for uranium is honeybee and its products, as uranium concentrates in honey, in the amounts due to geochemical characteristics of soil, agricultural and industrial procedures applied on soils and type of local vegetation (7).
Activity of U-238 is 12.3 Bq/mg and the average body burden for standard man is 30 mg uranium. An average uranium daily input through food equals 10-100 mBq: the uptake is mostly through grains (bread) and meat, about 10 mBq/day. Walnuts, onions, garlic, beans and potatoes have the highest content of uranium among vegetables and fruits; milk and diary products contain less than 1 mBq/kg , eggs less than 3 mBq/kg (5,9,21). Intake by water is about 0.5 Bq/year for average water intake of 500 lit/year. Uranium input through inhalation is minor concerning general population, but those living close to electric power plants are exposed to uranium deposited from dross and ashes, that may contain more than 100 mBq/kg. The equivalent dose in the vicinity of power plants in Yugoslavia is estimated to 1,5 - 4,8 nSv/h , i.e. 3 µSv/year. The average equivalent dose from uranium and its daughters for population in general is 1,04 mSv/year. This value is included in the average equivalent dose per year due to natural sources of ionizing radiation (2 mSv); it is the base to estimate and to assess the effects of all additional sources of radiation in the environment (9,28).
Radiotoxicity of Uranium
Uranium belongs to the 2nd group of toxic elements; it is highly reactive and easily forms oxide compounds. It reaches humans and animals through skin (by directly deposited dust containing uranium), through air (by inhaling dust containing particles with uranium) and through food and water (by deposition of dust on the ground and due to uranium presence in groundwaters and underground waters, vegetation, etc.).
The critical organ for uranium in humans is kidney and the "biological" half-time (period of elimination) for kidneys is 15 days, i.e. 100 days for the whole body. Soluble uranium absorbed in blood is eliminated rapidly through kidney or urine (60-70% is excreted through kidney in the first day, up to 90% in three days afterwards). About 20% of intaken uranium is deposited initially in the bones, while remaining 10% are deposited in other organs (liver, brain, muscle and speen). The average body burden of natural uranium, mostly accumulated in the skeleton is 54 µg. Although the risk from uranium to man is more toxic than radioactive, uranium impacts are referred as radiotoxic, pointing both to the toxic and to the effects due to radiation. Chemical impacts are mostly deterministic above the thresholds assumed as 10 mg/m3 air and 2 mg/l water (acute lethal dose 100 mg/kg body weight), radiological impacts are mainly without the threshold level (cancer probability 5 x 10-2 per Sv; but lethal dose 1 Sv effective dose). Generally , counter-measures are recommended above the expected doses of 100 mSv (9,10,16).
Long-terms investigations in our country indicate that only a small part of uranium taken into the body is deposited in organs, while the larger part (70%) is excreted in urine or feces. The majority of uranium is deposited in bones, lungs, liver and heart. The "metal-like" taste in the mouth is the first symptom of inhaling larger amounts of uranium oxide and the first indicator of the contamination. These investigations mainly refer to accidental conditions (inhalation of uranium in mines) and to people working in the uranium rich environment (workers in uranium processing plants, phosphorus acid and mineral fertilizers production plants; lead and coal mine workers; power plant workers), but some consider population in general, but they. should be basic to consider the uranium input both into the body and the environment as the result of the use of depleted uranium (DU) ammunition. Important data for making conclusions on DU effects are data on uranium concentration in urine during accidental conditions, equaling 10 µg/l- 400 µg/l . Uranium concentration in urine in population in Serbia in non-accidental conditions, is about 1 µg/l (9,17,23).
The Military Use of Depleted Uranium
Depleted uranium DU is uranium in which U-235 isotope is found in the amounts less than 0.72%. It is low radioactive waste material (amount of U-235 generally about 0.3%), a by product of uranium processing in which natural uranium is enriched in U-235 up to 3.2-3.6% for use in nuclear reactors or up to 90% for nuclear weapons Specific activity of depleted uranium and its daughters is 15-19% (40-43 MBq/kg) compared to the activity of natural uranium (78 MBq/kg). As low cost available material, DU came into investigations for industrial and military use in the early seventies (19). Today, DU is used as aircraft counterweight, radiation shielding material, heavy tanks armor material etc. For ammunition purposes, DU was selected primarily for its high density (19.05 g/cm3) as it is 68% denser than lead, that results in high kinetic energy and penetrability (a 30mmm DU bullet can pierce steel armor up to 99 mm thick) and also for its pyrophoricity (its melting point is only 1132oC).
For those in close contact with DU missiles or in vicinity of targeted spots, uranium contaminated dust can penetrate into body or can be deposed on skin; first signs of contamination may be noticed only after several hours, even days, depending on uranium activity. Injuries caused by DU missiles and retaining parts of weapons induce tissue damages, radioactive contamination, and other toxic/radiation damaging effects. The use of DU ammunition brings a certain risk for the environment and human population in general, because when hitting the target, however firm, missile explodes and even burns, emitting radiotoxic products that are disseminated in the air and deposed in the environment.
DU was used for the first time in the Gulf War as 30-mm missiles charge for A-10 anti-tank planes and Tomahawk missiles. More than 80.000 soldiers involved in the Gulf War reported symptoms of mysterious illness (muscle pain, chronic depression, neurological disorders, memory loss) similar to radiation disease. US Veterans Organization claimed that even 400.000 soldiers may have inhaled or ingested depleted uranium dust in the Gulf War. Even military sources reported more than 100.000 soldiers having Gulf War Syndrome. Today, besides USA, DU ammunition is in military use in Britain, Russia, Greece, Turkey, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Kuwait, Pakistan, Taiwan, South Korea and other countries that for security reasons Pentagon is not willing to announce in public.
The total amount of DU used in the Gulf War impact zone is estimated to 350 tons, with Tomahawk missiles even to 750 tones, yielding to the total radioactivity of 27 TBq that effected military personnel and local residents . Each of 30-mm shells contains approximately 275 g of U-238 and when exploded generates 0,5-5 µm uranium oxide particles. The particles are easily dispersed in the environment and carried with the wind to distances sometimes exceeding several hundred kilometers. The risk of DU uptake depends upon the activity of uranium, the absorbed dose, the time of exposure and on the solubility the particles taken into the body. Undissolved particles are readily excreted in feces, while those soluble are deposited in kidneys; inhaled DU particles are either coughed out or transferred to gastrointestinal tract, and afterwards to blood and kidneys, while less soluble particles remain in lungs. When outside the body, the risk of DU is relatively small, because DU particles can hardly penetrate skin, as well as alpha rays they emit, due to their small range. However, when DU particles get inside the body, the risk becomes significant due to the high level of specific alpha particles ionization capacity. The results of the long term epidemiological studies on DU effects on human health are still not conclusive, and the results of investigations conducted on animals do not yield conclusive results, too. But according to International Action Center (IAC, New York) Report, scientific community generally underestimates harmful effects of low radiation doses, including DU. Authors of the Report state that DU weapons represent a threat not only for the targets, but for the handling personnel, soldiers in the impact zone, and environment in general (8,15). Military personnel working with DU ammunition are not classified as radiation workers and therefore, not adequately protected . Pentagon has never established its own safety standards for handling and usage of DU but usually refers to the criteria based on the national safety standards for ionizing radiation (NCR Safety Standards), that require masks and protective devices when handling DU (27). These standards were ignored during the Gulf War. Also, some Iraqi cancer studies reported that the overall risk for cancer is 1.7 times higher for army personnel exposed to DU dust and 4 -5 times higher for people living in the war affected areas (11,12). Still, the Governmental Commission reports that the so-called Gulf War veterans illness is "unlikely" consequent to DU exposure, while the DU Follow Up Program Report states that all the births in veteran families after the Gulf War have been normal (14, 22,24).
During warfare actions in Bosnia, NATO forces used DU ammunition, i.e. 30 mm missiles, weight 418,8 g, shot from 30 mm A-10 air craft seven-fold cannon and used to destruct armored vehicles and concrete bunkers. The U-238 activity in the missile samples was 10.7 MBq/kg sample. The absorbed dose of 0,1 mGy/h was measured on target locations; its value exponentially declining with the distance to the level of natural radiation background at about 3 m from the target locations (25).
DU Used In NATO Aggression in Yugoslavia And Possible Impact On Health And Environment
Official reports states that during the NATO aggression in Yugoslavia approximately 500.000 missiles were used i.e. 3600 kg of uranium oxide, yielding activity of 18,3x1010 Bq (26,28). For comparison, total activity released in the environment during the Chernobyl nuclear plant accident on April 1986, equaled 12x1018 Bq , but concerning the type of explosion and emission of radiation, the effects, the risks and the damages caused by the Chernobyl accident and by the use of DU ammunition in Yugoslavia, can not be compared.
The conclusions of the Pekka Haavisto UNEP team, that visited Kosovo in October 1999, stated that it was not possible to make an objective and professional assessment of the damages caused by the DU ammunition, without reliable information on the number and type of missiles used, the number and locations of the targeted spots, analytical data on uranium and its daughters activity in the different phases of the environment : air, water, soil, plants, sediments, plant and animal food products, fodder, both with the analysis of urine and blood of the directly and/or indirectly exposed persons and data of certain hematological and cytogenetic parameters. Still, the fact was that the environment would be burdened with the new amounts of uranium and its daughters due to the use of DU ammunition, and that included deposition and accumulation of these elements in human population (2). But the new informations offered by NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson in February, 2000 and the panic caused by the so called Balkan Syndrome among the KFOR soldiers re-opened the issue of DU environmental and health effects, at UNEP/BTF Expert DU Group Meeting in Geneva, in September 2000. The final report of the Group is expected in the spring, 2001 (28).
A year after the NATO attack, The Yugoslav Federal Ministry of Defense announced that eight locations in the region of Vranje, Bujanovac and on Lustica Peninsula, outside Kosovo and Metohia, were hit by DU ammunition and are isolated. The soil was contaminated with 200.000-250.000 Bq uranium/kg soil but this was mainly agricultural land, far from urban areas. The report stated that no DU ammunition was used above 44th parallel. The Ministry claimed that there were about a hundred locations in Kosovo/Metohia hit by DU ammunition (Prizren-Ðakovica-Peć) but these were not in Ministry jurisdiction. The Ministry asked for international help for decontamination of the hitted areas. No detailed analytical data or health evaluation data were reported.(3).
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[1]
Dragana Popović: Department of Physics and Biophysics, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Belgrade, SCG
Gordana Ðurić: Alternative Academic Educational Network AAEN, Belgrade, SCG
Dragana Todorović: Environmental and Radiation Protection Laboratory, Institute for Nuclear Sciences "Vinča", Belgrade, SCG
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