Depleted Uranium Usage and Health Concerns

As with other popular solutions to inconveniences throughout our past such as lead, mercury, and DDT, depleted uranium (DU) seemed like a good idea. There were a couple of problems that arose in the sixties that required a fix; enemy tank armor was getting stronger and the tungsten ammunition of the time was proving unsatisfactory, and there was a growing concern of radioactive waste; how to dispose of it and could it be used for something?

Depleted uranium seemed to solve both problems quite well; it was denser than tungsten and test results proved it worked great against modern armor, and now the U.S. Government had a solution to some of its nuclear waste.

Unfortunately, the first Gulf War revealed some side effects in the use of depleted uranium on the battle-field; side effects that had lasting repercussions on the civilian population in the form of radiation sickness, an increase in cancers, and birth defects. So much evidence for the negative side effects of using depleted uranium appeared that even the United Nations grew concerned and pointed out the similarities to other weapons of mass destruction.

Of course, the United States plays the game of war by its own rules so the mounting global concerns of using depleted uranium fell on deaf ears; after all, in low quantities, depleted uranium is virtually harmless, even the World Health Organization's details on its effects support this. Of course, the U.S. Military would never put its forces in the midst of dangerous doses of radioactive dust. But then, maybe it would.

This online article offers a tremendous amount of information, and several verifiable sources, about the controversy surrounding the use of depleted uranium.

Other news sources have followed the depleted uranium issue for several years, resulting in an ever-growing and difficult to verify death toll: from growing concerns in 1999, to a closer look at the number of people affected in 2006, to a fear-mongering and paranoia induced claim in 2008.

From obvious health issues to apocalyptic claims, the use of depleted uranium has sparked a storm of controversy. However, once again, the public media has largely turned a blind eye to a global issue that could potentially bring down government officials in high places. The depleted uranium controversy is slowly being swallowed by conspiracy theorists and might one day degenerate into yet another tin foil hat story. For now, at least, the health issue is very real and still somewhat fresh. If only the story would be taken up by a reputable, public and American personality.