A 5-year-old Iraqi boy will return home Sunday after undergoing treatment for leukemia, which he is believed to have contracted from depleted uranium used in Iraq war (sic), the boy's mother and Japanese supporters said Wednesday.When Sean and I were in Japan, there were protestors making a big deal about the depleted uranium. Sean laughed and told me that "depleted" means "not radioactive", and that there was no chance of anyone getting hurt by radiation.
Are the Japanese overly sensitive, understandably, due to what happened in World War II? Or is Sean wrong?
7 comments:
Sean just said to me, "Honey, you put off more radiation than depleted uranium. It's more dangerous for me to sleep next to you every night than it would be for me to sleep next to depleted uranium."
He then pointed me to this article.
I don't know why I'm not just editing my post, instead of making a bunch of comments...
"no amount of rock music will change the fundamental science involved" has got to be one of the coolest lines ever.
that's really weird. i could believe an inaccurate article, but an scientifically inaccurate protest?
Depleted uranium is about 40 percent less radioactive than natural uranium. Depleted uranium emits alpha and beta particles, and gamma rays. Alpha particles, the primary radiation type produced by depleted uranium, are blocked by skin, while beta particles are blocked by the boots and battle dress utility uniform (BDUs) typically worn by service members. While gamma rays are a form of highly-penetrating energy, the amount of gamma radiation emitted by depleted uranium is very low.
-Kelly
When depleted rouns are fired, the exposed depleted uranium rod (bullet, shell, etc) poses an extremely low radiological threat as long as it remains outside the body. Taken into the body via metal fragments or dust-like particles, depleted uranium may pose a long-term health hazard to personnel. The amount which remains in the body depends on a number of factors, including the amount inhaled or ingested, the particle size and the ability of the particles to dissolve in body fluids.
When inside the body, is it then dangerous because it's radioactive, or dangerous for the same reason it's dangerous to eat lead-based paint? :> Because if it's the second one, you wouldn't get leukemia from that, right? You'd just...die.
To answer this (likely) long forgotten question, both.
Internal radition and ingentsion of a heavy metal are harmful. Is DU dust a significant source for these dangers? That's hotly debated, but I tend to think the answer is "no". Simply because the prime debators are the reactionaries of the Anti-radation crowd. WHO seems to think it's not a severe risk.
Read here for more: http://www.useu.be/Categories/Defense/Mar3103DepletedUranium.html
Sam
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