Depleted uranium: a strange way to protect Libyan civilians

[indimuse]

http://stopwar.org.uk/content/view/2321/27/
" fit the description of a dirty bomb in every way... I would say that it is the perfect weapon for killing lots of people." Marion Falk, chemical physicist (retd), Lawrence Livermore Lab, California, USA

In the first 24 hours of the Libyan attack, US B-2s dropped forty-five 2,000-pound bombs. These massive bombs, along with the Cruise missiles launched from British and French planes and ships, all contained depleted uranium (DU) warheads.
DU is the waste product from the process of enriching uranium ore. It is used in nuclear weapons and reactors. Because it is a very heavy substance, 1.7 times denser than lead, it is highly valued by the military for its ability to punch through armored vehicles and buildings. When a weapon made with a DU tip strikes a solid object like the side of a tank, it goes straight through it, then erupts in a burning cloud of vapor. The vapor settles as dust, which is not only poisonous, but also radioactive.
An impacting DU missile burns at 10,000 degrees C. When it strikes a target, 30% fragments into shrapnel. The remaining 70% vaporises into three highly-toxic oxides, including uranium oxide. This black dust remains suspended in the air and, according to wind and weather, can travel over great distances. If you think Iraq and Libya are far away, remember that radiation from Chernobyl reached Wales.



<snip> Note:
When you check through official documents on weaponry in both the US and UK you will find few references to DU usage, they prefer to talk about 'enhancements' and 'design modifications' to 'improve penetrations' as here:
"The Air Force is improving capability to attack hardened and/or deeply buried targets during adverse environmental conditions. The performance of the current 4,700-lb BLU-113, used on the GBU-28 GPS/laser-guided bomb, is being greatly enhanced through the design modification of the BLU-122 warhead, improving its penetration, lethality, and survivability. This modification will increase the number of deeply buried targets held at risk. In addition, some existing targets held at risk will require fewer weapons, therefore reducing the number of missions necessary to defeat a target."



More History on DU :http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/munitions/du-history.htm





Do you think there are legitimate concerns here?

[indimuse]

1. wow...

The * silence speaks volumes....*...

[Catherina]

2. Happy to recommend this

but just so you know: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=741800&mesg_id=741800


The same types who nay sayed our use of DU in Iraq are at it again.

[indimuse]

10. oops! sorry didn't know!

I agree..but now we have the UNrecs! Most of my anti-war threads sink quickly..

[proud2BlibKansan]

3. k n r

[FreeJoe]

4. U-238

When found in nature, Uranimum is a mix of isotopes. They separate out the U-235 (the really radioactive stuff) to use in nuclear power plants and nuclear weapons. The stuff left over, U-238, is used in anti-armor bullets because it is really dense.

It's still relatively nasty stuff, but nothing like U-235. The people that come into contact with significant amounts generally die from the physical trauma. It certainly isn't healthy to be in the general area, but that's pretty true of just about every weapons system use for destroying armored targets.

I don't see it as being significantly more distasteful than much of the other stuff in our arsenal. I think the better answer is to lower our willingness to go to war rather than to obsess over minor differences in secondary lethality of our weapons systems. To the extent that we should be protesting nasty weapons, we should focus on the stuff that does lots of harm to non-combatants, like mines.

[StarburstClock]

7. How about when radioactive materials enter water supplies, food?

Got any expert advice on that?

[FreeJoe]

8. I'm no expert...

But there isn't much radioactivity in depleted uranium. They take all the highly radioactive stuff out because it is very valuable. It's probably a lot more dangerous as a chemical toxin rather than as radioactive waste.

[Zhade]

5. Don't you know? Nuclear is all the rage!

Shit, I've even seen otherwise-sane people here repeating the Nuclear Inc. softsell recently.

#5

[Lurks Often]

6. I am extremely skeptical of the source stopwar.org

stating that depleted uranium is being used in bombs and cruise missiles, especially since your secondary source globalsecurity.org only lists depleted uranium being used in tank gun rounds (105mm & 120mm) and automatic cannon rounds (20mm, 25mm & 30mm).

The increased penetration of bombs is due to thickening and hardening of the steel case that contains the explosive and fuse. Using your own secondary source, here is a description of the design & development of the GBU-28:

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/munitions/gbu-28.htm

This matches what I have read in printed sources regarding the design & development of the GBU-28.

Absent another, less biased source then stopwar.org, this story is crap.

[Modern_Matthew]

9. Liberation is just another word for the U.S. has something to lose. nt

[Wilms]

11. Freedom War Heads. n/t