Ammunitions, depleted uranium

Keywords Ammunition, Depleted uranium, Health impact, Natural radioactivity... 

Under federal law, silencers are treated in the same category as automatic weapons. Armor-piercing ammunition (popularly called cop-killer bullets) were banned in 1986, with an expanded definition of banned bullets in the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 that includes bullets made of tungsten, beryllium, depleted uranium, and other exotic materials. Other accessories can also cause a weapon to be banned (see Assault Weapons above). 

As is well known, ammunition containing depleted uranium (DU) was used by NATO, for example, in the former Yugoslavia. To evaluate the origin of DU (enrichment process of natural uranium or reprocessing of exhausted nuclear fuel) it is necessary to directly detect the presence... 

Danesi et al.96 applied SIMS, in addition to X-ray fluorescence imaging, by using a microbeam (p-XRF) and scanning electron microscope equipped with an energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence analyzer (SEM-EDXRF) to characterize soil samples and to identify small DU particles collected in Kosovo locations where depleted uranium (DU) ammunition was employed during the 1999 Balkan conflict. Knowledge of DU particles is needed as a basis for the assessment of the potential environmental and health impacts of military use of DU, since it provides information on possible resuspension and inhalation. The measurements indicated spots where hundreds of thousands of particles may be present in a few mg of contaminated soil. The particle size distribution showed that most of the DU particles were < 5 pm in diameter and more than 50 % of the particles had a diameter of < 1.5 p.m.96... 

Armor-piercing (AP) ammunition has a projectile or projectile core constructed entirely from a combination of tungsten alloys, steel, iron, brass, bronze, beryllium copper, or depleted uranium. The most effective AP bullets are usually confined to rifle bullets, as velocity and range are important factors in AP requirements. Some revolver and pistol ammunition is described as metal piercing but, although it would be effective against vehicle bodywork and some body armor, it would be ineffective against heavy armor plate. AP bullets are, with very few exceptions, jacketed. 

Depleted uranium is an excellent metallic substrate for radiation shielding and for armor and ammunition by the military due to its density and pyrophoric properties. Furthermore, the unique ability of uranium-based ammunitions to sharpen themselves upon impact, allowing for deeper penetration of the ammunitions, also makes DU a better substrate for weapons of mass destruction. As such, it is not suprising that the use of DU in military applications is expected to grow. This increased use will no doubt be bolstered by recent scientific studies showing that DU exposure has relatively low adverse health effects, contrary... 

Parkhurst, M.A. (2003). Measuring aerosols generated inside armoured vehicles perforated by depleted uranium ammunition. Radiat. Prot. Dosimetry 105 167-70. 

The primary use for uranium is in nuclear power reactors and in weapons. Low-enriched metal or ceramic UO2 fuel pellets (enriched in fissile U-235) are produced for commercial power reactors. Smaller quantities of high-enriched fuel are produced for shipboard power reactors and weapons manufacture. Depleted uranium, a by-product of the enrichment process, is used for armor-piercing ammunition for the military, for counter balances and weights, and for radiation shielding. A small amount of uranium is used in specialty chemicals and catalysts. 

The use of more than 200 tonnes of depleted uranium ammunition in the first Gulf War and in conflicts in the Balkans led to local contamination with in metallic and oxidized particulate form (Bleise et al. 2002). 

Articles manufactured from natural thorium or depleted uranium (e.g., armour-piercing ammunition, alloys, light filaments). 

During enrichment, every ton of uranium hexafluoride processed yields about 130 kg of enriched UFg (about 3.5% U) and 870 kg of depleted UFg (mostly U). The enriched UFg is subsequently converted at specialized fuel fabrication facilities into uranium dioxide (UO2) powder and pressed into fuel pellets. The depleted uranium has found use in its metal form as counterweights in yacht keels, as antitank ammunition or radiation shielding, since it is only slightly radioactive (less radioactive than natural uranium) and 1.7 times more dense than lead. 

Vukotic P, AndeUc T, Zekic R, Kovacevic M, Savic S (2004) Survey and decontamination of Cape Atza, targeted with depleted uranium ammunition. 11th IRPA, Madrid, Spain, 23-28 May 2004, 7c22... 

Petkovic S, Zaric M, Devic Z (2000) The use of ammunition containing depleted uranium in NATO aggression against Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Vinca Institute Nuclear Sciences Bulletin 5 38-47... 

Natural (NU or Unat), depleted (DU), low-enriched (LEU), and high-enriched (HEU) uranium the content of the only natural fissile isotope, U—is an important feature of uranium applications and value. In natural uranium, the content of this isotope is 0.720 atom % or 0.711 wt% (Table 1.2). LEU is defined as U content between 0.720% and just below 20%, while HEU encompasses uranium with U content above 20%. The 20% borderline between LEU and HEU is artificial and was based on the assumption that nuclear weapons with 20% or less U would not be efficient. The waste, or tails, of the isotope enrichment process contains less U than in natural uranium and is defined as depleted uranium (DU). The U-235 content in DU is usually in the range of 0.2%-0.4%. DU is used mainly in armor piecing ammunition, in reactive armor of tanks, in radiation shielding, and is also used as ballast weights in aircraft. In addition, many of the commercially available fine chemicals of uranium compounds are based on the tails of uranium-enrichment facilities and usually labeled as not of natural isotope composition. 

As uranium has a density almost 70% higher than that of lead, ammunition made from this metal is an effective anti-tank weapon. When used in combat, the uranium in the bullet ignites upon impact and a cloud of uranium oxide dust is formed. To reduce the radiation risk, depleted uranium (DU) is used in weapon systems of this type. It is obtained as a residue when natural uranium has been enriched in respect of uranium-235. DU is a substance that is only about half as radioactive as natural uranium. But due to its radioactivity - even if it is low - the dust can cause internal injuries if it is inhaled or ingested. 

Sansone, U., Danesi, P.R., Barbizzi, S., et al., 2001a. Radioecological survey at selected sites hit by depleted uranium ammunitions during the 1999 Kosovo conflict. Sci. Total Environ. 281, 23-35. 

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