> The depleted uranium thing is just not legitimate. Scientists work with
> hotter stuff all the time. Radiologists work with hotter stuff all the
> time. No, nobody recommends getting depleted uranium fragments under your
> skin, but the radiation they produce is eminently measurable and the effects
> relatively well-understood. Depleted uranium shells are nothing like dirty
> bombs. If depleted uranium was contaminating large areas, anybody with a
> Geiger counter could prove it. That hasn't happened because depleted
> uranium is not all that dangerous.
>
> If I was a soldier I would be far more worried about the fact that the
> armed forces are not as subject to environmental work regulations as
> civilian employers. That means the solvents and chemicals they use in
> servicing and maintaining equipment can be much more dangerous than those
> found in the typical workplace and the conditions under which they are used
> can lead to extensive exposure. Methylene Chloride is more likely to get
> you before depleted uranium will, I would say.
I served in the military for 20 years (not that there's anything wrong with that), and worked on aircraft around many dangerous chemicals. During the last 10 years I was in the service, military personnel were made very aware of the hazards of the chemicals that they worked with, the proper way to handle them and the proper way to dispose of them. In fact, for a couple of years one of my collateral duties was enforcing those safety regulations in my outfit. Before that time, I'd say 1984, they didn't enforce the rules that were in place at all, and I was exposed to life-threatening chemicals.
They became subject to OSHA regulations sometime during that period. Of course, there was the big superfund scandal, by which I mean many military bases became superfund sites. I believe also there have been many class-action suits which have forced the military to clean up its act in that regard.
I hope they haven't been backsliding lately. I can't speak for the Army, though. I was in the Navy.
But I have also heard that one reason the 3rd Division was brought home early from Baghdad was because of their exposure to radiation. It's just a rumor, but out there none the less.
That said wouldn't one of the dangers of depleted uranium be the fact that upon impact it is particularized and therefore breathable thus causing more damage than would otherwise occur. -joan
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