What is Depleted Uranium?


  • Depleted uranium (DU) is the waste product left over from the processing of uranium into fissionable nuclear-grade materials which are used in making nuclear weapons or in fuel rods used for generating electricity in nuclear power plants.

  • DU is not entirely “depleted” of its radioactive properties. It still contains low levels of radioactivity which, as studies prove, are quite dangerous and even lethal to humans and other living organisms.

  • There are now over 500,000 tons of DU stockpiled in the United States. Because of its toxicity, it is costly to store or safely dispose of depleted uranium.

  • DU is 1.7 times denser that lead which makes it, from a weapons manufacturer’s point of view, a highly useful material. Bullets made of DU can easily penetrate steel. Armor made of DU can resist penetration by conventional lead bullets.

  • Bullets made of DU are pyrophoric – that is, they ignite and burn upon impact. This, in turn, causes up to 70% of the bullet to aerosolize or disintegrate into a very fine radioactive dust.

  • DU is deployed by all kinds of weapons: guns, artillery, bombs and missiles.

  • The uranium from spent DU weapons is harmful to health in three ways: First, uranium is a heavy, toxic metal like lead, mercury or cadmium that poisons the body chemically. It has a natural affinity for phosphorous compounds such as those found in DNA and thus is drawn to the nucleus of cells where it may cause genetic mutations.

  • Secondly, uranium is a radioactive material that emits subatomic particles that destroy body cells or alter DNA. (There is considerable debate in the medical community whether DU’s harmful effect is caused more by its radioactivity or its chemical toxicity.)

  • Thirdly, DU dust particles are smaller than one micron, and can be readily absorbed into the body, either directly through the skin, inhaled through the lungs or ingested where they are then carried throughout the body by the bloodstream.

  • The extremely small particles can be easily transported by wind and water to other regions of the world where they can contaminate the environment.

  • The radioactive half life of uranium is 4.4 billion years.

  • Because the DU in military ordnance is dispersed into such small particles, it is virtually impossible to decontaminate the environment wherever it is used.

  • It is possible to remove DU from the human body through a process of detoxification using diet, vitamin and mineral supplementation, saunas and special baths.