Depleted uranium may stop kidneys "in days"
00:01 12 March 02
NewScientist.com news service
Soldiers who inhale or swallow high levels of depleted
uranium (DU) on the battlefield could suffer kidney
failure within days, according to a new report from
the one of the UK's premier scientific bodies, the
Royal Society. There are also long term risks for
children who play in heavily contaminated areas, it
says.
The high density of DU helps shells pierce armour and
about 270 tonnes of it have been fired during wars in
the Gulf and the Balkans in the last decade. Arguments
over the potential risks to human health and the
environment have raged ever since.
The Royal Society published a report on the
radiological hazards in 2001, which concluded that
troops in a tank who survived being hit by a DU shell
could double their risk of dying from lung cancer. Now
the society's team of 11 experts has produced a second
report on the chemical and long-term environmental
risks.
It concludes that most soldiers would not take in
enough DU to damage their kidneys. But it points out
that those in hit tanks, or who spend time cleaning
them up, could suffer heavy metal poisoning.
"Kidney uranium levels in some of these soldiers could
be very high and would probably lead to kidney failure
within a few days of exposure," the report warns.
There is also a danger of damage to reproductive
health, which has been observed in mice.
Contaminated ground
DU shells in the ground could contaminate the soil,
food and water of communities that return to live on
the battlefields, the report says. This may be enough
to harm local children, particularly if they swallow
soil.
But the report is dismissed by anti-DU campaigners who
think that the risks are worse that the Royal Society
thinks.
"This is an attempt to give a scientific imprimatur to
the stance of the government, which is unacceptable,"
argues Malcolm Hooper, a medical chemist from the
University of Sunderland who advises the British Gulf
War veterans.
He says it is wrong to separate the chemical and
radiological effects. He has been told that three out
of the 3000 veterans so far assessed by the UK
government's programme have kidney cancer. This is 12
times the rate amongst civilians and indicates that
the radiation emitted by DU is causing more problems
than its chemical toxicity.
Rob Edwards
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