Uranium is utilized in nuclear power plants because of the ability for Uranium-235, to undergo Nuclear Fission. The energy produced is caused by a reaction between Uranium-235 and the constant bombardment of neutrons. This method of energy production creates a uranium rod that has a lower ratio of Uranium-235 to Uranium-238. These rods containing less U-235 are not as reactive as rods rich in the isotope, causing less and less energy to be produced. This by-product is depleted uranium and is still radioactive, but no longer has any use in the generation of energy+. In 1991 this by-product was utilized during the Gulf War as an armor piercing round because of it's high density, and ability to ignite+. The use of depleted uranium as armor-piercing …show more content…
Because of it's effectiveness as an armor piercing round depleted uranium was heavily utilized in the First Gulf War. In research conducted by the United Nations Environmental Program on the use of depleted uranium during several wars it is stated that a combination of 300 tons of uranium rounds were used in both ground to ground combat and air to ground combat+. Regardless of whether the ton is a US ton, imperial ton, or metric ton the amount remains a significant amount. In this same report, the amount of uranium used in air to ground combat was 250 tons+. The fact that these rounds were fired from air to ground is also important because from the air missed bullets are likely to be fired downward into the ground and penetrate the ground with little resistance. Bullets that find their armored target ignite on contact and begin to release uranium oxides inside black smoke created from ignition. These fine particles are then able to be ingested the same way someone ingests nicotine from tobacco cigarettes. Soldiers breathe in the uranium particulate and now have been internally exposed to …show more content…
Gamma radiation is weakly emitted from depleted uranium+ but the fact that internalized uranium has direct contact with cells within the human body is cause for concern. Gamma radiation is a mutagen, meaning that is causes incorrect replication of DNA within a cell. The incorrect replication in DNA occurs because the radiation causes free radical to develop within a cell that cause an incorrect order of nucleotides, and when the cell replicates so does the error. This continued replication of Incorrect cells can become malignant and cause cancer+. The human body is resilient and does eject the uranium from the body through
Urainum-238 has a half-life of around 4.5 billion years, meaning that half the atoms in any sample will decay in that amount of time (4.5 billion years). Uranium-238 emits alpha particles which are less powerful than other forms of radiation, and weak gamma rays. As long as it remains outside the body, uranium poses little health
The Navy’s testing included napalm, a mixture of a gelling agent and petroleum or a similar fuel for use as an incendiary device; and depleted uranium, a radioactive strain of uranium with a lower content of a fissile isotope U-235, substances which the Navy originally denied using. In 1999, the Navy admitted that it tested 14 napalm bombs on Vieques in 1993 and that depleted uranium (DU) tipped ammunition was first testing in Vieques 1980. Between 300 and 800 DU weapons were tested during the Gulf War. Because of high temperatures, uranium is released in a radioactive cloud. A single particle of DU can be lodged in the human lung, where it will give off eight hundred times the radiation considered safe by US regulations. 3 DU exposure includes: reactive airway disease, neurological abnormalities, kidney stones, chronic kidney pain, rashes, vision degeneration, leukemia, lymphoma, birth defects, and gastrointestinal
It is now known that radium, shown in figure 4, is a potent carcinogen (a substance the cause’s cancer (Wilbraham, Staley, Marta, & Waterman, 2005)). It emits a form of ionizing radiation which “includes electromagnetic radiation (e.g., gamma rays and X-rays) as well as particles (e.g., alpha particles, beta particles, high-speed neutrons, high-speed electrons, high-speed protons, etc.)” (National Library of Medicine, n.d.). Acute studies have been done on the effects of radium exposure on the human body by organizations like the Geneva World Health Organization, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, and Monographs on the Evaluation of the Carcinogenic Risk of Chemicals to Man. As a result of their findings, The National Library of Medicine states that sufficient evidence has been provided showing that prolonged exposure to Raduim-224, Radium-226,
Several possible health effects are associated with human exposure to radiation from uranium. All uranium isotopes mainly emit alpha particle and so, they have little penetrating ability. Because of how little penetrating ability the have, the main radiation hazard from uranium I caused when uranium compounds are ingested or
When uranium enters our body through inhalation, the uranium has the ability to dissolve within the lungs, which can lead the uranium to be transported by the blood to other parts of the body such as the spleen, brain, kidney, and other organs. Uranium can remain within the kidney and brain for a significant amount of time because of its high concentration, while remaining for a shorter period of time within the plasma. A previous study on the action of salt has lead researchers to discover that sodium bicarbonate and sodium citrate can lessen the toxicity of uranium. Citric acid and citrate salts have the ability to protect the body from uranium toxicity with possible side effects such as diarrhea and nausea. While researchers have tried to develop different methods to reduce or remove uranium toxicity, not all chelating compounds can treat uranium effects [3]. These researchers have found that some metals have many biological functions in contrast to uranium which has limited biological activity. Considering that many researches focus on the biological aspect to find ways to remove heavy metals such as uranium, this has led to the detection of the uranyl species and treatment of radioactive waste. Because of this few bacteria have the ability to reduce the oxidation state of uranium in salts such as soluble +6 oxidation to
Whether or not uranium exposure can cause cancer is a popular question in the media. Many studies show that there is carcinogenic potential, but others have also shown that it is possible that it doesn’t cause cancer. There are two doses of uranium. One of them is chronic low dose. This dose means that it is below being able to detect adverse health effects. This dose can enter your body through drinking water [5]. Low level exposure to uranium for extended time can cause a “subclinical’ illness. This can increase the rates of carcinogenesis. Not very many diseases have been discovered from low dose exposure. The second dose of uranium, high dose exposure, is when uranium can cause a big effect on your body. This is not very common, and may
The United States under the Articles of Confederation had a Federalist nation in its truest and basest sense. Originally, the Articles united the separate states together under an extremely weak central Congress with few powers. That left most of the powers of government with the states, which caused many problems in terms of regulation and protection of rights and liberties. Most states had different currencies, taxes, protections of rights (in the individual state constitutions), and other policies that made it difficult for the states to coexist, however, with the power in the individual states, most policy more closely reflected the peoples of the region. When it became clear that the Articles of Confederation were no longer working
A 5-20 dose of rem causes possible damage to chromosomes possibly causing your children to have deformities. At 20-100 rems you will have a reduction of white bloods cells for an amount of time dependent on the rems. At 100-200 rems you will most likely get mild Radiation sickness in about 2 hours of exposure. Also in radiation sickness you will vomit, have diarrhea, fatigue, and will be much more susceptible to infection and other stuff. Around 200-300 rems you will get serious radiation sickness and hemorrhage. At about 400-1000 rads you will have acute illness and a quite early death. And finally from 1000-5000 you will also have acute illness and be dead in a matter of a couple of days or so depending on the
The modern use of chemical weapons has been used since World War I. By using poisonous gas to inflict suffering and significant casualties. For example, chlorine, phosgene, and mustard gas were used to inflict burns on the skin or as a choking agent. Since the time of World War I, chemical weapons have impacted more than a million deaths. But, there are weapons of mass destruction in place used by terrorists. Weapons of mass destruction include Nuclear, biological, radiological, and explosives. One weapon of mass destruction can destroy a whole city, killing millions and clearing all future generations by using a Nuclear weapon; the most dangerous weapon on earth. Even though, nuclear weapons have been only used twice in warfare of Hiroshima
Depleted uranium is used for military purposes because of its incredible density (HPS, 2010, p.1). The material is harder than steel and serves as an excellent armor piercing round. The material is not used for its radiation producing properties or to poison the target. It has been used around the world for military purposes since before the 1980s. Health risks to soldiers using the depleted uranium ammunitions are considered low because the round produces very low radiation which is not in excess of acceptable levels (HPS, 2010, p.2). However depleted uranium can be dangerous in two ways: if it is embedded in the body or material near the impact site is inhaled. Both ways require that the material enter the body. This means that residual radiation put off by an RDD explosion using depleted uranium would not be an issue, just the debris and dust created by the explosion. If a person inhales the dust or gets a piece of the depleted uranium lodged under the skin the radiation produced will, over time, lead to significant health effects, most
It is radioactive and poisonous and is so dense that when turned into a metal alloy, it can greatly increase the power of a shell to penetrate armor. When the DU shell hits metal armor, it starts to burn and releases tiny particles of the radioactive metal into the air. ( Catalinotto, n.d.). In high-temperature explosions, uranium combustion releases fine particles of uranium oxide, which is responsible for severely affecting respiratory organs of people within 300m of the explosion. Besides the effects of radiation, uranium is also highly toxic and a potent carcinogen and mutagen (PA, 2001). The particles from shell explosions are distributed by winds and settle on vegetation and
We learned about the end World War 2 and the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki with the atomic bomb but rarely do people talk about the affect effects of what happened after that to the people who were affected by the bombs. This scholarly journal titled: “Long-term Radiation-Related Health Effects in a Unique Human Population: Lessons Learned from the Atomic Bomb Survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki” by numerous authors: Evan B. Douple, PhD, Kiyohiko Mabuchi, MD, DrPH, Harry M. Cullings, PhD, Dale L. Preston, PhD, Kazunori Kodama, MD, PhD, Yukiko Shimizu, PhD, Saeko Fujiwara, MD, and Roy E. Shore, PhD, DrPH, writes about their study
Citizens do not speak about issues that make them uncomfortable or issues they do not care about because the issues do not pertain to them. Mental illness and the inaccessibility to healthcare in other countries are often disregarded. People neglect those with mental illness and do not care when citizens of other countries are unable to get basic healthcare needs. Those with mental illness and those without access to healthcare either die or live their lives in pain. Learning about mental illness and global healthcare issues influenced my decision to pursue a career helping those who are unable to advocate for themselves.
Over the last few years, there has been growth of popularity in flavored lager beers. Our competitors may be trying to take this advantage so it’s our obligation that we lay strategies to launch our new flavored lager beer. Carlsberg Tango is a new brand that uses sweet Spanish oranges as its flavor. It has lower alcohol content than our previous brands, it’s perceived to be healthy and our target audience is the young professionals between the ages 20-25 years old.
Not only does nuclear warfare directly affect humans but it also has a significant impact on the environment . The practice of nuclear warfare has polluted air and water since this tactic has begun. Many of the substances emmissioned, include plutonium, uranium, strontium, cesium, benzene, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), mercury and cyanide, which are carcinogenic and/or mutagenic (“The Effects of Nuclear Weapons”). These pollutants remain hazardous for hundreds of thousands of years. However, the result of the release of these pollutants is not necessarily due to the eruption of a nuclear bomb but , perhaps even, from the testing and manufacturing of such weapons. Radioactivity released from nuclear testing includes plutonium, strontium, cesium, and carbon-14 (“The Effects of Nuclear Weapons”). Moreover, underground tests have contaminated soil and groundwater.