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Depleted Uranium

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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

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