Use of Depleted Uranium in Iraq: Hazards on environment and public health
Dr.Ali Fahad Al-Tai and Dr.Kadhim Almuqdadi
Department of Environmental management, Arab Academy in Denmark,
The Scientific Journal of Arab Open Academy in Denmark, 6,2009.
ABSTRACT
As a result of military use of Depleted Uranium (DU) ammunitions during the 1991 Gulf War about 300 tons of DU was dropped in the aircraft rounds and tank-fired shells in southern Iraq over an area of about 20,000 km2 and uncertain amounts of DU were used in the 2003 War.
This use has caused the contamination of vast area from Iraqi territory by very heavy radioactive element with half life of 4.5 bill years which has bad consequences on the environment for billions of years. Burning of tanks and armored vehicles lead to the formation of large quantities of fine aerosol with diameter less than 10 µm containing predominantly poorly soluble uranium oxides.
The DU aerosol is deposited on soil surface, transported far from the vicinity of the target, or resuspended in the air by the wind action. Although the density of uranium metal is high and the density of its oxides equal to the density of lead, micrometer-size of DU particles remain airborne long enough to be transported by wind tens kilometers according to model based on Stock's Law for fallen particles in fluid. Exposure to uranium and its compounds can cause adverse health effects due to its chemical toxicity and radiological hazard caused by absorption of radiation emitted from uranium and its decay products.
Radiation exposure can originate from inhalation of respirable size of uranium dust, ingestion of contaminated food and water, or wounded by DU fragments. Laboratory tests conducted inside Iraq or outside have shown that samples from soil, water, and air contain radioactivity hundred and thousand times the background range. Uranium can damage the biological systems through its radiation, particulate, and chemical (toxicity) effects. Among these effects, the particulate resulted from emission of α particles is the most dangerous.
The use of DU ammunitions and the formation of fine aerosol generated significant cancer diseases as well as kidneys failure and severe birth defects and many others. This situation can be verified by the elevated number and percentages of diseases noticed in southern governorates of Iraq particularly Basra where it was the theatre of battlefield. Numerous extensive studies have been conducted in Iraq produced ample evidence on the increase in leukemia, lymph, lung cancer, disorder in immune system, and unknown fatal diseases. In these cancer diseases, there were high values of odd ratio indicating the link between the diseases incidence and the exposure to DU during the years following 1991.
In addition to the victims of DU weapons from Iraqi population, their use caused serious diseases on U.S. veterans and other service personnel who exposed to DU ammunitions. Medical test and investigations in some U.S. states have shown the presence of DU in many soldiers' bodies and urine and the suffering from many diseases and birth defects as a result of inhalation or digestion of DU aerosol dust and injured by DU fragments.
Because of the short- and long-term consequences on Iraq population and the impact of DU on the environment, international community must work together with the UN, universities, scientific centers, and other civilian agencies to promote and assess human and environmental programs including clean-up to cope with DU pollution and damages.
Dr.Ali Fahad Al-Tai and Dr.Kadhim Almuqdadi
Department of Environmental management, Arab Academy in Denmark,
The Scientific Journal of Arab Open Academy in Denmark, 6,2009.
ABSTRACT
As a result of military use of Depleted Uranium (DU) ammunitions during the 1991 Gulf War about 300 tons of DU was dropped in the aircraft rounds and tank-fired shells in southern Iraq over an area of about 20,000 km2 and uncertain amounts of DU were used in the 2003 War.
This use has caused the contamination of vast area from Iraqi territory by very heavy radioactive element with half life of 4.5 bill years which has bad consequences on the environment for billions of years. Burning of tanks and armored vehicles lead to the formation of large quantities of fine aerosol with diameter less than 10 µm containing predominantly poorly soluble uranium oxides.
The DU aerosol is deposited on soil surface, transported far from the vicinity of the target, or resuspended in the air by the wind action. Although the density of uranium metal is high and the density of its oxides equal to the density of lead, micrometer-size of DU particles remain airborne long enough to be transported by wind tens kilometers according to model based on Stock's Law for fallen particles in fluid. Exposure to uranium and its compounds can cause adverse health effects due to its chemical toxicity and radiological hazard caused by absorption of radiation emitted from uranium and its decay products.
Radiation exposure can originate from inhalation of respirable size of uranium dust, ingestion of contaminated food and water, or wounded by DU fragments. Laboratory tests conducted inside Iraq or outside have shown that samples from soil, water, and air contain radioactivity hundred and thousand times the background range. Uranium can damage the biological systems through its radiation, particulate, and chemical (toxicity) effects. Among these effects, the particulate resulted from emission of α particles is the most dangerous.
The use of DU ammunitions and the formation of fine aerosol generated significant cancer diseases as well as kidneys failure and severe birth defects and many others. This situation can be verified by the elevated number and percentages of diseases noticed in southern governorates of Iraq particularly Basra where it was the theatre of battlefield. Numerous extensive studies have been conducted in Iraq produced ample evidence on the increase in leukemia, lymph, lung cancer, disorder in immune system, and unknown fatal diseases. In these cancer diseases, there were high values of odd ratio indicating the link between the diseases incidence and the exposure to DU during the years following 1991.
In addition to the victims of DU weapons from Iraqi population, their use caused serious diseases on U.S. veterans and other service personnel who exposed to DU ammunitions. Medical test and investigations in some U.S. states have shown the presence of DU in many soldiers' bodies and urine and the suffering from many diseases and birth defects as a result of inhalation or digestion of DU aerosol dust and injured by DU fragments.
Because of the short- and long-term consequences on Iraq population and the impact of DU on the environment, international community must work together with the UN, universities, scientific centers, and other civilian agencies to promote and assess human and environmental programs including clean-up to cope with DU pollution and damages.
ليست هناك تعليقات:
إرسال تعليق