The controversy over depleted uranium often hits the headlines of warfare. Russian President Vladimir Putin recently threatened "retaliation" if London supplies Ukraine with munitions containing such material. But what is depleted uranium?
Also called uranium 238, it is a dense metal derived from the enrichment of natural uranium in the process of producing fuel for certain types of reactors and nuclear weapons. It is a by-product, the residue that remains after fissile element 235 is extracted from the ore, making it 60% less radioactive than naturally occurring uranium.
Depleted uranium has the characteristic of being extraordinarily dense and heavy: a cubic centimeter of this material weighs 19 grams, that is, almost as hard as steel and much more dense than lead. In addition, it can ignite spontaneously (pyrophoric material), which makes it a very precious metal for military technology.
And it is that the projectiles with depleted uranium head can pierce the armored steel of military vehicles and buildings, generating so much heat when reaching the objective that causes its explosion. In addition to conventional ammunition coating, this material can also be used for the manufacture of armor for tanks, missiles or aircraft and helicopter counterweights.
According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), munitions with enriched uranium were first used during the 1991 Gulf War and in the conflict involving NATO troops in Kosovo (1999).
The controversy over the use of depleted uranium ammunition is due to the fact that when a projectile hits the target, almost three quarters of its coating (made of said metal) burns and oxidizes, producing toxic and radioactive microparticles that are dispersed throughout the air. air for several kilometers before falling to the ground or water.
Although the UN emphasizes its "concern over any use of depleted uranium", the truth is that the first scientific information shows that the increase in the uranium level is minimal in areas where these munitions have been used, except at the points of impact of the armor-piercing depleted uranium projectiles.
"It does not appear that depleted uranium ammunition presents a significant risk to health from the radiological point of view of areas of Kosovo where weapons with enriched uranium were used," the IAEA concluded after the first studies, although it urged to carry out evaluations and additional studies. In fact, there were cases of leukemia in soldiers who were in the former Yugoslavia.
Returning to the present, regarding Putin's anger over the United Kingdom sending uranium-containing ammunition to Ukraine, the British Ministry of Defense assured that "the British army has used depleted uranium in its armor-piercing projectiles for decades" and points out that " It is a standard component and has nothing to do with nuclear weapons or capabilities; Russia knows this, but is deliberately trying to misinform."
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
