First off, I am not an anti president Bush person, AND I'm not American.
That said... Folks, go sign up for a basic Chem course. It's called DEPLETED for a reason - the people making the ammo don't use active uranium for a reason - because it's valuable and can be used in other ways more efficiently. DU is pretty boring stuff, it's less radioactive than the ore we mine out of the ground - and this is not difficult to test, pick up a few rounds off the internet and run them by a geiger counter if you want to prove it for yourself.
This stuff poses less of a threat than an active uranium mine... so the people in the USA living near the mines would face higher risks than the people living where it was shot.
As for that flash, IMO it's total BS. I can't believe (actually, I suppose I am being naive, someone is ALWAYS trying to point fingers at the USA) that someone is blaming the USA for mutations happening in a country that was subjected to chemical weapons attacks from their own government. What do you think is more likely to screw up the breeding pool - slightly radioactive lead, or chemical weapons designed to poison all life?
And the USA has used DU rounds on american soil, I've personally attended a demonstration of the A-10 where they were showing off the armour penetration with DU rounds against old tanks. If this were a serious problem, I'd be willing to bet that someone in the lawsuit happy USA would have sued the ammunition manufacturer, the weapon manufacturer, Fairchild, the US Army, and the US federal government already.
That said... Folks, go sign up for a basic Chem course. It's called DEPLETED for a reason - the people making the ammo don't use active uranium for a reason - because it's valuable and can be used in other ways more efficiently. DU is pretty boring stuff, it's less radioactive than the ore we mine out of the ground - and this is not difficult to test, pick up a few rounds off the internet and run them by a geiger counter if you want to prove it for yourself.
This stuff poses less of a threat than an active uranium mine... so the people in the USA living near the mines would face higher risks than the people living where it was shot.
As for that flash, IMO it's total BS. I can't believe (actually, I suppose I am being naive, someone is ALWAYS trying to point fingers at the USA) that someone is blaming the USA for mutations happening in a country that was subjected to chemical weapons attacks from their own government. What do you think is more likely to screw up the breeding pool - slightly radioactive lead, or chemical weapons designed to poison all life?
And the USA has used DU rounds on american soil, I've personally attended a demonstration of the A-10 where they were showing off the armour penetration with DU rounds against old tanks. If this were a serious problem, I'd be willing to bet that someone in the lawsuit happy USA would have sued the ammunition manufacturer, the weapon manufacturer, Fairchild, the US Army, and the US federal government already.
