[CPEO-MEF] Tungsten alloy munitions study

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

No Magic Bullet
Tungsten Alloy Munitions Pose Unforeseen Threat 

Environmental Health Perspectives 
June 2005 
Charles W. Schmidt

 In response to concerns about the human and environmental health
effects of materials used to  produce munitions, countries including the
United States have begun replacing some lead- and  depleted
uranium-based munitions with alternatives made of a tungsten alloy. But
this solution  may not be the "magic bullet" it was once envisioned to
be. Researchers from the Armed Forces  Radiobiology Research Institute
and the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research now report that 
weapons-grade tungsten alloy produces aggressive metastatic tumors when
surgically implanted  into the muscles of rats [EHP 113:729-734]. These
findings raise new questions about the possible  consequences of
tungsten exposure, and undermine the view that tungsten alloy is a
nontoxic  alternative to depleted uranium and lead. 

...

For the entire summary article, as well as a link to the entire study,
go to
http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/docs/2005/113-6/ss.html#noma


-- 


Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org
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