[CPEO-MEF] RADIATION, HEALTH - NRC report on Depleted Uranium and Troops

[Lenny Siegel <lennysiegel@gmail.com>]

Review of Toxicologic and Radiologic Risks to Military Personnel from 
Exposure to Depleted Uranium During and After Combat

National Research Council
2008


Description

Since the 1980s, the U.S. military has used depleted uranium in 
munitions and in protective armor on tanks. Depleted uranium is a toxic 
heavy metal and is weakly radioactive. Concerns have been raised about 
the adverse health effects from exposure to depleted uranium that is 
aerosolized during combat. Some think it may be responsible for 
illnesses in exposed veterans and civilians. These concerns led the Army 
to commission a book, Depleted Uranium Aerosol Doses and Risks: Summary 
of U.S. Assessments, referred to as the Capstone Report that evaluates 
the health risks associated with depleted uranium exposure. This 
National Research Council book reviews the toxicologic, radiologic, 
epidemiologic, and toxicokinetic data on depleted uranium, and assesses 
the Army's estimates of health risks to personnel exposed during and 
after combat. The book recommends that the Army re-evaluate the basis 
for some of its predictions about health outcomes at low levels of 
exposure, but, overall, the Capstone Report was judged to provide a 
reasonable characterization of the exposure and risks from depleted uranium.

For more information, including how to obtain a copy, go to
http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11979




-- 


Lenny Siegel
Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
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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