So have viruses and crooks but we try to keep them at bay lest we
live to rue the day we let them roam free!
Study suggests cancer risk from depleted uranium
James Randerson – The Guardian May 8, 2007
Depleted uranium, which is used in armour-piercing ammunition, causes
widespread damage to DNA which could lead to lung cancer, according
to a study of the metal's effects on human lung cells. The study adds
to growing evidence that DU causes health problems on battlefields
long after hostilities have ceased.
DU is a byproduct of uranium refinement for nuclear power. It is much
less radioactive than other uranium isotopes, and its high density -
twice that of lead - makes it useful for armour and armour piercing
shells. It has been used in conflicts including Bosnia, Kosovo and
Iraq and there have been increasing concerns about the health effects
of DU dust left on the battlefield. In November, the Ministry of
Defence was forced to counteract claims that apparent increases in
cancers and birth defects among Iraqis in southern Iraq were due to
DU in weapons.
Now researchers at the University of Southern Maine have shown that
DU damages DNA in human lung cells. The team, led by John Pierce
Wise, exposed cultures of the cells to uranium compounds at different
concentrations.
The compounds caused breaks in the chromosomes within cells and
stopped them from growing and dividing healthily. "These data suggest
that exposure to particulate DU may pose a significant [DNA damage]
risk and could possibly result in lung cancer," the team wrote in the
journal Chemical Research in Toxicology.
Previous studies have shown that uranium miners are at higher risk of
lung cancer, but this has often been put down to the fact that miners
are also exposed to radon, another cancer-causing chemical.
Prof Wise said it is too early to say whether DU causes lung cancer
in people exposed on the battlefield because the disease takes
several decades to develop.
"Our data suggest that it should be monitored as the potential risk
is there," he said.
Prof Wise and his team believe that microscopic particles of dust
created during the explosion of a DU weapon stay on the battlefield
and can be breathed in by soldiers and people returning after the
conflict.
Once they are lodged in the lung even low levels of radioactivity
would damage DNA in cells close by. "The real question is whether the
level of exposure is sufficient to cause health effects. The answer
to that question is still unclear," he said, adding that there has as
yet been little research on the effects of DU on civilians in combat
zones. "Funding for DU studies is very sparse and so defining the
disadvantages is hard," he added.
http://www.guardian
Last updated 10/05/2007
--- In All-Energy@yahoogro
>
>
> Apparently you feel that people dying by means "time and memorial"
has clear benefits.
>
> Fact is radiation has been with us as long as sunshine and the
wind. Plutonium is man-
> made so maybe you are a fan of uranium and fast breeder reactors
that allow us to burn
> up the nasty Pu!
>
> --- In All-Energy@yahoogro
> >
> > What's really strange is that you can't differentiate between
hazards
> > synthesized by our species (often during their favorite past
time -
> > tribal warfare) and others which have been here since time and
memorial.
> >
> > Do you really believe what you're writing?!
> >
> > To tally all fatalities and list in order of body count,
irrespective of
> > whether those dangers were willingly and consciously introduced
into our
> > environment is absolutely ludicrous.
> >
> > Mike
> >
> > bj_yakman wrote:
> > >
> > > Interesting!
> > >
> > > Just a thought but I do recall people have contracted skin
cancer from
> > > over exposure too
> > > the sun and repeated and severe sunburn. Further, the news in
the US
> > > is buzzing about
> > > deaths throughout the midwest from tornadoes.
> > >
> > > I dare say more people have died from sunshine and wind than
plutonium.
> > >
> > > Strange thought!!
> > >
> > > --- In All-Energy@yahoogro
> > > <mailto:All-
wrote:
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > I have no recollection of Plutonium being reported as the
most toxic
> > > > substance known to man.
> > > > I do recollect reading that it is highly toxic and can be
used to make
> > > > Atomic Bombs and is a major part of nuclear waste.
> > > > One thing for sure Plutonium is a lot more toxic then
sunshine and wind.
> > > >
> > > > Rick
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > Wayne Gage wrote:
> > > > > Plutonium is sometimes described in media reports as the
most toxic
> > > > > substance known to man, although there is general agreement
among
> > > > > experts in the field that this is incorrect. As of 2003,
there has
> > > yet
> > > > > to be a single human death officially attributed to
plutonium
> > > exposure.
> > > > > Naturally-occurring radium is about 200 times more
radiotoxic than
> > > > > plutonium, and some organic toxins like Botulism toxin are
> > > billions of
> > > > > times more toxic than plutonium.
> > > > >
> > > > > Everything is poisonous.
> > > > >
> > > >
> > >
> > >
> >
>
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