Comments on: Depleted Uranium Munitions – Rounds, Armor | 120mm | 30mm

By: bryce1145

bryce1145 — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 06:56:45 +0000

Artimus, if you do your homework you will learn that Depleted Uranium is a by-product of the Uranium enrichment process. The DU they use in bullets has never been in a nuclear reactor because it is not the correct isotope to allow fission to occur. DU is also commonly used as radiation shield barriers in medical equipment and for transporting radioactive materials. So no, it is not like dumping our nuclear waste in someone else’s backyard.

By: Has the Iraq war led to radiation poisoning among the population? | International Politics

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 15:27:23 +0000

[...] can spread for up to 190 miles in the wind. and has been found in water sources in Iraq. Depleted Uranium Munitions – Rounds, Armor | 130mm | 30mm Quote: Originally Posted by [...]

By: Artimus Weisser

Artimus Weisser — Tue, 18 May 2010 15:37:54 +0000

Not very radiactive huh?! Go point a Geiger counter at the entry point of a tank that has been shelled by DU rounds then if you survive the cancers caused by Uranium dust come back and tell me that Depleted Uranium is not very radioactive! Depleted Uranium also contains small ammounts of Plutonium (as a by-product of nuclear fission) which is even more toxic than Uranium! We’re not talking about natural Uranium here this Uranium has been enriched then used in a reactor then made into ammunition making it far more radioactive than natural Uranium found in the ground! As long as people remain ignorant about the dangers of using DU in weapons than many more soldiers, innocent children and civilians are going to die! The point i’m trying to make is would you let someone store nuclear waste in your backyard, (I bet you answered no) then why fill someone elses backyard with your nuclear waste?!

By: kimmer6

kimmer6 — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 21:42:56 +0000

So many of those rounds shown in the photo are not DU rounds. Generally the blue color denotes target ptactice, inert, or training ammunition. Of the small caliber rounds, I can see only a 30mm PGU 14B round that is DU. The tank rounds with the black discarding sabots are the ones that would be DU types. To show all kinds of multi purpose and training ammunition and call them all Depleted Uranium rounds is unfair. The mortar rounds and the submunitionsshown are also conventional explosives and would not contain DU.

By: vector

vector — Wed, 20 May 2009 18:57:27 +0000

the M1 Abrams tank has depleted uranium armor. is it the only tank with it?

By: oldgeek

oldgeek — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 11:55:17 +0000

as Ben said, “DU is not very radioactive” – correct.
That’s why it’s called “depleted”, ‘cos the more radioactive part (U235) has been REMOVED, and so it ends up LESS radioactive.
Funny how greenies just can’t understand the true relationship between half-life and radioactive intensity, they always get it wrong way round. Short half-life = lots of activity per second, that means it’s highly radioactive. But a long half-life means more time is taken for same activity to take place, i.e. slower break-down, which just means LESS radioactive intensity.
Heavy-metal toxicity from DU could definitely be a problem, but we fired a lot of lead in earlier wars without side-effects being too obvious, except when stupid ducks kept chewing on lead shot ! ! !

By: Kinetic Energy Projectile - KE-projectile

Kinetic Energy Projectile - KE-projectile — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 13:32:12 +0000

[...] armor. Typically the penetrator rods are constructed of extremely high-density metals such as depleted uranium or tungsten. The purpose of a sabot with rounds such as these is to increase the velocity of the [...]

By: Kinetic Energy Projectile - KE-projectile

Kinetic Energy Projectile - KE-projectile — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 13:32:12 +0000

By: Ben

Ben — Thu, 24 May 2007 00:08:02 +0000

DU is not very radioactive, its more that its toxic as heavy metal, also DU pyrotechnic ability to burn helps in penetration.

By: The Main Battle Tank of America - The M1-A1 and M1-A2 Abrams Tank

The Main Battle Tank of America - The M1-A1 and M1-A2 Abrams Tank — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 20:32:40 +0000

[...] the M1-Abrams tank. The M1-A2 MBT is the greatest tank in existence. Also be sure to read about the depleted uranium shells seen in slow motion in the [...]

By: A-10 Thunderbolt II - The Warthog - A-10 Video

A-10 Thunderbolt II - The Warthog - A-10 Video — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 21:04:45 +0000

[...] ground. The aircraft itself was actually designed completely around the machine gun. Firing 30 mm depleted uranium rounds, it takes only 6 direct hits from the Avenger that fires 3,900 rounds per minute. Unfortunately for [...]