Radiation Exposure from Depleted Uranium Weapons

(work in progress - last updated 8 Sep 2004)

Contents:

• Persons Affected from Depleted Uranium Weapons
• References

> see also:

• Depleted Uranium in Urine of Soldiers - FAQ (320k PDF )
• Cancer Risk from Depleted Uranium Weapons in the Balkans
• Uranium Radiation Properties · Uranium Toxicity
• Uranium Radiation Individual Dose Calculator
• Unit Converter

Persons Affected from Depleted Uranium Weapons

Source Term

Exposure of Persons Affected

• External radiation
  The maximum radiation dose from DU armor and DU ammunition received by a crew member sitting inside an M1A1HA tank would be 1.3 µSv/h [AEPI1995 p.123].
  On direct contact with a DU penetrator, the skin dose rate from gamma and beta radiation is 2 mSv/h [AEPI1995 p.107]. With ICRP60's tissue weighting factor for skin of 0.01, this results in a committed effective dose of 20 µSv/h. (The tissue weighting factor is quite low, since ICRP uses US data for adults showing that skin cancer can be treated and only 0.2% of the cases are lethal). ICRP60's annual skin dose standard of 50 mSv for the public is equivalent to an exposure time of 25 hours.
  The gamma dose rate from a 30 mm DU-bullet (271 g) at a distance of 1 m is 7 nSv/h (hardly to distinguish from background of typically 100 nSv/h; in the very long term, however, the dose rate would rise to a maximum of 544 nSv/h after 2 million years; see also: Uranium Radiation Individual Dose Calculator).
  For the gamma dose rate from DU dispersed over soil of a target area, the UNEP/UNCHS Balkans Task Force (BTF) made the following theoretical assessment [BTF1999 p.61]: 10 kg DU dispersed over 1000 m² result in 4 µSv/a.

• Inhalation of DU dust
  The effective dose from inhalation of 1 mg uranium depleted to 0.2% is 0.12 mSv. The 1 mSv annual standard for the public is equivalent to 8.3 mg. For continuous exposure, this corresponds to a uranium concentration in air of 1.05 µg/m³. (See also: Uranium Radiation Individual Dose Calculator)
  (based on ICRP72 dose factors for insoluble compounds for adults, breathing rate of 0.9 m³/h, tails from enrichment to 3.5%)
  The contamination by trace amounts of uranium-236, transuranics, and fission products, observed in DU used for some penetrators, would increase the inhalation dose only by less than 1% over the dose from the DU alone (see: Fact Sheet: Hazards from depleted uranium produced from reprocessed uranium (PDF)).

  The UNEP/UNCHS Balkans Task Force (BTF) made the following theoretical assessments for inhalation exposure from depleted uranium weapons use [BTF1999 p.58]:

  • instantaneous inhalation of DU dust after an attack:
    BTF assumes a max. intake of 100 mg of DU (close to the target and immediately after the attack), "which might lead to acute chemical toxicity and a total effective radiation dose caused by inhalation of less than 10 mSv".
  • inhalation of resuspended DU
    BTF assumes 6 µg DU per mg dust in a target area of 1000 m². Depending on the dust concentration in air, this corresponds to DU concentrations in air of 0.3 µg/m³ (normal) to 30 µg/m³ (very dusty). For continuous exposure, this results in an effective dose from inhalation of 0.3 to 30 mSv/a.

• ingestion of vegetables contaminated with DU dust
  For consumption of leafy vegetables with surface contamination from DU dust, grown in a target area during the first week after an attack, the UNEP/UNCHS Balkans Task Force (BTF) made the following theoretical assessment [BTF1999 p.59]: the intake of DU during this week may reach some 100 mg DU. "That amount is absolutely significant from chemical risk point of view. The resulting radiation dose will be of the order of 0.1 mSv." (See also Uranium Biokinetics Calculator and Uranium Toxicity)

• ingestion of contaminated groundwater
  For consumption of groundwater contaminated from DU dust in a target area, the UNEP/UNCHS Balkans Task Force (BTF) made the following theoretical assessment [BTF1999 p.60]: the DU concentration in groundwater may reach 1 mg/l. "At this level chemical toxic effects cannot be excluded. The annual radiation dose caused by consumption of that water will be about 1 mSv." (See also Uranium Biokinetics Calculator and Uranium Toxicity)

  U.S. EPA standard for uranium in drinking water (65 FR 76707, Dec. 7, 2000): 30 µg/l

  WHO guideline for uranium in drinking-water [WHO2004] 15 µg/l

References

[AEPI1995] Health and Environmental Consequences of Depleted Uranium Use in the U.S.Army: Technical Report . Army Environmental Policy Institute, Atlanta, Georgia 1995, 200+ p.

[BTF1999] UNEP/UNCHS Balkans Task Force (BTF): The potential effects on human health and the environment arising from possible use of depleted uranium during the 1999 Kosovo conflict. A preliminary assessment. 76 p., Geneva, October 1999
> Download full text (589k, PDF format)

[DOE1999] Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Alternative Strategies for the Long-Term Management and Use of Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride, DOE-EIS-0269, U.S. DOE, Germantown MD, April 1999
> Download PEIS from ANL or DOE EH

[FGR12] U.S. EPA: Federal Guidance Report No. 12: External Exposures to Radionuclides in Air; Water; and Soil, EPA 402-R-93-081, September 1993
> download full text (1081k - PDF format)
> online lookup of FGR 12 dose factors for external exposure
> download database DFEXT of FGR 12 dose factors, contained in the DFACT package
[The FGR 12 dose factors are based on ICRP26. The DFEXT software also allows computing of the effective dose according to ICRP60: these values have been used here.]

[ICRP60] 1990 Recommendations of the International Commission on Radiological Protection, ICRP Publication 60, Oxford 1991

[WHO2004] World Health Organization: WHO Guidelines for drinking-water quality, third edition, 2004

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