Depleted Uranium “not that scary”? Really? Really, Really?

On the danger scale, they [scientists] seemed to rank it [depleted uranium] somewhere just above or just below eating too much sugar.

 
– Lee Benson, Deseret News, April 2, 2010
 

Three scientists gave a presentation  in Tooele County last week, the county that is home to Energy Pollutions Solutions in a county that is touted the chemical waste "armpit" of Utah.   The presentation centered on the he health risks associated with depleted uranium.  Lee Benson reported on the event and titled his article "Depleted uranium not that scary".  The report disingenuously insinuates that because there were no "anti-nuclear" activists present there was no controversy by virtue of the fact that
 

Benson continues to summarize the scientists theories that as long as the DU is covered and out of sight, the dangers are not as "real" as everyone says it is.

Really?

I can’t help but wonder, even though Benson points out that there is no connection between the presenting scientists and Energy Pollutions Solutions or any other waste storage corporation, if there was some hidden connection, somewhere, somehow ("We have vays…..").  I mean, c’mon – the audience members had very little to say and no questions?  In Utah????  Just sayin’.

And it’s not just the radiation.  DU has chemical properties that deems it more dangerous than lead (about 70% time more dense than lead is) .

Physicians for Social Responsibility provides some good information and links to published journal sources to examine the effects of DU, including occupational hazards, for example.  HEAL Utah also provides cited information in the dangers of DU.

Let’s face it. The Pentagon will never reveal any findings about the effects of DU.  I’m not a scientist, but based on my readings, I feel that  DU is a terrible, horrible weapon of mass destruction.   The waste from the use of DU in nuclear power plants is in itself a real problem since it can’t be stored just anywhere.  The manufacturing and use of it for any reason should be stopped…..now. 

Here are some links to sources to read about  DU, some scientific, some not.  I have purposely provided sources that are neutral to the dangers of DU and some that adamantly oppose DU due to the health risks and other factors.   (Warning:  Some articles show graphic photographs of children disfigured by the effects of DU).

Is depleted uranium really "not that scary"?  Read and decide for yourself if the risks of manufacturing, using, and storing it are worth it for the welfare of our planet.

Comments to the Deseret News Article reference above
Wikipedia – general information on DU with cited sources
Physicians for Social Responsibility
Campaign Against Depleted Uranium
World Nuclear Association – "representing people and organizations of the nuclear profession"
International Atomic Energy Agency
Countercurrents – Depleted Uranium: A War Crime Within a War Crime
Tuberose – Depleted Uranium and Gulf War Syndrome – good information, sources not cited
Federation of American Scientists