Procedures to Calculate Radiological and Toxicological Exposures from Airborne Releases of Depleted Uranium

Résumé du livre

The 105mm Armor-Piercing, Fin-Stabilized, Discarding Sabot-Tracered (APFSDS-T), Kinetic Energy XM774 and M735A1 cartridges, developed by the U.S. Army Armament Research and Development Command (ARRADCOM), are intended for use in tanks equipped with an M68 gun. These cartridges, both containing a depleted uranium (DU) penetrator, will provide improved penetration effectiveness over the currently fielded M392 and M728 series of armor-piercing, spin-stabilized, discarding sabot rounds and the M735 APFSDS-T cartridge. A concern of using these munitions is centered on potential radiation and toxicity exposures which may result from scheduled or accidental releases of the DU penetrator to the air as fine particles. Depleted uranium metal is formed as a by-product of the uranium enrichment process, and contains a very small percentage, by weight, of the lighter, faster decaying 234U and 235U isotopes. Thus the activity of DU is much less than that of natural uranium, although chemically both metals have similar properties.