Chapter IX.

Civil and Military Uses of Depleted Uranium

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Natural uranium consists principally of two uranium isotopes: 99.3% U-238 and 0.7% U-235. It is the U-235 that is fissionable and useful for powering nuclear reactors and for use in nuclear weapons. But to be operational, the concentration of U-235 must be increased to at least 3% for nuclear fuel and much higher for nuclear bombs. The uranium enrichment process accomplishes this and in the process leaves a radioactive waste product behind which now contains 99.8% U-238 and only 0.2% U-235. This waste product has been given the name depleted uranium. It is uranium that has been depleted of the more radioactive U-235 isotope. Nevertheless, it still retains 60% of the radioactivity of natural uranium.

Because of the nature of the uranium enrichment process, prodigious quantities of depleted uranium are produced. By 1999 the United States alone had stockpiled over 250,000 tons of waste depleted uranium, much of it in the form of uranium hexafluoride, the chemical form used in the enrichment process. Being a low-level radioactive material, its storage and disposal have been subjected to relatively strict requirements. This is beginning to change, however, and current regulations are being proposed that would lift these restrictions and make depleted uranium available for a wide variety of commercial uses and allow its disposal in non-regulated community landfills. Although this would provide an instant solution to a major headache facing the Nuclear Regulatory Agency and the Environmental Protection Agency in the United States, it completely ignores the potential health and environmental liabilities such a move might impose on our entire civilization (13), (15). As long as any valid question exists regarding the safety of depleted uranium, the Precautionary Principle and simple common sense would demand that this material continue to be sequestered.

Current military uses of depleted uranium include its use in anti-tank penetrators (2) fired from Abrams (US) and Challenger (UK) tanks and in a variety of smaller munitions usually designed to be rapid-fired from Gatling guns (20 mm shells in the Navy Phalanx system, and 30 mm shells in the Army’s A-10 planes) (4), (5). In addition, plates of depleted uranium armor have been incorporated into the Abrams tank, rendering them nearly impenetrable to enemy fire. US patents include the use of DU in cruise missiles (Raytheon) and various “bunker buster” bombs (Lockheed-Martin). Whether such weapons containing DU have actually been manufactured and/or deployed and used remains a subject of some controversy. The US military has denied using DU use in cruise missiles.

Current civilian uses (16), (17) of depleted uranium include addition to aggregates that are mixed with cement to form a high density concrete (6), (11), (12). The commercial product Ducrete contains depleted uranium. Depleted uranium makes an excellent radiation shielding material, and has been used in this capacity for shipping and storage containers for nuclear wastes (1), (14) and in the medical arena as radiation shielding in instruments containing radioactive materials (such as cobalt-60). Because of its high density, (1.7 times the density of lead) a lot of weight can be packed into a smaller space than for materials such as lead, making depleted uranium an ideal candidate for counterweights in airplane and missile control systems and in sailing vessels (8). Depleted uranium is also incorporated into the drill bits used by the oil drilling industry.

DU has been proposed as a suitable material for magnets based on its ferromagnetic properties (7) . Waste DU/graphite blocks from nuclear reactors have been proposed as a source of carbon for plastics and composites (9). Various coatings and coverings have been studied for items made of DU to reduce corrosion and air oxidation of this reactive material (3), (10).

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1. Versatile composite radiation shield, by KH Defrane, et al., US Patent No. 4914306, 1990 (7 pp.)

Described is a radiation shield for use in transport containers wherein DU rods provide shielding for radioactive materials being transported.

[Defrane1990xxUSPatent4914306].

2. High velocity performance of a uranium alloy long rod penetrator, by MJ Keele, Army Ball. Res. Lab., Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD. Gov. Rep. Announce. Index (US) Vol. 91(19), 1991 (27 pp.). Abstr. No. 153650.

The high velocity (1.7 – 2.4 km/s) performance of a 120-mm projectile (aspect ratio 20:1) against armor targets was evaluated.

[Keele1991xxGRAIv91n19pxx].

3. Assessment of corrosion-resistant coating for a depleted uranium-0.75 titanium alloy, by F Chang, et al., US Army Mater. Technol. Lab, Watertown, MA. Surface and Coatings Tech. Vol. 48(1), 1991 (pp. 31-31).

Al-Zn and Al-Mg sacrificial coatings were found best of several tested for increasing corrosion resistance of the DU-Titanium alloy.

[Chang1991xxSCTv48n1p31].

4. High strength and ductile depleted uranium alloy, by WT Nachtrab, et al., Nuclear Metals Inc. US Patent No. 5273711, 1993 (7 pp.)

Use of molybdenum and titanium mixtures at alloy up to 2% with DU.

]Nachtrab1991xxUSPatent5273711].

5. Development of high-density ceramic composites for ballistic applications, by NL Rupert, et al., US Army Res. Lab., Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD. Proc. Int. Conf. Adv. Compos. Mater., 1993 (pp. 141-146).

Armor applications of DU ceramics is described, including fabrication, analysis and ballistic evaluation.

[Rupert1993xxPICACMp141].

6. Method for producing heavy concrete for manufacturing of radioactivity-shielding concrete casks for storing spent nuclear fuels, by C Ito, et al, Nuclear Fuel Industries, Ltd. Japan. Japanese Patent No. 11038181, 1999 (5 pp.)

Described is a process for molding DU oxides and mixing with concrete to produce heavy concrete with high mechanical strength.

[Ito1997xxJPatent11038181].

7. Magnetic material containing uranium and usage of depleted uranium, by H. Kaneko, Mito Kagaku Gijutsu Kyokai, Japan. Japanese Patent No. 11154603, 1999 (6 pp.)

Described is a process for making magnets out of the DU from spent nuclear fuel.

[Kaneko1997xxJPatent11154603].

8. Benefits of the use of depleted uranium metal as the source for industrial counterweights, by T Roberts, Uranium Research and Products Corp., Paducah, KY. WM 99 Conference Proceedings, Feb. 28, 1999 (pp. 1745-1752).

[Roberts1999xxWM99CPp1745].

9. Use of graphite from blocks of depleted uranium-graphite reactors, by YS Virgilyev, MIIGrafit, Russia. Perspectivnye Materialy Vol. 2000(2), (pp. 41-44).

Reviews the possible use of DU-graphite blocks from reactors in manufacture of carbon-based composites.

[Virgilyev2000xxPMv2000n2p41].

10. Dupoly process for treatment/recycling of depleted uranium and use in molded products, by PD Kalb, et al., Brookhaven Science Associates. US Patent 6030549, 2000.

Described is a method for encapsulating DU in thermoplastic polymer and molding the product into various shapes for use in shielding, counterweights, etc.

[Kalb2000xxPatent6030549].

11. Process for producing an aggregate suitable for inclusion into a radiation shielding product, by PA Lessing, et al., Bechtel BWXT Idaho, LLC. US Patent 6120706, 2000.

Describes a one-step process for conversion of uranium hexafluoride into uranium silicide aggregate suitable for mixing with concrete for use in a radiation shielding product.

[Lessing1998xxPatent6120706].

12. Ducrete: a cost effective radiation shielding material, by WJ Quapp, et al., Starmet, USA. Spectrum 2000 Internat’l. Conf. on Nuclear and Hazardous Waste Management, Sept. 24, 2000 (pp. 336-342).

Describes Ducrete, the ceramic DU aggregate used to make high density concrete for gamma ray and neutron radiation shielding, and mentions U leaching characteristics of Ducrete.

[Quapp2000xxICNHWMp336].

13. Civilian and military uses of depleted uranium: environmental and health problems, by C Cantaluppi, et al., Istituto di Chimica e delle Tecnologie Inorganiche e dei Materiali Avanzati, CNR C.so Stati Uniti 4, 35127, Padova. Ann Chim. Vol. 90(11-12), Nov.-Dec. 2000 (pp. 665-676).

Depleted uranium is a by-product of the process of enrichment of natural uranium and is classified as a toxic and radioactive waste; it has a very high density (approximately 19 g cm-3), a remarkable ductility and a cost low enough to be attractive for some particular technical applications. Civilian uses are essentially related to its high density, but the prevailing use is however military (production of projectiles). From the radioactive point of view, the exposure to depleted uranium can result from both external irradiation as well as internal contamination. The associated risks are however mainly of chemical-toxicological kind and the target organ is the kidney. In the present note the recent military uses and the possible effects of its environmental diffusion are discussed.

[Cantaluppi200011Acv90n11to12p665]. ( PMID: 11218253 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]).

14. Cermet waste packages using depleted uranium dioxide, by CW Forsberg, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN. Proc. Internat’l. High-Level Radiation Waste Mgmt. Conf., Apr. 29, 2001 (pp. 378-381).

Discusses use of a steel/DU/cermet structure for use as containers in the nuclear waste repository site.

[Forsberg2001xxPIHLRWMp378].

15. Depleted uranium: a study of its uses in the UK and disposal issues, by B Russ, J Radiol Prot. Vol. 22(1), Mar. 2002 (pp. 99-100).

[Russ200203JRPv22n1p99]. PMID: 11929123 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

16. Military and non-military use of depleted uranium, by PA Assimakopoulos, Journal of Environmental Radioactivity Vol. 64(2-3), 2003 (pp. 87-88).

[Assimakopoulos200302JERv64n2p87]

17. Civil use of depleted uranium, by M Betti, European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for Transuranium Elements, P.O. Box 2340, 76125 Karlsruhe, Germany. betti@itu.fzk.de. J Environ Radioact. Vol. 64(2-3), 2003 (pp. 113-119).

In this paper the civilian exploitation of depleted uranium is briefly reviewed. Different scenarios relevant to its use are discussed in terms of radiation exposure for workers and the general public. The case of the aircraft accident which occurred in Amsterdam in 1992 involving a fire, is discussed in terms of the radiological exposure to bystanders. All information given has been obtained on the basis of an extensive literature search and are not based on measurements performed at the Institute for Transuranium Elements.

[Betti2003xxJERv64n2to3p113]. (PMID: 12500798 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]).

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