Uranium ammunition

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
U-anchor of an armor-piercing DU bullet caliber 30 mm

Uranium ammunition , also called DU ammunition (from English depleted uranium ), is armor-piercing ammunition whose projectiles contain depleted uranium .

Due to the high density (≈19.1 g / cm³) of the uranium, these projectiles develop a great penetration force when they hit the target . Compared to natural uranium, the depleted uranium consists to a lesser extent of the fissile uranium isotope 235 U and thus largely of the isotope 238 U, which cannot be fissioned by thermal neutrons . The radioactivity of the depleted uranium (the α-radiation activity is 15,000  Bq / g about 40% less than that of natural uranium, which is 25,000 Bq / g) in this case, apart from a possible deterrent effect, does not serve any military purpose. Furthermore, uranium ammunition can also contain traces of transuranium elements such as plutonium .

While uranium ammunition is known to be stocked by 21 countries ( USA , Russia , Great Britain , People's Republic of China , Sweden , Netherlands , Greece , France , Croatia , Bosnia and Herzegovina , Turkey , Egypt , United Arab Emirates , Kuwait , Israel , Saudi Arabia , Iraq , Pakistan , Thailand , South Korea and Japan ; uranium ammunition has been used to combat armored vehicles since the mid-1970s), only one country, the USA , has so far admitted the use of these ammunition in war maneuvers.

In recent times, several thousand tons of uranium ammunition were mainly used in the Second Gulf War (320 tons), in Yugoslavia , Bosnia , in the Kosovo war , in the Iraq war and in the Syrian civil war.

During a three-week mission in the 2003 Iraq war alone, the “ coalition of the willing ” deployed between 1000 and 2000 tons of uranium ammunition.

history

The German Wehrmacht carried out its first tests with uranium hard core projectiles during World War II . Since production of the Panzergranate 40  - an anti-tank shell with a sub-caliber tungsten hard core - had to be discontinued in the summer of 1943 due to the shortage of tungsten, alternatives were sought. In March 1944, tests with uranium core ammunition were successfully carried out. Due to a lack of material, there was no further production here either.

Manufacturing

Depleted uranium arises as radioactive waste in the enrichment of uranium for energy generation in light water nuclear power plants and in the production of nuclear weapons . 11.8 kg of natural uranium are required to produce 1 kg of uranium with an enrichment level of 5%. This means that 10.8 kg of depleted uranium are available for further processing. So far, only about 5% of the accumulated depleted uranium has been reused. The military use of the waste from uranium enrichment saves the costs of interim storage of unneeded depleted uranium. The production of uranium ammunition, for example, is cheaper compared to tungsten carbide ammunition .

application

20mm ammunition for the CIWS phalanx on the USS Missouri (BB-63)

Uranium ammunition consists either largely of uranium in an alloy with other metals such as titanium or molybdenum or only partially in the form of an elongated core in the middle of a projectile made of other materials. Since uranium is prone to corrosion , the projectiles are at least covered with a thin protective jacket made of other metal.

Uranium projectiles are impact projectiles that penetrate the armor of a hard target through high impulses . Uranium is particularly suitable for these uses because of its very high density, but also because of its property of being deformed on impact in such a way that a point is retained; therefore uranium ammunition is also referred to as "self-sharpening". An additional effect is that when it hits an armored target, hot uranium dust is formed, which spontaneously ignites on contact with air inside ( pyrophoric effect). This can ignite the ammunition or fuel carried, which can lead to the so-called secondary explosion of the target.

Uranium projectiles are used as tank ammunition in the form of sabot projectiles , such as the M829 ammunition (approx.4.5 kg uranium per projectile), and as hard-core ammunition for machine guns . The ammunition "PGU-14 / B API Armor Piercing Incendiary [DU] 30 mm Ammunition" was fired to a considerable extent with the Fairchild-Republic A-10 aircraft . A PGU-14 / B projectile contains 301 grams of uranium-238, which is alloyed with a weight fraction of 0.75% titanium and encased in a sheath of 0.8 mm aluminum. Furthermore, uranium ammunition for machine guns in calibers 25 mm and 20 mm is widely used by the military.

effect

In addition to the militarily desired destructive effect, uranium has a harmful effect on the human organism, both because of its radioactivity and because of its chemical toxicity . Due to the low activity of the bullets, the toxic effect on the kidneys is considered to be decisive. There is no international agreement that explicitly prohibits the use of depleted uranium. The use of uranium bullets, however, conflicts with the Geneva Protocol , which prohibits the use of toxic substances in war.

Physical effect

Depleted uranium - with a content of 99.8% 238 U and 0.2% 235 U - is itself an alpha emitter , the radiation of which does not penetrate clothing or skin. The α activity of 238 U and the beta radiation emanating from its decay products result in a total activity of about 40,000  Bq per gram of DU. The radioactivity is weak because of the half-life of 238 U with 4.468 billion years. At a distance of one meter, one kilogram of depleted uranium generates an annual radiation dose of 1 mSv, which corresponds to about a third of the uptake from natural sources (2–3 mSv / year). Nevertheless, the dose rate it generates , if it acts over a long period of time or over a short distance, can damage the genetic material and trigger cancer . The actual danger does not come from external radiation, but from dusts containing uranium or uranium oxide ( internal radiation) ingested via the respiratory tract and food .

There is disagreement about the assessment of the harmfulness of the relatively weak ionizing radiation. Since there is only little knowledge about damage caused by low radiation doses, these are derived from the known data on damage from high dose rates. However, this approach is controversial, some studies show far less damage from low radiation doses than this extrapolation would suggest, other researchers, on the contrary, suspect greater risks than previously assumed.

Chemical effect

Uranium has a chemical effect like many other heavy metals and, as a poison, damages the metabolism of internal organs , primarily the kidneys . The chemical toxicity is particularly important in the first few weeks after ingestion of a large amount of uranium.

Effects

The intact ammunition poses a relatively low risk, since the intact metal casing or the massive projectile itself shields most of the ionizing radiation. The risk emanating from missed penetrators is also usually assessed as low. The main effect arises because when the projectile hits a hard target, an aerosol of the finest uranium and uranium oxide particles is formed. This can be inhaled into the deeper respiratory tract or ingested through food and thus get into the bloodstream in both cases . Basic studies on possible radiation exposure from DU ammunition were presented by the Helmholtz Center in Munich .

One objection to this is that a large part of the material taken up in one-time contact is quickly eliminated. According to the WHO, 90% of the soluble uranium is excreted from the blood within a few days and 98% of the uranium ingested and 95% of the inhaled uranium is excreted without ever getting into the blood. Critics respond that the remaining 2 to 5% are poisonous enough and that the excretion rate applies only to single ingestion, not to daily and continuous intake through drinking water and food. They also state that insoluble particles can accumulate in the lungs for up to eight years. There they have a strong carcinogenic effect, both due to the alpha radiation and due to the chemical properties. In addition, acute poisoning with severe, long-lasting damage up to acute kidney failure can occur in the short period between absorption into the body and excretion . In the same recommendation, the WHO has therefore recommended limit values ​​for the daily intake of soluble uranium compounds of 0.5 μg / kg body weight, 5 μg / kg for insoluble compounds and a maximum of 1 μg / m³ in the ambient air when absorbed via the respiratory tract.

Another potential threat are projectiles fired into the ground, which can corrode completely within five to ten years, releasing the uranium into the groundwater . Measurements carried out by the International Atomic Energy Agency in the former Yugoslavia at the end of 2000 have so far only shown minimally increased uranium concentrations in the groundwater, which are not higher than those in regions with naturally higher uranium content. After depleted uranium was found in the soil, in the air and in drinking water in Bosnia, according to a UNEP report in 2003 , it recommends observing over several years through regular water samples and in the meantime obtaining the water from "other sources".

According to a study by researchers from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) weathered the material of uranium projectiles in the soil and decomposes to Sabugalit , a substance with the aluminum - Uranylphosphaten counts. The researchers estimate that the complete transformation of the uranium ammunition into sabugalite, in which the poisonous uranium is firmly bound, could be expected in around 50 years. A “washout process” is connected with this conversion process, which lasts much longer. "This creates new carbonate-containing uranium compounds that are very soluble in water" and thus get into seepage and groundwater and can be absorbed by plants. The values ​​measured in the seepage water are comparable with values ​​measured “in former uranium mining areas such as the mines near Schlema in Saxony”. According to the press release on the research results, an assessment of the consequences for agriculture cannot be given.

Because of the danger of inhaling the uranium aerosol, soldiers and civilians should wear respiratory protection when in areas where armor-piercing ammunition has recently been used. It can take days for the aerosol to fully precipitate, especially in arid areas.

Studies and Criticism

There is disagreement about the real extent of the threat. Opponents of these weapons, such as the organization Doctors for the Prevention of Nuclear War , hold uranium ammunition responsible for cancer, deformities and consequential damage such as the Gulf War Syndrome . They claim that statistics show an unmistakable increase in skin and lung cancers in affected war zones.

According to studies by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), there is no particular hazard. The WHO guidance on exposure to depleted uranium explicitly states that no study was able to find a connection between contact with depleted uranium and the occurrence of cancer or congenital defects ( No study has established a link between exposure to DU and the onset of cancers or congenital abnormalities. ).

Critics criticize the methodology and accuse the studies of a lack of independence. Opponents of uranium ammunition are demanding that new evaluations and assessments be carried out.

The so-called Lloyd Report on Health Problems in British Gulf War Veterans highlighted the existence of Gulf War Syndrome and examined a number of potential triggers for it. Uranium ammunition was identified as a potential trigger, but the study also clearly pointed to the lack of reliable facts about the risks. A previous report by the Royal Society was particularly emphasized, which assessed the danger of uranium ammunition for soldiers as rather low according to the current state of knowledge, but also called for long-term studies and further investigations.

Iraq is the country most heavily contaminated by uranium weapons. The US and British military fired at least 400,000 kilograms of uranium ammunition in the wars of 1991 and 2003. The civilian population was not informed about the risks of the mission. Field studies of the effects of uranium ammunition in Iraq have been severely hampered by the US refusal to provide information on the location and amount of ammunition used. The peace organization Pax received a few US coordinates from the Dutch Ministry of Defense as part of the Freedom of Information Act . These show that the US Army also used DU in residential areas in 2003. The number of cancer cases in the province of Babil , south of Baghdad, rose from 500 diagnosed cases in 2004 to 9,082 in 2009. Uranium ammunition was used in five wars, including in Kosovo and Afghanistan.

The 2010 study Cancer, Child Mortality and Birth Changes in Gender Ratios by Chris Busby, Malak Hamdan and Entesar Ariabi shows an increase in cancer and malformations in Fallujah, Iraq.

Alternatives

A somewhat lower armor-piercing effect can be achieved with tungsten carbide (density: approx. 16 g / cm³, depending on the composition), which is not radioactive. However, tungsten carbide is more expensive than depleted uranium, more difficult to process and, in the form of fine dusts that also contain cobalt , can cause pulmonary fibrosis . Uranium is readily available as a waste product from the nuclear industry. Tungsten carbide has a 5 to 10% lower penetration power than uranium at the same impact speed, since a uranium projectile sharpens itself when it penetrates the armor, whereas the tungsten carbide projectile becomes blunt. The Bundeswehr uses tungsten carbide ammunition. The US has largely replaced the ammunition in the Phalanx CIWS with tungsten carbide bullets.

See also

Web links
Videos

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Labor Spiez Switzerland: Depleted Uranium (depleted uranium) ( Memento from February 22, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ↑ Bernard Rostker: Environmental Exposure Report: Depleted Uranium in the Gulf (II). ( Memento of February 5, 2007 on the Internet Archive ) Department of Defense, December 13, 2000.
  3. ↑ Dagmar Röhrlich: After the war, the poisonous dust remains In: Welt Online, February 5, 2018.
  4. ↑ Christoph Sydow: USA admit the use of uranium ammunition in Syria. In: Spiegel Online, February 16, 2017.
  5. ^ Paul Brown: Gulf troops face tests for cancer. In: The Guardian , April 25, 2003.
  6. ↑ Iraq War Anniversary: ​​Birth Defects And Cancer Rates At Devastating High In Basra And Fallujah. In: The Huffington Post , March 20, 2013.
  7. ↑ Military History Research Office : The German Reich and the Second World War . Volume 5/2, ISBN 3-421-06499-7 , p. 646.
  8. ↑ Ammunition: PGU-14 / B API detailed information In: fas.org , accessed on June 15, 2011 (English)
  9. ↑ Full text of the Geneva Protocol and list of contracting parties. (English)
  10. ↑ Spiez Laboratory , Switzerland: Depleted Uranium (depleted uranium) ( Memento from February 22, 2008 in the Internet Archive ), 2000 (PDF; 148 kB), p. 4.
  11. ↑ a b Thomas Efferth: Molecular Pharmacology and Toxicology: Biological Foundations of Medicines and Poisons. Springer, 2006, ISBN 978-3-540-21223-2 , p. 238.
  12. ↑ a b Werner Böcker, Helmut Denk, Philipp Ulrich Heitz: Repetitorium Pathologie. Elsevier, Urban & Fischer, 2007, ISBN 978-3-437-43400-6 , p. 296.
  13. ^ Li WB, Gerstmann UC, Höllriegl V, Szymczak W, Roth P, Hoeschen C, Oeh U: Radiation dose assessment of exposure to depleted uranium. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol. 2009 Jul; 19 (5): 502-514, PMID 18596688
  14. ↑ a b WHO: Depleted uranium. ( Memento of August 15, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Fact sheet N ° 257, January 2003.
  15. ↑ Depleted uranium: sources, exposure and health effects. Executive summary of the WHO , January 2003 (PDF; 23 kB).
  16. ↑ Depleted uranium in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Post-Conflict Environmental Assessment. UNEP , May 2003 (PDF; 17.5 MB).
  17. ↑ Long-term study on the dissolution of uranium ammunition. Press release, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), accessed on April 21, 2011.
  18. ↑ Article with illus. a. to birth defects (English)
  19. ↑ Siegesmund von Ilsemann: URANE AMMUNITION: Deadly dust . In: Der Spiegel . No. 3 , 2001 ( online ).
  20. ↑ lloyd-gwii.com ( Memento from October 9, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 829 kB)
  21. ^ Wilhelm von Pax: USA are using uranium ammunition again: More and more cancer sufferers in war zones. Neopresse , November 5, 2014, accessed on February 20, 2020 (German).
  22. ↑ http://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/7/7/2828/
  23. ↑ Entry on tungsten carbide in the GESTIS substance database of the IFA , accessed on January 21, 2014 (JavaScript required)