To: larryposts
http://www.bigislandvideonews. My brother John is a retired USAF science officer. He had many accomplishments in his career , which was highlighted by being awarded the Top Science Officer in the entire USAF , twice (The Geller Award) Here is what he just wrote to me regarding Jim Albertini's comments about DU @ PTA : " As a metallurgist who has handled and experimented on depleted Uranium rounds and armor hit by depleted Uranium rounds, I can tell you that it is not a health hazard unless you are standing in front of it when it is fired. It is completely ridiculous to say that it has had anything to do with GWS (Gulf War Syndrome). GWS is a collection of diseases that were caused by injection of various biological agents which were suppose to immunize troops against bio-weapons or that were designed to enhance the immune response of the body to those agents. I can provide a detailed history of GWS, if anyone is interested, and I can also direct anyone to medical authorities who have credentials that have allowed them to testify to Congress on this issue. It is extremely unlikely that the military is even using rounds made from depleted Uranium for training purposes, given the fact that they are expensive and that training can be accomplished without them.
That person in the film clip from BI Video News who claims that the populations of Kona or Hilo are in danger from depleted Uranium rounds used by the military at the Pohakuloa training area is living in a spirit world that seems to exist for people who believe that Hawai'i is a separate country, occupied by the United States. Everything that people imagine is not reality, nor will it become reality in the future. Fantasy may be good entertainment, but it is not the way out of the harsh realities that our Country is facing.
Metallurgy is an exact science. As such, there is scientific procedure that governs conclusions about facts that relate to it. Depleted Uranium is effective in military uses, not because it threatens the enemy with radiation, but because of its armor penetration power that results from its mass. Radiation from weapons testing is not creating a world of mutants. Evidence, or lack of evidence, can be found in the Bikini Atoll area that has recently been studied and tested for radioactive Cs (Cesium). Bikini was subjected to massive amounts of radiation and the waters around the Atoll are now virtually free of any traces of radioactive isotopes. The only mutation that they have found is a second dorsal fin on a species of nurse sharks, which is now missing or suppressed by a genetic change. Cs is still found on the Islands in some vegetation that picks up K (Potassium) from the soil. Cs and K are similar and related on the periodic table. Atmospheric (above ground) testing of nuclear weapons is dangerous in the short term and direct exposure will cause a variety of medical problems, which have been well documented.
A fear of depleted Uranium is about as rational as a fear of fairies. "
To: 15thMS
Since the depleted Uranium melts its way through a target and since the melting temperature of Uranium is 2070F and the melting temperature of iron is about 2800F, depending on the alloy, the two materials probably melt together and the melt is most likely distributed as droplets. Only .72% of DU is U234 or U235 and the rest is less radioactive than naturally occurring (unrefined) Uranium. It is about a poisonous as the Mercury in the thermometer that you stick in your mouth. In fission the radioactive fallout is finely divided. In the strike of a DU projectile on iron or steel, it is not. Droplets do not float on the winds any more than heavy marbles do. Most of the melted products go into and stay in what ever vehicle is hit. At worst, they probably do not travel more than a few feet from the site of impact. If the military were setting off Plutonium weapons in a fissionable test in Pohakuloa, Albertini could be worried. Plutonium is extremely poisonous, in addition to being radioactive. This is not the case with DU. |
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