Printer Friendly Page

DEPLETED URANIUM LITTERS UTAH TEST AND TRAINING

RANGE -- "It is something of a regulatory puzzle. You're not

supposed to leave it there. It should be disposed of properly."

 

 

For more information on depleted uranium, use the VA Watchdog search engine...click here...
http://www.yourvabenefits.org/sessearch
.php?q=depleted+uranium&op=ph

Story here... http://www.sltrib
.com/news/ci_6504498

Story below:

-------------------------

Environment:

Old uranium litters test, training range

By Robert Gehrke
The Salt Lake Tribune

More than 400 pounds of depleted uranium, used as ballast in cruise missiles, litters the Utah Test and Training Range, according to Air Force records.

The material is radioactive, but given the relatively small amount and its distance from inhabited areas it likely poses little risk.

"It is probably not something for the public to worry about," said Steve Erickson, of the Citizen Education Project, who obtained the depleted uranium records from the Air Force under the Freedom of Information Act. "It is something of a regulatory puzzle, however. You're not supposed to leave it there. It should be disposed of properly."

Depleted uranium has given up some of its radioactive properties to enrich other uranium, making it "hotter" and usable in reactors. Depleted uranium is about 40 percent less radioactive than regular uranium.

The Defense Department has used depleted uranium in armor-piercing weapons and armor, and as ballast for things like cruise missiles.

It's those cruise missiles, tested at the Utah Test and Training Range, that have left bits of depleted uranium scattered around the vast bombing range, records show.

Normally, the Air Force tries to recover all of the depleted uranium. But between 1995 and 2005, there have been eight instances where amounts totaling about 430 pounds of depleted uranium couldn't be recovered.

For example, in one test in July 2004, a depleted uranium ballast separated from its cruise missile on impact and burrowed deep into a muddy bog. Crews dug 5 feet into the mud with a backhoe but could not locate the 90 pounds of depleted uranium.

Going back to 1985, some 1,170 pounds have been scattered by weapons tests at the range.

The Air Force considers the depleted uranium to be in "permanent storage," since it cannot be recovered.

It would not be dangerous unless it gets into a person's body, most likely through inhalation if the depleted uranium were to burn, said Arjun Makhijani, president of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research.

"It's not zero risk. All of this radioactivity causes some risk," said Makhijani. "But 400 pounds dispersed over a large area would not be considered a large amount."

Calls to Hill Air Force Base, which manages the training range, were not returned Monday.

-------------------------

Larry Scott  --