Radioactive dust emitted by depleted uranium munitions has been linked to rises in cancer and congenital defects in babies following the US bombing of Iraq
  • bestboyfriendintheworld@sh.itjust.works
    15·
    2 months ago

    Depleted uranium is used in armor piercing tank shells, armor piercing autocannon rounds, and bunker buster bombs. The high density of Uranium helps with penetration. Depleted uranium is commonly used for that purpose. Tungsten is a more expensive and slightly worse alternative used by other countries. Only a small part of the bomb contains Uranium. Most of the destruction comes from the explosives.

    We know the Israeli Air Force used bunker buster bombs to kill Nasrallah in his bunker, possibly BLU-109.

    So this whole story is certainly plausible.

    • steventhedev@lemmy.worldEnglish
      23·
      2 months ago

      Plausible yes. Painting it as if it were doctrine is not.

      DU is toxic and radioactive, but the radioactivity is stopped by a literal sheet of paper. So the article is just panic inducing propaganda intended for people who want yet another reason to hate on Israel

      EU source regarding the radioactivity of DU munitions: https://ec.europa.eu/health/scientific_committees/opinions_layman/depleted-uranium/en/index.htm

      • bestboyfriendintheworld@sh.itjust.works
        51·
        2 months ago

        Depleted Uranium is still a toxic heavy metal. Sure it’s not that dangerous if it’s outside your body. However you can easily breathe in dust or ingest it in some other way. Then there’s no piece of paper between the radiation and your body anymore.

        However there are all kinds of other unhealthy materials in the dust from collapsed buildings, like asbestos.