this post was submitted on 03 Sep 2023
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The use of depleted uranium munitions has been fiercely debated, with opponents like the International Coalition to Ban Uranium Weapons saying there are dangerous health risks from ingesting or inhaling depleted uranium dust, including cancers and birth defects.

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[–] flipht@kbin.social 32 points 2 years ago (49 children)

It's not about them. It's the children who find the spent ammo later.

This crap is the reason that there are birth defects spikes anywhere the US military operates.

[–] cooljacob204@kbin.social 19 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (12 children)

The amount of Ukrainians dying right now will pale in comparison to those effected by the munitions.

The controversy around depleted uranium rounds is way overblown.

Even in Iraq the evidence is super inconclusive. And yes birth defects rose however the entire country basically collapsed for years and nothing clearly indicates it was the DU used.

Don't get me wrong, it's nasty stuff. But this is war, more people are getting killed by bombs then any DU related cancer can cause.

[–] tryptaminev@feddit.de 7 points 2 years ago (11 children)

In Basra the rate of leukemia in children rose dramatically and that is too specific of a disease to not be linked to DU exposure due to the heavy use of it in surrounding tank battles.

[–] letsgocrazy@lemm.ee 3 points 2 years ago (1 children)

How do you you it's not linked to any of the other hundreds of dangerous chemicals?

[–] tryptaminev@feddit.de 3 points 2 years ago

Because the issue is specific to the region and started specifically after the tank battle where DU ammunition was used. If it would be a general issue with some dangerous chemical being used, we'd expect to see similiar issues in other regions. Of course it is hypotheticakky possible that at the same time some dangerous and persistant chemical exposure happened in the region, but that is not plausible and also the US would have a strong interest in finding such an alternative explanation. But there isn't any research published, that provided an alternative.

Also look into the wording of the US when sending the ammunition to Ukraine. They state that no radiation hazard is to be expected for the Ukrainians. They do not talk about a toxicological hazard.

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