The Depleted Uranium Project

This is a work in progress.  There are links to several pages at this web site.  The resources page has links to several web sites.  Any comments or suggestions regarding this site are welcome.  Requests to include certain material or links to other sites will be honored if possible.  It may take some time to have this site updated to include such materials or links.

Scientific Literature on Toxic Effects of Uranium
This document lists more than 200 references from the scientific and biomedical literature, giving a brief summary of the contents of most of the articles listed.  This document would be valuable to people with some scientific background.  It is a work in progress and will be updated as more articles are obtained.

Uranium Toxicity Literature in PDF format

Scientific Literature on Uranium Analysis and Chemistry
This document lists about 80 references from the scientific literature about methods for measuring uranium in the environment or in biological fluids and the chemical properties of uranium and its complexes.

Uranium Analysis and Chemistry Literature in PDF format

Depleted Uranium and Health: Facts and Helpful Suggestions

This article describes formation of uranium oxides in burning munitions, particle size range, and routes for human contamination, including transdermal absorption (i.e., through the skin). There is discussion of how uranium oxides stick very well to clothing (cotton) and is not easily removed with laundry detergent, but does get removed by washing with baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) solution. It also discusses the fact that citrates and citric acid were found to be potent antidotes for uranium poisoning (in lab animals). References are listed for all the facts given in the document.  This information is important for anyone at risk for uranium contamination in areas where DU munitions have been used.

Depleted Uranium and Health: Facts and Helpful Suggestions in PDF format


Depleted Uranium: Origin, Properties and Health Consequences
This document is a brief general overview of depleted uranium, giving some of the history of uranium, as well as its properties, uses and health consequences.  The health consequences are discussed in the context of heavy metal toxicity.  This material grew from public presentations I have given on this topic.

Selected Resources for Depleted Uranium Information
This page lists books, videos and gives links to web sites for more information about depleted uranium.  The list is not extensive and will be updated regularly.

Known Toxic Effects Associated with Uranium
This page is a brief list of toxic effects known to be caused by uranium exposure, with journal references for those wishing to find the original material.  This is a short list just to give documentation for the toxicity of uranium.  Another list is being compiled that will give a more comprehensive coverage of the scientific literature.

Depleted Uranium 101
This article appeared in The Catholic Worker (New York), August-September 2003, p3.

The Baltimore VA Study
This discusses publications from the study being done on 1991 Gulf War Veterans who were exposed to depleted uranium, including those with embedded DU shrapnel.  There are several points about these publications that are called into question.  It is a little surprising that these papers were published in peer reviewed journals.

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