November 2007 • Issue 406



DU: From waste to weapon

1 Natural uranium consists of three main isotopes – U235 (0.720%), U238 (99.275%) and U234 (0.005%). Isotopes of an element behave in the same way chemically but vary in the amounts and types of radiation they produce.

Frans Lemmens / STILL PICTURES


2 After uranium has been mined and refined, it is converted into uranium hexafluoride (UF6). This is a solid at normal temperatures but is highly toxic, reacts violently with water and is corrosive to most metals. It is sent to enrichment plants to concentrate the fissionable isotope U235 to between three and five per cent. After this enrichment, the uranium is reactor-ready and can be used for power generation.

Chemical forms of uranium during conversion: yellowcake, uranyl nitrate solution [UO2(NO3)2], and solid ammonium diuranate [(NH4)2U2O7].

Chemical forms of uranium during conversion: yellowcake, uranyl nitrate solution [UO2(NO3)2], and solid ammonium diuranate [(NH4)2U2O7]. http://tinyurl.com/3c7wwb


3 After enrichment, the leftover ‘depleted’ uranium is either fed back via reprocessing into the enrichment cycle or stored as waste uranium hexafluoride in large steel cylinders in outdoor yards. This ‘Hex’ is highly corrosive and can eat through and leak out of containers. Currently the world has stockpiles of more than a million tonnes of this waste.

http://tinyurl.com/3dtnch


4 After enrichment, the leftover ‘depleted’ uranium is either fed back via reprocessing into the enrichment cycle or stored as waste uranium hexafluoride in large steel cylinders in outdoor yards. This ‘Hex’ is highly corrosive and can eat through and leak out of containers. Currently the world has stockpiles of more than a million tonnes of this waste.

http://tinyurl.com/yqzkp7


5 DU is 40 per cent less radioactive than natural uranium, but it exists in a far more concentrated form. It has a half-life of 4.5 billion years. This means that, as it decays, many different radioactive elements are created before 50 per cent of it turns into lead 4.5 billion years later.




also by...
THIS AUTHOR

Toxic souvenirs
Depleted uranium weapons have left behind a trail of human misery and vituperative debate. What’s not known about them is just as disturbing as what is, discovers Dinyar Godrej.

Daring to dream
Dinyar Godrej finds dreamers hard at work, living the change they want to see.

The Body Hunters

Scarred: Experiments with violence in Gujarat

Language Tools
Powered by Ultralingua

Join over 10,000 people just like you. Get e-mail updates about new content, issue alerts, contests, and more!

other articles
FROM THIS ISSUE

Propaganda by any other name
Zimbabwe's government spends millions on propaganda

Taxing African wealth
Radio New Internationalist explains how African countries' coffers are being plundered to leave populations in poverty

Drugs, guns and money
Drugs and guns in Colombia’s guerrilla war

Buddhas need a passport
China permits reincarnation

Marching for the monks
Burma’s rebels on the line

recently
IN THIS COLUMN

The Aid Link
Are we really helping the Third World?

This toxic life
They’re in our homes and our workplace, in the air we breathe and in the food we eat. Wayne Ellwood argues that toxic chemicals are changing the nature of nature.

Plastic is forever
The facts about plastic

Message in a bottle
It’s a fashion statement and an environmental nightmare. Zoe Cormier examines one of the most successful marketing ploys ever – bottled water.

Abandon the toxic treadmill!
Things you can do to avoid toxic plastics. PLUS the Action / Campaign directory.






Voices from the margins:

Multimedia: video, podcasts, and more.

House of Hunger Poetry Slam in Zimbabwe
Poetry Slam in Zimbabwe
The House of Hunger poetry slam held in Zimbabwe in 2006, and organised by the Pamberi Trust, showcased young artists performing inspirational work on issues from corporate power to child soldiers. The video features four of the poets.
Published by Pambazuka News.
Raised Voices video:
Atossa Soltani from Brazil on the Climate Change
Desmond Desai from South Africa on Corporate Power
Iranian Women Speak Out
Iranian women speak out
3 March 2007, London. Women's rights activists marched through the English capital last week to celebrate International Women's Day with a protest against the misogyny of the Islamic regime in Iran and the threat of invasion by the US. Hear the voices of Iranian feminists Azar and Leila Parnian and the sounds of the demonstration as it passed through the heart of the city. Click here to learn more about the campaign.
Produced by Heidi Bachram.
Raised Voices audio:
Benny from West Papua on Corporate Power
Vinayan from India on agriculture