Uranium in the environment
[2] Chemical toxicity can cause public health issues when uranium is present in groundwater, especially if concentrations in food and water are increased by mining activity.
[6] It is considered to be more plentiful than antimony, beryllium, cadmium, gold, mercury, silver, or tungsten and is about as abundant as tin, arsenic or molybdenum.
[7] There are significant concentrations of uranium in some substances, such as phosphate rock deposits, and minerals such as lignite, and monazite sands in uranium-rich ores.
Consequently, uranium mining results in "the unavoidable radioactive contamination of the environment by solid, liquid and gaseous wastes".
Incidents at Ranger Uranium Mine in the Northern Territory of Australia and disputes over Indigenous land rights led to increased opposition to development of the nearby Jabiluka deposits and suspension of that project in the early 2000s.
Combustion and impact of DU munitions can produce aerosols that disperse uranium metal into the air and water where it can be inhaled or ingested by humans.
[18] Studies of DU aerosol exposure suggest that uranium particles would quickly settle out of the air,[19] and thus should not affect populations more than a few kilometres from target areas.
Soluble uranium salts are readily excreted in the urine, although some accumulation in the kidneys does occur in the case of chronic exposure.
The World Health Organization has established a daily "tolerated intake" of soluble uranium salts for the general public of 0.5 μg/kg body weight (or 35 μg for a 70 kg adult): exposure at this level is not thought to lead to any significant kidney damage.
A 2013 analysis in a medical journal found that, "The effects of all these sources of contamination on human health will be subtle and widespread, and therefore difficult to detect both clinically and epidemiologically.
Multiple studies using cultured cells and laboratory rodents suggest the possibility of leukemogenic, genetic, reproductive, and neurological effects from chronic exposure.
"[37] The World Health Organization states that no risk of reproductive, developmental, or carcinogenic effects have been reported in humans due to DU exposure.
[40] Most scientific studies have found no link between uranium and birth defects, but some claim statistical correlations between soldiers exposed to DU, and those who were not, concerning reproductive abnormalities.
[37] Several sources have attributed an increased rate of birth defects in the children of Gulf War veterans and in Iraqis to inhalation of depleted uranium.
The study did not find correlations between Gulf war deployment and other birth defects such as stillbirth, chromosomal malformations, or congenital syndromes.
[37][33][34] Bacteria and Pseudomonadota, such as Geobacter and Burkholderia fungorum (strain Rifle), can reduce and fix uranium in soil and groundwater.
