Washington, February 02: The projectiles that you can make out of this depleted uranium have a very high density and when you fire it from a canon or a machine gun or an airplane, its penetrating capacity is very great.”
Lawrence Davidson, professor at West Chester University
The United States is using depleted uranium in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan because the deadly weapons are inexpensive and abundant, a professor tells Media.
“It’s cheap. It’s cheap and plentiful. Depleted uranium is a by-product of uranium enrichment after a certain percent,” Lawrence Davidson, professor at West Chester University, told Press TV.
The US government has used depleted uranium arms on humans in its two recent wars, at least 1,000 tons in the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan and 2,400 tons in the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Human rights commissions have prohibited the use of depleted uranium on humans — including during military conflicts — because it causes congenital deformities and cancer.
Davidson explained that the weapons have certain qualities that make Washington use them for military purposes.
“For instance the projectiles that you can make out of this depleted uranium have a very high density and when you fire it from a canon or a machine gun or an airplane, its penetrating capacity is very great,” he said.
“You can design the projectile so that upon penetration it disintegrates and bursts into flames. So, let’s say it penetrates an armored vehicle, it sets the inside of the vehicle on fire,” Davidson said.
“And this then creates a powdery residue. And the powdery residue can be airborne and it can sit around for a very long time. And when it’s disturbed it goes airborne again and you can inhale it. The typical result is if you get enough of it is fatal kidney damage,” the professor noted.
——Agencies