In war, the advantages of Depleted Uranium munitions help the United States stomp other countries into the ground.

The United States and its NATO allies maintain that Depleted Uranium dust (a by-product) doesn't cause cancer and birth defects, however, 136 countries are citing other research saying that it does.

Which side do you think is right?

Here is the wikipedia entry:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depleted_uranium

I don't think attempting to start a debate is incredibly wise. This is the Internet, after all.

That said, it's an interesting issue. I personally think war is bad, mkay, so people shouldn't be bad by starting wars, mkay. Cancer and birth defects on top of that is kind of horrible.

I doubt that depleted uranium really gives such a huge advantage that it's irreplaceable.
Also it's goddamn uranium. I don't care how depleted it is, ♥♥♥♥ was still radioactive AND a heavy metal. Not at all safe for humans to be near.

So yeah, potential replacements- likely ones inferior in effectiveness- are even more radioactive than depleted uranium rounds.

Depleted uranium rounds aren't exactly dished out like candy. They're mainly used for anti-armor or heavy anti-personnel applications. The remains of most depleted uranium rounds are embedded inside the scorched hulls of tanks and armored vehicles, which I'm sure parents make sure their kids stay away from. That's not to say they have no potential health effects whatsoever, but I don't think it's of major significance. Know of any specific case studies, maybe?

They're designed to KILL people, I doubt the millitary cares about and minor radiation poisoning.

They wouldn't if it were only affecting enemies.

Becuase holy ♥♥♥♥ DU rounds are awesome, sure there are some health risks if you go near to the stuff that's been shot by them, but damn son are DU rounds pimp.

OK see that's a damn good reason to use it compared to "They're heavy and dense and ♥♥♥♥, let's make bullets out of it."

I don't see the issue with it, other than don't use it on civvies, but it sounds more hardcore than just mowing down some casual bystanders. We could do without some radioactive battlefields to steer clear of, though.

The stuff is HARDLY gonna give you radiation sickness... It is DEPLETED, remember? Also, anyone who handles the rounds and stuff back home would probably be wearing protective gear and the rounds themselves are coated in othe metals. If you were going to worry about this, then I'd worry about the DU in M1A2 hull amour, specifically the glacis plate, civillian aircraft, MEDICAL EQUIPTMENT (where it is speciffically used to SHIELD people from radiation) and in containers to, once again, SHIELD the carrier from radiation.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depleted_u ... iderations
Major this was linked at the top of the topic but I don't think you read it very thoroughly
It's not simply a matter of "wear masks"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_War_syndrome
This part is probably especially important

That is still only the problem if the weapons have been used, not in storage or production, in which case, that is WHY they're being used, because they are better at killing people than non-DU rounds. Also, going near a fresh battlefield is a retarded thing for a civilian to do, the chance of gettin injured is massive, even without the presence of DU, semi dud munitions, fires, other toxic compounds, fuels and other hazards abound in fresh battle fields, with DU poisoning being on of the smaller issues. Toxix DU compounds will also disperse and gradually be broken down naturally over time, while other hazards will not.

I love the smell of pyrophoric depleted uranium shells in the morning. On my sickbed as I die of cancer.

Damn fine choice if you want to kill something in an armoured box, but definitely bad for everybody involved. You would have thought that after all this time/money/accidents/mind-bogglingly-huge-explosions, we would have decided to stop using radioactive substances by now and found an alternative to slaughter our fellow man with.

I'm pretty sure you're not going to care about cancer when you're getting hit with a 120mm cannon shell to the chest.

Lizzrd are you just being silly or did you also not read the article, sometimes it's hard to tell