depleted uranium

A natural byproduct of the uranium enrichment process, DU is used to make ultra-dense armor-penetrating weapons. DU comprises the slugs of many tank and aircraft-based anti-armor munitions. Though it is not as radioactive as enriched or weapons-grade uranium, it is far easier to obtain and "legally" use in the course of a war. Despite the diminished radioactivity, the principle hazard that DU poses to both civilians and combatants is the environmental degradation caused by the leeching of radiation into groundwater and soil.

Depleted uranium was first used widely by the United States during the Gulf War of 1991. During that time close to a million rounds of depleted uranium tank-penetrating rounds were fired, primarily by A-10 "Warthog" aircraft as well as American tanks.

Depleted uranium has been blamed as one of the possible causes of Gulf War Syndrome, which has resulted in debilitating illnesses of tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of Iraqis and American soldiers.

Two years after the 1999 NATO bombing of Serbia a hospital in Kosovska Mitrovica, an area where DU rounds were fired from aircraft, instances of "malignant diseases," including birth defects and severe head deformities, were reported to have tripled.

More information on WMM:

Dense Inert Metal Explosives (DIME)

White Phosphorus

Cluster Bombs

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