Uranium And Tungsten In Military Munitions Spur Tumor Growth

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Uranium And Tungsten In Military Munitions Spur Tumor Growth

Findings Suggest That Exposure During War Could Threaten Long-Term Health

Do the toxic metals used in military weapons have a long-term, deleterious

" boomerang effect " on the health of those exposed to their use?

Depleted uranium (DU) is a low-level radioactive waste commonly found in

powerful military ammunition used to penetrate armor. During Operation

Desert Storm in the Gulf War, about 350 metric tons of DU was used, causing

3-6 million grams of the substance to be released in the air. DU fragments

also became lodged inside soldiers during several friendly fire incidents

and were not subsequently removed. Ten years after the conflict, high levels

of uranium were detected in the urine of many Gulf War veterans, leading

some to speculate that DU exposure could be an important underlying factor

in Gulf War Syndrome.

To better understand the potential long-term health effects of exposure to

DU and other metals used in military weapons, scientists at the Applied

Radiobiology Department at the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute

in Bethesda, MD, recently conducted an experimental study. In the

laboratory, they examined the carcinogenic potential of DU and its ability

to cause damage and mutation in a human cell model. These effects were then

compared with the toxic effects of alloys of tungsten (used in missiles and

other projectiles) and with nickel, a heavy metal known to be carcinogenic.

In the study, human cells exposed to DU and the tungsten alloy developed

cancer-causing mutations at a rate 25.5 times and 9.5 times higher than

normal, respectively. The investigators likened the potential of these

agents to trigger cancerous tumor growth as similar to that of nickel, a

proven carcinogen.

" The chromosomal aberrations seen with DU exposure are distinctly

characteristic of radiation exposure. " the investigators commented. Both DU

and the tungsten alloys increased chromosome damage and single-strand DNA

breaks in the human cells from 158% to 810%.

This genetic damage, coupled with stimulation of increased free radical

activity and oxidative stress, could explain the marked ability of these

toxic metals to experimentally trigger tumor growth, the investigators

noted. They called for further study to explore " potential late health

effects " caused by exposure to DU or tungsten alloys.

NOTE: Tungsten, uranium, and nickel are 3 of the 30 toxic or potentially

toxic elements included on the Toxic Element Clearance Profile (urine). The

test report has recently been enhanced to report levels of sulfur, to

clearly indicate nutrient elements that are only potentially toxic at high

levels, and to extend the base of the reference population.

Sources:

AC, Xu J, M, Prasanna PGS, Page N. Potential late health

effects of depleted uranium and tungsten used in armor-piercing munitions:

comparison of neoplastic transformation and genotoxicity with the known

carcinogen nickel. Mil Med 2002;167(1 Suppl ):120-122.

Durakovic A. On depleted uranium: gulf war and Balkan syndrome. Croat Med J

2001;42(2):130-4.

© 2002 Great Smokies Diagnostic Laboratory