The Biden administration will for the first time send controversial armor-piercing munitions containing depleted uranium to Ukraine, according to a document seen by Reuters and separately confirmed by two U.S. officials.

The use of depleted uranium munitions has been fiercely debated, with opponents like the International Coalition to Ban Uranium Weapons saying there are dangerous health risks from ingesting or inhaling depleted uranium dust, including cancers and birth defects.

  • flipht@kbin.social
    5321·
    10 months ago

    It’s not about them. It’s the children who find the spent ammo later.

    This crap is the reason that there are birth defects spikes anywhere the US military operates.

    • kitonthenet@kbin.social
      292·
      10 months ago

      Ok but the alternatives are not environmentally conscious either, finally the people who’s land it is should be the ones making choices about the conditions of that land

    • yetAnotherUser@feddit.de
      221·
      10 months ago

      Is ammo made from lead that much better? I honestly don’t know. Sure the radiation sucks but Uranium, at least the isotope they’re sending is “barely” radioactive. It’s the same Uranium people had in their plates etc. The toxicity is probably the far more relevant factor but I don’t know how Uranium compares to lead.

      • Cethin@lemmy.zipEnglish
        222·
        10 months ago

        Depleted uranium is not really that radioactive. Everything is technically radioactive eventually though. Depleted uranium is what’s left behind when you seperate the radioactive stuff out. It’s a heavy metal still, so isn’t good for you, but heavy metals will always be involved. Trying to have a war using only healthy, organic, ethically sourced munitions isn’t going to happen.

    • Avid Amoeba@lemmy.ca
      211·
      10 months ago

      This makes sense.

      I imagine there’s a lot more reasons for birth defect spikes post US mil ops in addition to this. The military isn’t exactly an environmentally conscious operation. ☠️

      • flipht@kbin.social
        1310·
        10 months ago

        Sure, burn pits and other crap will help.

        But this kind of ammo, kids will find and hang on to. They bring it home, add it to their collection of other cool shit they’ve scavenged…and then their brothers and sisters are born with malformed limbs, mishaped heads, etc.

        There have been a lot of stories written about it over the years. The one I read was specifically about Iraq I believe, but it was a while ago.

    • cooljacob204@kbin.social
      2810·
      10 months ago

      The amount of Ukrainians dying right now will pale in comparison to those effected by the munitions.

      The controversy around depleted uranium rounds is way overblown.

      Even in Iraq the evidence is super inconclusive. And yes birth defects rose however the entire country basically collapsed for years and nothing clearly indicates it was the DU used.

      Don’t get me wrong, it’s nasty stuff. But this is war, more people are getting killed by bombs then any DU related cancer can cause.

        • letsgocrazy@lemm.ee
          52·
          10 months ago

          How do you you it’s not linked to any of the other hundreds of dangerous chemicals?

          • tryptaminev 🇵🇸 🇺🇦 🇪🇺@feddit.de
            52·
            10 months ago

            Because the issue is specific to the region and started specifically after the tank battle where DU ammunition was used. If it would be a general issue with some dangerous chemical being used, we’d expect to see similiar issues in other regions. Of course it is hypotheticakky possible that at the same time some dangerous and persistant chemical exposure happened in the region, but that is not plausible and also the US would have a strong interest in finding such an alternative explanation. But there isn’t any research published, that provided an alternative.

            Also look into the wording of the US when sending the ammunition to Ukraine. They state that no radiation hazard is to be expected for the Ukrainians. They do not talk about a toxicological hazard.

        • mashbooq@infosec.pub
          97·
          10 months ago
          1. correlation ≠ causation. 2) if the disease is caused by DU, is it due to the radioactivity or the fact that DU is a heavy metal?
          • tryptaminev 🇵🇸 🇺🇦 🇪🇺@feddit.de
            52·
            10 months ago

            i never said it had to be because of radiation. Even just in its effect as a heavy metal it seems to be much worse. Also it could be that it becomes airborn more easily than other metals such as lead, so the wreckage of tanks shot with DU are more dangerous to the people cleaning them up.

            • mashbooq@infosec.pub
              35·
              10 months ago

              Why are you so worried about speculated harms when Ukrainians are actually being raped, tortured, and murdered by russians? Your lack of humanity is showing

                • severien@lemmy.world
                  32·
                  10 months ago

                  How about letting Ukrainians make that cost/benefit analysis for their own country? I think they’re grown-ups, no need to patronize.

                  • mycorrhiza they/them@lemmy.ml
                    31·
                    10 months ago

                    it’s not the Ukrainian people who decide, it’s the Ukrainian government that decides, and America basically decides what they decide

                  • slice1@lemmy.ml
                    23·
                    10 months ago

                    Are you really this delusional? Sure Ukraine has their own uranium munitions that they can decide to use anytime they want… When does the public get to decide on what happens with the tax money - fund schools, build infrastructure, etc. or send radioactive ammunition to fuel a proxy war in some corrupt country?

                • mashbooq@infosec.pub
                  33·
                  10 months ago

                  Weighing costs and benefits happens with a comprehensive set of actual facts, not a hodgepodge of speculations and fearmongering that play into the fascists’ hands

    • fosforus@sopuli.xyz
      68·
      10 months ago

      We have to remember that Russia caused this war, however. So they also caused the depleted uranium being a possible health risk for future ukrainian children.