Can you compare the impact of DU weapons to the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs, simply from the amount of radioactive material involved?
Some activists have used the term “atomicity” to compare nuclear bomb blasts with the effects of DU. This seeks to compare the number of radioactive atoms produced by each kind of weapon. For example they claim that: “800 tons of DU is equivalent to 83,000 Nagasaki sized atom bombs.” Unfortunately, this simple comparison between DU contamination and the Nagasaki atom bomb explosion is very misleading, although it is true that there are far more radioactive atoms in the 800 tons of DU than there were resulting from the explosion of a single atom bomb over Nagasaki. Over 70,000 residents of Nagasaki were killed in the atomic bomb explosion, either instantly or shortly afterwards due to the blast, heat rays and exposure to radiation. More than 18,000 buildings were destroyed. Comparing the atomic bomb explosion and its effects to those of depleted uranium is dramatic and delivers a strong emotional appeal, but the comparison based on number of radioactive particles released (“atomicity”)
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