WHATS A SAFE DISTANCE FROM DEPLETED URANIUM?
Anyone who stays at least 50 meters (165 feet) away from where depleted uranium struck an object has no risk of ill health from exposure, says one of the Pentagon’s leading experts on the health effects of the weapons – Lt. Col. Mark Melanson, health physics program manager for the Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine. “Most of it settles out within 50 meters of the vehicle” that’s been hit, he says. “Is it possible for a single atom of depleted uranium to carry beyond 50 meters? Yes. Is it a significant health risk? No.” Studies have found big differences regarding how much breathable dust depleted uranium weapons produce after they hit a target – and how far they might spread. The Army Environmental Policy Institute told Congress that the available research showed that anywhere from 18 percent to 70 percent of a depleted uranium projectile turns into breathable dust as it hits a target. It said 90 percent of the airborne depleted uranium would land within 50 meter
