As the Pentagon weighs deploying nuclear weapons in Iraq, we’re
going to take a look now at another kind of radioactive weapon
US troops may use: depleted uranium. Depleted uranium is the
most effective anti-tank weapon ever devised. It is made from
nuclear waste left over from making nuclear weapons and fuel. As
an unwanted waste product of the atomic energy industry, it is
extremely cheap. It is also the densest material available on
the market, and can smash through all known armor. US gunners
say DU rounds save lives on the front line. But when DU rounds
punch through tanks, they create a firestorm of uranium dioxide
dust. Those invisible particles are still "hot." As the
Christian Science Monitor’s Scott Peterson writes, the particles
make Geiger counters sing. They stick to the tanks, contaminate
the soil and blow in the desert wind — as they will for the 4.5
billion years it takes for the DU to lose its radioactivity. The
public first became aware the US military was using DU weapons
during the 1991 Gu