The Navy’s Use of Depleted Uranium in America’s Coastal Waters Threatens Humans, Wildlife

9 November 2016

 - Reuters reported in January 2003 that the Navy confirmed its use of DU shells in arms tests off the Washington State coast, at which time the Navy claimed, “The DU rounds dissolve so slowly that they would not contribute to naturally occurring (radiation) levels … and do not pose a significant risk.”

Meanwhile, ample scientific reports demonstrate the deleterious health impacts caused by DU.

When those bullets and bombs explode, dangerous nanoparticles of metals, including uranium nanoparticles, are released into the environment. Laboratory research has already established that exposure to environmentally relevant concentrations of uranium has negative impacts on fish embryogenesis, and on the reproductive success of fish.

Naval documents show that as much as 34 tons of DU could be present on the seabed just 12 miles from the outer coast of Washington State.

Even more distressing, the Navy’s own documents reveal that the extent of its use of DU off the coast of the US is far more pervasive than it admits to the public.