Answer to Question #626 Submitted to "Ask the Experts"

Q

I intend to travel shortly to Yugoslavia to visit my parents who live outside a city that was bombed by NATO. In view of the latest scare about depleted uranium munitions that NATO used in the area I intend to bring them a portable Geiger counter so that they can check the area around their house and food that they buy on the market. Would you advise such a measure and what should they do if they register radiation higher than usual?

A

Your parents are very fortunate to have a son/daughter who is so genuinely concerned about their welfare and so thoughtful. However, both you and your parents should rest assured that they are at no risk from the depleted uranium that was used in Kosovo. There are many reasons why this is so, but the main one is that most of the depleted uranium stays very close to where the munition detonated. If present in large enough quantities, uranium contamination of surfaces can be detected with a Geiger counter. But quantities large enough to detect would only be present on the battlefield and in the immediate area of where the munition was detonated. Since there is little or no likelihood that you would find any depleted uranium away from the actual battle site, and certainly not where your parents live, I would not recommend purchasing a Geiger counter. (Instead, as a father myself, permit me to suggest that you may wish to use the money you would have spent on a Geiger counter to purchase a very special gift for your parents.) Some additional information about uranium may be of interest to you and you may wish to pass it on to your parents. Uranium is naturally present in small quantities in our environment, and all of us have a small amount of uranium in our bodies. Although depleted uranium is weakly radioactive, it is also a heavy metal, and chemical toxicity and not radioactivity is the primary health concern. Even its chemical toxicity is low, being approximately the same as the chemical toxicity of lead. Only a small fraction of the uranium that is swallowed—perhaps as much as five percent but more like one or two percent—is absorbed via the digestive tract. But there is no risk to your parents from the munitions used in Kosovo. Also note that correctly interpreting Geiger counter readings requires specialized knowledge and skill. All Geiger counters will give readings from the naturally occurring background radiations, and these readings have quite a bit of normal variability. One must thus be able to separate out the large background radiation that results from cosmic rays, natural radioactivity in the soil, buildings, certain foods, etc., from any additional contamination. The normally fluctuating background radiation is often misinterpreted as being caused by radioactive contamination by inexperienced persons. Enjoy your trip to Yugoslavia and your visit with your parents. None of you has any reason to be concerned about hazards from depleted uranium.

Ron L. Kathren, CHP