Measuring aerosols generated inside armoured vehicles perforated by depleted uranium ammunition.
In response to questions raised after the Gulf War about the health significance of exposure to depleted uranium (DU), the US Department of Defense initiated a study designed to provide an improved scientific basis for assessment of possible health effects on soldiers in vehicles struck by these munitions. As part of this study, a series of DU penetrators were fired at an Abrams tank and a Bradley fighting vehicle, and the aerosols generated by vehicle perforation were collected and characterised. A robust sampling system was designed to collect aerosols in this difficult environment and monitor continuously the sampler flow rates. The aerosol samplers selected for these tests included filter cassettes, cascade impactors, a five-stage cyclone and a moving filter. Sampler redundancy was an integral part of the sampling system to offset losses from fragment damage. Wipe surveys and deposition trays collected removable deposited particulate matter. Interior aerosols were analysed for uranium concentration and particle size distribution as a function of time. They were also analysed for uranium oxide phases, particle morphology and dissolution in vitro. These data, currently under independent peer review, will provide input for future prospective and retrospective dose and health risk assessments of inhaled or ingested DU aerosols. This paper briefly discusses the target vehicles, firing trajectories, aerosol samplers and instrumentation control systems, and the types of analyses conducted on the samples.
Parkhurst
M A
MA
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, PO Box 999, Richland, WA 99352, USA. maryann.parkhurst@pnl.gov
D000336:Aerosols; D000396:Air Pollutants, Radioactive / Q000032:analysis*; D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor / Q000032:analysis; D004391:Dust / Q000032:analysis; D005389:Firearms; D006801:Humans; D019570:Inhalation Exposure / Q000032:analysis*; D008889:Military Personnel; D018986:Motor Vehicles; D009928:Organ Specificity; D010087:Oxides / Q000032:analysis / Q000145:classification; D010316:Particle Size; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011835:Radiation Protection / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D011850:Radioactive Waste / Q000032:analysis; D011874:Radiometry / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods; D014462:Ultrafiltration / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D014481:United States; D014501:Uranium / Q000032:analysis* / Q000145:classification
D000336:Aerosols; D000396:Air Pollutants, Radioactive; D004391:Dust; D010087:Oxides; D011850:Radioactive Waste; D014501:Uranium