Depleted Uranium detectors?

[Britboy]

Anyone know if troops (especially in Iraq I'd have thought, not sure if it was used elsewhere i.e. Kosovo or Afghan) are supplied with something to detect DU that'd allow them to avoid if possible or mask up if not?

Was thinking some sort of Geiger counter could be handy for this, but then again the uranium is depleted, so perhaps the emissions would be not very easily detected anymore... Perhaps spectrometer readings for certain areas would be an idea if this is the case.

People in the Ukraine/Belarus use a form of radiation detector for ensuring food is safe following Chernobyl, is this sort of kit usable (or required) for current campaigns?

Regards
BB

[INAT]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geiger_counter

[Britboy]

Yes, thanks for a Wiki link to an item I already mentioned :roll:

My questions were, is this applicable to DU as found in theatres today, and are troops provided with it?

Also, do you have to have it always in the back of your mind, or can it be pinned down to certain localities (i.e. a map of past A10 firings etc during the conventional phases of the conflicts)?

[Jippo]

Yes it is applicable. Radiation is still there in DU even though it is reduced.

[GazB]

Perhaps some sort of combination sensor that combines an X ray device with a geiger counter. DU is rather dense, like lead and shows up clearly on X-ray displays. I don't know how being in powder residue form effects that image. The geiger counter can confirm if it is DU or just lead or whatever.

BTW you talk about troops using it to operate in areas safely, the problem is that to develop such equipment would suggest to the local population that DU is not safe even for short term exposure which is not really the message the US wants the locals to get... whether it is true or not. Such equipment might cause panic.

[Toolhead]

There are instruction Videos that tell Soldiers to stay away from burning wreckage etc.....and of course geiger counters.

[Royal]

A bottle to piss in.

Take it to your MO and he'll soon let you know if you've been silly p-)

[Kilgor]

There are instruction Videos that tell Soldiers to stay away from burning wreckage etc.....and of course geiger counters.

considering the other toxic and heavy metals in wreckages, its more than just DU>

[One Man Gang]

... And all this time I thought the best DU detectors in Iraq were T-72s and T-54/55s. They seemed to just attract it.

[Eoin666]

Yes it is applicable. Radiation is still there in DU even though it is reduced.


Yes, thanks for a Wiki link to an item I already mentioned :roll:

My questions were, is this applicable to DU as found in theatres today, and are troops provided with it?

Also, do you have to have it always in the back of your mind, or can it be pinned down to certain localities (i.e. a map of past A10 firings etc during the conventional phases of the conflicts)?

As Jippo said DU can still be detected with a Geiger counter, which are easily sensitive enough to pick up background radiation. But not all geiger counters will detect all kinds of radioactive particles alpha, beta and gamma, (which is also a wave.....but now we're getting into wave/particle duality :) )

I remember from my radiation saftey training being told about the old workers who used to paint the luminous paint on watch hands, the paint contained radon, and because of the fine work they always licked the brushes, and people drinking radon water in the early 1900's as a morning tonic.....amazing stuff

Bear in mind most burnt stuff, fuels, oils, plastics, paints, rubber even more mundane stuff like food is also highly carcinogenic (cancer causing) both the smoke and the residue.