Title:Depleted Uranium and Human Health
VOLUME: 25 ISSUE: 1
Author(s):Armando Faa*, Clara Gerosa, Daniela Fanni, Giuseppe Floris, Peter V. Eyken, Joanna I. Lachowicz and Valeria M. Nurchi
Affiliation:Istituto di Anatomia Patologica, Dipartimento di Scienze Chirurgiche, University of Cagliari; AOU Cagliari, Cagliari, Istituto di Anatomia Patologica, Dipartimento di Scienze Chirurgiche, University of Cagliari; AOU Cagliari, Cagliari, Istituto di Anatomia Patologica, Dipartimento di Scienze Chirurgiche, University of Cagliari; AOU Cagliari, Cagliari, Department of Pathology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Department of Pathology, Genk General Hospital, Genk, Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche e Geologiche, University of Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria, I-09042 Monserrato-Cagliari, Cagliari, Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche e Geologiche, University of Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria, I-09042 Monserrato-Cagliari, Cagliari
Keywords:Depleted uranium, uranium chemical properties, uranium metabolism, uranium toxicity, Persian Gulf
syndrome, desert storm.
Abstract:Depleted uranium (DU) is generally considered an emerging pollutant, first extensively
introduced into environment in the early nineties in Iraq, during the military operation
called “Desert Storm”. DU has been hypothesized to represent a hazardous element both for
soldiers exposed as well as for the inhabitants of the polluted areas in the war zones. In this
review, the possible consequences on human health of DU released in the environment
are critically analyzed. In the first part, the chemical properties of DU and the principal
civil and military uses are summarized. A concise analysis of the mechanisms underlying
absorption, blood transport, tissue distribution and excretion of DU in the human body is the
subject of the second part of this article. The following sections deal with pathological
condition putatively associated with overexposure to DU. Developmental and birth defects,
the Persian Gulf syndrome, and kidney diseases that have been associated to DU are the
arguments treated in the third section. Finally, data regarding DU exposure and cancer
insurgence will be critically analyzed, including leukemia/lymphoma, lung cancer, uterine
cervix cancer, breast cancer, bladder cancer and testicular cancer. The aim of the authors is to
give a contribution to the debate on DU and its effects on human health and disease.
