The effects of a toxic metal used for armour-piercing weapons in both Gulf wars is to be studied by British scientists.
Depleted uranium (DU) is nearly twice as dense as lead and highly valued for its ability to punch through armoured vehicles.
But concerns have been raised about the lasting health risks it poses.
When a weapon made with a DU tip hits armour it goe
s straight through it and then erupts in a burning cloud of vapour.
The vapour settles as dust, which is chemically poisonous and also radioactive.
Because of the difficulties of carrying out research in war zones, little is known about DU's effects, but veterans from the Gulf and Kosovan wars claim it has made them seriously ill.
A team of geologists from the University of Leicester will travel to the US in the new year to examine a site heavily polluted by the substance. Several tonnes of fine DU oxide dust have settled near the plant in Albany, New York.
The project will use various scientific techniques, including geochemical methods, isotope measurements and scanning electron microscopy, to evaluate the environmental effects.
Leicester geologist Dr Tim Brewer said little was known regarding DU's degradation, mobility, and solubility within the environment – largely due to the difficulty of studying it in conflict zones and the limited period of time that DU has been in use.
The information will be critical to evaluating the potential risk to both humans and the environment in areas where DU has been extensively used.
