Do you remember a few years back when there was a lot of talk and a lot of questions about what would happen to the uranium left over when nuclear plants would be shut down? Why is it we do not hear that concern being raised today? Have we found a sensible solution to that problem? A solution? Yes. A sensible solution? NO!!!
Like many of our "solutions" the solution found is an economic solution. Let the Government purchase the material. We don't like to look at the economics of our "solutions" but that is the central element. I have a friend who always says: "When you want to know WHY something happens and who promotes it, FOLLOW THE MONEY TRAIL!"
In this case the money trail leads past some companies which stake their future on the purchase or the conversion of depleted uranium. What use can this substance which is unhealthy, even fatal possibly have?
It is used to make weapons, indeed weapons of mass destruction. Our President made a big deal about the weapons of mass destruction being hoarded by Saddam Hussein We never found these weapons of mass destruction. But we have come to realize that the United States has been unloading weapons of mass destruction on the world and upon the people of Iraq since 1991.
Much of the depleted uranium bought by the United States is being stockpiled in case of a "national emergency". But some of it is being used to make bullets and other weapons more penetrable and to make armor which is less penetrable. You can question its use in bullets which will kill but certainly you cannot possibly question its use in armor which will save lives.
NO??? Well, consider this. The life of the uranium in the armor does not end once it is placed in the bullets or the armor. Its life goes on for millions and even billions of year in an invisible gas that is breathed by those who wear the armor or come into contact with and breathe the air in the vicinity in which it was used. Then the air does not simply remain in the place where it is used. A recent report stated that depleted uranium dropped in Iraq had shown up in Great Britain.
Despite the problems caused by the use of depleted uranium and an overabundance of material on hand industry lobbyists convinced members of Congress to legislate and mandate that the U.S. Military buy up excessive quantities of the depleted uranium in case there was some need in the future.
We don't seem to notice that anyone exposed to this substance can become the victim of serious health problems. And we don't know where the substance will end up. It is not simply in weapons. Take, for example, a plane crash in Canada a few years ago. Almost all the firefighters who fought the crash ended up with serious sickness. No one seemed to be able to explain why. Until it was discovered that depleted uranium was used in the construction of the plane and when the plane caught fire its vapors were enabled by the firefighters.
How many other uses of this substance are there that we don't even know or even suspect? All are a result of our stockpiling the material and seeking uses for it in order to protect the nuclear industry. Is that what "Atoms For Peace" means? We achieve peace by killing off the human population?