Looking for a bit of entertainment - another opportunity for an anchor war

[JumbleDuck]

Oh yes it is, I work with it daily

I have no doubt that it's unpleasant stuff to work with or ingest, but I can find no source which says that it is a significant radioactive hazard. What there is is mainly alpha and beta with a very small amount of gamma. "The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) defines DU as a low specific activity material."

Years ago there was a travelling exhibition on radioactivity, run by the Science Museum, which included a large lump of depleted uranium for the public to play with. As http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/dod/du_factsheet_4aug98.htm points out, you'd need to hold it in your hand for 250 hours to exceed safe exposure limits.

 

[CAPTAIN FANTASTIC]

I have no doubt that it's unpleasant stuff to work with or ingest, but I can find no source which says that it is a significant radioactive hazard. What there is is mainly alpha and beta with a very small amount of gamma. "The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) defines DU as a low specific activity material."

Years ago there was a travelling exhibition on radioactivity, run by the Science Museum, which included a large lump of depleted uranium for the public to play with. As http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/dod/du_factsheet_4aug98.htm points out, you'd need to hold it in your hand for 250 hours to exceed safe exposure limits.

You will not find anyone playing with DU anymore nowadays, let alone, being exposed to it on the daily basis

 

[maxi77]

I thought it burnt quite readily.

Well the stuff they use for the penetrater in anti tank rounds manages to get through the equivalent of many inches of hardened steel when fired at a decent velocity