non-depleted uranium in afghani urine

[tim_maroney]

Afghans' uranium levels spark alert - By Alex Kirby, BBC News Online

A small sample of Afghan civilians have shown "astonishing" levels of uranium in their urine, an independent scientist says

Comments

[muelos]

Uranium is not all that unusual in small amounts in groundwater originating in granitic aquifers. It can occur at very high levels in groundwater from aquifers containing substantial Uranium ore deposits. This typically doesn't happen in the U.S. due to regular water quality monitoring, but it could easily happen in mountainous areas where there is no water quality regulation.

The data presented in the article indicate levels significantly above background, and would tend to implicate some kind of man-made source. However, a natural source can't be completely ruled out without comparing the recent data to pre-war data, or analyzing for specific isotopes or other indicators of an artificial source.

[pwilk]

Excellent comment. I would add that I think the possibility of the Bush regime approving the use of nuclear weapons in Afghanistan is vanishingly small for exactly the reasons that TM mentions. It is a trivial feat to prove the use of nuclear weapons. I would also add to your assessment, that in certain cases it is even possible to determine the location of natural uranium from isotopic analysis as weathering forces over the millenia sometimes can cause isotopic distribution changes. As for anthropogenic sources: If there is anything that can go beyond the pale in the production fissile material, it is the Soviet Union's treatment of the central asian countries. These countries are sources of U as well as vast dumping grounds for the waste. After the collapse of the Soviet Empire, these countries were largely on their own. It is an environmental crisis that is literally three orders of magnitude larger than any of our "super-fund clean-up" sites. All the young scientists fled to a better life in the west. At least the Soviets were