Is there danger from depleted uranium in Kuwait?

Yesterday we headed to the “tank graveyard” at Um Al Kwaty. This is in a restricted area where the remains of several thousand Iraqi tanks, weapons and other destroyed vehicles have been dumped or parked up after the 1991 war.

It’s almost a year since our last visit and this time there are a number of “no photography” signs around… as the light wasn’t that great I didn’t take any photos this time out anyway. Trying to stop the kids climbing over the tanks and trying to find munitions was difficult – how can you explain depleted uranium (DU) to kids, other than stop them going there in the first place. After this trip I thought I better get more informed about the dangers of DU and in particular the danger from all the destroyed tanks and other vehicles at the site. Was I being overcautious, or should I really be worried about radioactive contamination and its effects on myself and the kids.

Good on google for helping me find the IAEA’s report on DU levels in Kuwait. In summary, for most of Kuwait there is no real danger from DU contamination, unless you have long term skin exposure to DU fragments or munitions. However, the 1.5t of DU in the Um Al Kwaty area and the 105 tanks contaminated with DU would indicate that you shouldn’t really be touching this stuff! The report mentions segregating the contaminated tanks off from the rest and burying them… I’m not sure whether this has happened or not.