Environmental acceptability of high-performance alternatives for depleted uranium penetrators

The Army`s environmental strategy for investigating material substitution and management is to measure system environmental gains/losses in all phases of the material management life cycle from cradle to grave. This study is the first in a series of new investigations, applying material life cycle concepts, to evaluate whether there are environmental benefits from increasing the use of tungsten as an alternative to depleted uranium (DU) in Kinetic Energy Penetrators (KEPs). Current military armor penetrators use DU and tungsten as base materials. Although DU alloys have provided the highest performance of any high-density alloy deployed against enemy heavy armor, its low-level radioactivity poses a number of environmental risks. These risks include exposures to the military and civilian population from inhalation, ingestion, and injection of particles. Depleted uranium is well known to be chemically toxic (kidney toxicity), and workplace exposure levels are based on its renal toxicity. Waste materials containing DU fragments are classified as low-level radioactive waste and are regulated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. These characteristics of DU do not preclude its use in KEPs. However, long-term management challenges associated with KEP deployment and improved public perceptions about environmental risks from military activities might be well served by a serious effort to identify, develop, and substitute alternative materials that meet performance objectives and involve fewer environmental risks. Tungsten, a leading candidate base material for KEPS, is potentially such a material because it is not radioactive. Tungsten is less well studied, however, with respect to health impacts and other environmental risks. The present study is designed to contribute to the understanding of the environmental behavior of tungsten by synthesizing available information that is relevant to its potential use as a penetrator.