Elevated Urine Uranium Excretion By Soldiers With Retained Uranium Shrapnel

Abstract

The use of depleted uranium in munitions has given rise to a new exposure route for this chemically and radioactively hazardous metal. A cohort of U.S. soldiers wounded while on or in vehicles struck by depleted uranium penetrators during the Persian Gulf War was identified. Thirty-three members of this cohort were clinically evaluated, with particular attention to renal abnormalities, approximately 3 y after their injury. The presence of retained shrapnel was identified by x ray, and urine uranium concentrations were measured on two occasions. The absorption of uranium from embedded shrapnel was strongly suggested by measurements of urine uranium excretion at two time intervals: one in 1993/1994 and one in 1995. Mean urine uranium excretion was significantly higher in soldiers with retained shrapnel compared to those without shrapnel at both time points (4.47 vs. 0.03 microg g(-1) creatinine in 1993/1994 and 6.40 vs. 0.01 microg g(-1) creatinine in 1995, respectively). Urine uranium concentrations measured in 1995 were consistent with those measured in 1994/1993, with a correlation coefficient of 0.9. Spot urine measurements of uranium excretion were also well correlated with 24-h urine collections (r = 0.95), indicating that spot urine samples can be reliably used to monitor depleted uranium excretion in the surveillance program for this cohort of soldiers. The presence of uranium in the urine can be used to determine the rate at which embedded depleted uranium fragments are releasing biologically active uranium ions. No evidence of a relationship between urine uranium excretion and renal function could be demonstrated. Evaluation of this cohort continues.

Measures of genotoxicity in Gulf war I veterans exposed to depleted uranium

“…This range is similar to that observed in past surveillance visits [McDiarmid et al, , 2004[McDiarmid et al, , 2009. Approximately 43% (n 5 15) of the individuals in this cohort of 35 subjects showed evidence of retained shrapnel when evaluated by an X-ray plain film skeletal survey [Hooper et al, 1999;Squibb and McDiarmid, 2006].…”

Biologic monitoring and surveillance results for the department of veterans affairs' depleted uranium cohort: Lessons learned from sustained exposure over two decades

“…Other health risks relate to local tissue reactions and foreign body effects from prolonged contact with metal fragments [Hahn et al, 2002]. These fragments have also been seen to oxidize in situ, thus enabling metal ion mobilization to the systemic circulation and permitting metal accumulation in tissues remote from the metal depot location [Hooper et al, 1999;Pellmar et al, 1999;Squibb et al, 2005].…”

Biological monitoring and surveillance results of Gulf War I veterans exposed to depleted uranium

“…McDiarmid, unpublished). The clear determinant of high urine uranium concentration has been the presence of retained uranium-containing metal fragments in soft tissue in this and all of our previous evaluations (Hooper et al 1998;McDiarmid et al 2000McDiarmid et al , 2001aMcDiarmid et al , 2004a. For those soldiers possessing metal fragments, the size of these depots is sufficiently large to sustain ongoing elevations in urine uranium measures as the fragments oxidize in situ.…”