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Uranium Medical Research Centre

Uranium Medical Research Centre. www.umrc.net. The Analysis of Uranium Isotopes Abundance and Ratios in the Civilian Population of Eastern Afghanistan after Operation Enduring Freedom. A. Durakovic, A. Gerdes, F. Klimaschewski, I. Zimmerman. Uranium Medical Research Centre Washington, DC, USA

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Uranium Medical Research Centre

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  1. Uranium Medical Research Centre www.umrc.net

  2. The Analysis of UraniumIsotopes Abundance and Ratiosin the Civilian Populationof Eastern Afghanistanafter Operation Enduring Freedom

  3. A. Durakovic, A. Gerdes,F. Klimaschewski, I. Zimmerman Uranium Medical Research Centre Washington, DC, USA London, UK Toronto, Ontario, Canada Institute for Mineralogy JW Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany

  4. Objective The purpose of this work was to determine the concentration and precise ratio of four uranium isotopes (234U, 235U, 236U, 238U) in the urine specimens of the civilian population in Eastern Afghanistan following Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF).

  5. The Unique Signatureof Artificial Uranium 238U/235U Ratio Natural Uranium: 137.88 Depleted Uranium: 492.60 Non-Depleted Uranium: 137.88 + 236U

  6. Bomb Crater, Jalalabad, Afghanistan

  7. Subjects • Twenty-one symptomatic subjects were chosen from various locations of Eastern Afghanistan by the UMRC Field Research Team in during two field trips in 2002. • All subjects were presenting with symptoms of fatigue, fever, musculo-skeletal and neurological alterations, headaches, and respiratory impairment after inhalation of dust during the bombing raids in June, 2002. • The subjects had their urine samples collected under controlled conditions.

  8. Child Survivors of the Bombing of Houses in Bibi Mahrow

  9. Controls • Three subjects who were apparently healthy and reported to have been in parts of the country not effected by the bombing raids had their urine collected for comparison.

  10. Sample Preparation • Chemical preparation of the uranium in each urine sample involved pre-concentration of the uranium using co-precipitation, evaporation, oxidation of organic matter, and purification of uranium by ion-exchange chromatography.

  11. Sample Analysis • The samples were analyzed using a double focusing Thermo-Elemental Plasma54 multi-collector ICP-MS equipped with a Daly detector for ion counting and multiple faraday cups. • The analysis was done at the NERC Isotope Geosciences Laboratory, British Geological Survey, Keyworth, Notts, United Kingdom

  12. Analytical Methods • Analytical blanks were negligible at less than 50 picograms U, and chemical recovery was > 80% in most cases. • Along with the samples, analyses were conducted of a urine internal standard (with c. 11 ng/L uranium) of natural isotopic composition (atomic ratio 137.88 for 238U:235U) and certified isotopic standards of uranium, both of which returned the correct values for the standards.

  13. Results • The 238U/235U ratio was 138.15 compared with 137.88 for natural uranium. • The 234U/238U ratio of 5.75 x 10-5 compared with 5.54 x 10-5 for natural uranium. • The mean concentration of uranium 231.23 ng/L was considerably greater than expected for a normal population 1-20 ng/L • 236U was detected in 6 of the 21 samples with a 236U/238U ratio greater than the detection limit of 1.0 x 10-7.

  14. Table 1: Isotopic Ratios

  15. Table 2: Isotopic Abundance

  16. Table 3: Uranium Concentration

  17. Controls Table 5: Control Uranium Concentration Table 6: Control Isotopic Ratios

  18. Chart 1: Uranium Concentration

  19. Conclusion • Our results confirm a significantly elevated presence of uranium isotopes in the urine of Afghan civilians after Operation Enduring Freedom. • This demonstrates contamination from a source consistent with natural uranium (NU), resulting in total uranium concentration levels of up to 100 times higher than the normal range of various worldwide geographic and environmental areas.

  20. Conclusion • Possible explanation of our findings may be either a consequence of exposure due to deployment of weapons containing non-depleted uranium (NDU) or unusually high levels of natural uranium (NU) in drinking water or soil in the particular geographic areas. • The cause of the urinary presence of natural and non-depleted uranium may be consistent with our previously reported findings of contamination by inhalation of uranium containing aerosols.

  21. Uranium Medical Research Centre www.umrc.net

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