Effects and Precautions
Normal functioning of the kidney, brain, liver, heart, and other systems can be affected by uranium exposure, because, besides being weakly radioactive, uranium is a toxic metal. Uranium is also a reproductive toxicant. Radiological effects are generally local because alpha radiation, the primary form of 238U decay, has a very short range, and will not penetrate skin. Uranyl (UO+
2) ions, such as from uranium trioxide or uranyl nitrate and other hexavalent uranium compounds, have been shown to cause birth defects and immune system damage in laboratory animals. While the CDC has published one study that no human cancer has been seen as a result of exposure to natural or depleted uranium, exposure to uranium and its decay products, especially radon, are widely known and significant health threats. Exposure to strontium-90, iodine-131, and other fission products is unrelated to uranium exposure, but may result from medical procedures or exposure to spent reactor fuel or fallout from nuclear weapons. Although accidental inhalation exposure to a high concentration of uranium hexafluoride has resulted in human fatalities, those deaths were associated with generation of highly toxic hydrofluoric acid and uranyl fluoride rather than with uranium itself. Finely divided uranium metal presents a fire hazard because uranium is pyrophoric; small grains will ignite spontaneously in air at room temperature.
Uranium metal is commonly handled with gloves as a sufficient precaution. Uranium concentrate is handled and contained so as to ensure that people do not inhale or ingest it.
| Compilation of 2004 review on uranium toxicity | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Body system | Human studies | Animal studies | In vitro |
| Renal | Elevated levels of protein excretion, urinary catalase and diuresis | Damage to proximal convoluted tubules, necrotic cells cast from tubular epithelium, glomerular changes (renal failure) | No studies |
| Brain/CNS | Decreased performance on neurocognitive tests | Acute cholinergic toxicity; Dose-dependent accumulation in cortex, midbrain, and vermis; Electrophysiological changes in hippocampus | No studies |
| DNA | Increased reports of cancers | Increased mutagenicity (in mice) and induction of tumors | Binucleated cells with micronuclei, Inhibition of cell cycle kinetics and proliferation; Sister chromatid induction, tumorigenic phenotype |
| Bone/muscle | No studies | Inhibition of periodontal bone formation; and alveolar wound healing | No studies |
| Reproductive | Uranium miners have more first born female children | Moderate to severe focal tubular atrophy; vacuolization of Leydig cells | No studies |
| Lungs/respiratory | No adverse health effects reported | Severe nasal congestion and hemorrhage, lung lesions and fibrosis, edema and swelling, lung cancer | No studies |
| Gastrointestinal | Vomiting, diarrhea, albuminuria | No studies | No studies |
| Liver | No effects seen at exposure dose | Fatty livers, focal necrosis | No studies |
| Skin | No exposure assessment data available | Swollen vacuolated epidermal cells, damage to hair follicles and sebaceous glands | No studies |
| Tissues surrounding embedded DU fragments | Elevated uranium urine concentrations | Elevated uranium urine concentrations, perturbations in biochemical and neuropsychological testing | No studies |
| Immune system | Chronic fatigue, rash, ear and eye infections, hair and weight loss, cough. May be due to combined chemical exposure rather than DU alone | No studies | No studies |
| Eyes | No studies | Conjunctivitis, irritation inflammation, edema, ulceration of conjunctival sacs | No studies |
| Blood | No studies | Decrease in RBC count and hemoglobin concentration | No studies |
| Cardiovascular | Myocarditis resulting from the uranium ingestion, which ended 6 months after ingestion | No effects | No studies |
Read more about this topic: Uranium, Human Exposure
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