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Review of the Toxicologic and Radiologic Risks to Military Personnel from Exposures to Depleted Uranium During and After Combat (2008) / Chapter Skim
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4 Toxic Effects of Uranium on the Lungs
Pages 43-47

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From page 43...
... Uranium dioxide and triuranium octaoxide are less soluble. Because of their high density, particles of these compounds are deposited mostly in the tracheobronchial region, and their clearance occurs primarily by mucociliary transport, which leads to ingestion and transport through the gastrointestinal tract; only 1-5% of the particles reach the deeper region of the lungs (Harris 1961)
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From page 44...
... . The study determined a significant increase in mortality from nonmalignant respiratory disease but identified several limitations, including low cohort size, little power to detect a moderately increased risk of some outcomes, inability to estimate individual exposures, and lack of smoking data.
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From page 45...
... d Sums do not include row labled "TEC/Y12 (1943-47) : Oak Ridge uranium conversion and enrichment, alpha and beta chemistry departments," because those workers were already included in TEC/Y12 row for all workers.
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From page 46...
... Spiegl noted that uranium hexafluoride hydrolysis liberates uranyl fluoride and hydrofluoric acid, which appear to be responsible for toxic effects in the lungs. Uranium hexafluoride toxicity presents a special situation in that the edema induced by hydrofluoric acid could increase the uptake of uranium by facilitating transport across the airway mucosa.
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From page 47...
... Toxic Effects of Uranium on the Lungs 47 On the basis of the data reviewed here, the committee concludes that acute exposure to low concentrations of insoluble uranium compounds does not produce acute lung injury although chronic exposure to naturally occurring uranium dioxide dust is capable of producing pulmonary fibrosis.
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Key Terms

  • uranium hexafluoride
  • respiratory diseases
  • uranium conversion
  • uranium compounds
  • nonmalignant respiratory

  • lung burden
  • dioxide dust
  • pulmonary toxicity
  • lung injury
  • pulmonary fibrosis

  • various uranium
  • respiratory disease
  • respiratory tract
  • animal studies
  • soluble particles

  • hydrofluoric acid
  • beta chemistry
  • triuranium octaoxide
  • acute lung
  • inhalation study

  • included edema
  • determined standardized
  • nium octaoxide
  • dioxide exposures
  • exposed dogs

  • uranium workers
  • inhalation pathway
  • incidence ratios
  • uranyl fluoride
  • nonmalignant study


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