Abstract
Background: A small group of Gulf War I veterans wounded in depleted uranium (DU) friendly fire incidents have been monitored in a clinical surveillance program at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Baltimore since 1994. Methods: An in-patient clinical surveillance protocol was performed on 35 members of the cohort, including exposure monitoring for total and isotopic uranium concentrations in urine and a comprehensive assessment of health outcomes. Results: Although urine U concentrations continue to be elevated in this group, illustrating on-going in situ mobilization of U from embedded fragments, no consistent U-related health effects have been observed. Conclusions: Now more than 20 years since first exposure to DU, an aging cohort of military veterans continues to show no U-related health effects in known target organs of U toxicity. As tissue concentrations continue to accrue with exposure duration, critical tissue-specific U concentration thresholds may be reached, thus recommending on-going surveillance of this veteran cohort.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 583-594 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Journal | American Journal of Industrial Medicine |
Volume | 58 |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jun 1 2015 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Alpha-emission
- DU bio-monitoring
- Health surveillance
- Uranium toxicity
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health