[ip26]

If the half-life is that long, exposure to direct environmental radiation is probably not that big of a concern- the sieverts will be very low- and the main harm comes through ingesting, inhaling, etc. I would wonder if things like dust abatement, water filtration, and food washing would be used to manage the issue in the future.

As a point of comparison, regular U-238 is present at low levels all over the place in Colorado, it's naturally in the rock & soil. As long as the amounts are low, the radiation is low, and it mostly stays put, it's not a big problem.

[StanislavPetrov]

"Dust abatement" is quite a different story in the deserts of Iraq than in Colorodo.

[rootw0rm]

this is a factual comment. most of DU's toxicity is chemical in nature. that doesn't make the pictures of deformed babes any easier to behold, tho. also, alpha emitters are basically harmless until they're ingested/inhaled.

[ip26]

Yes, I hope my comment is not taken as defending DU as being OK. I was specifically replying to the idea of this becoming some kind of new Chernobyl exclusion zone.