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Heavy Metal-Induced Carcinogenicity: Depleted Uranium and Heavy-Metal Tungsten Alloy

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Abstract

Continued development of novel munitions for the battlefield opens the possibility of wounds containing embedded fragments of metals or metal mixtures whose toxicological properties may not as yet be well-understood. This chapter reviews what is currently known about two recent additions to many nations’ arsenals: depleted uranium and heavy-metal tungsten alloy . The toxicological and genotoxic properties of these materials, derived from both in vitro and in vivo studies, will be discussed, as will the health effects of known human exposures. Finally, areas requiring further research will be detailed.

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Acknowledgements

The views expressed here are strictly those of the author and not those of the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute, the Uniformed Services University, or the United States Department of Defense. Mention of any commercial reagents or devices does not constitute endorsement by the United States Government. Dr. Kalinich has been supported in part by grants from the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (Award #: DAMD17–01-1–0821) and the U.S. Army Peer-Reviewed Medical Research Program (Award #: W81XWH-06–2-0025). The author would like to thank Dr Steven Mog, DVM for obtaining histopathological images.

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  1. Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute, 8901 Wisconsin Avenue, 20889-5603, Bethesda, MD, USA

    John F. Kalinich

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  1. John F. Kalinich
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Correspondence to John F. Kalinich .

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  1. , Institute of Biology and Ecology, University of Debrecen, Egyetem Square 1, Debrecen, 4010, Hungary

    Gaspar Banfalvi

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Kalinich, J.F. (2011). Heavy Metal-Induced Carcinogenicity: Depleted Uranium and Heavy-Metal Tungsten Alloy. In: Banfalvi, G. (eds) Cellular Effects of Heavy Metals. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0428-2_10

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