Depleted uranium (shortened to DU) is cheap and heavy so it's very useful to make into weapons which smash through the armour of tanks. Unfortunately, it leaves behind a deadly legacy of uranium dust pollution which can get into people's and any other animals' bodies and cause cancer. This is because the uranium is radioactive. It gives off radiation. If you want to find out about radiation, look at my Energy Guide. In Iraq (the Gulf War, 1991), the US armed forces used 860,000 rounds of DU ammunition. That's 290 tons of DU. Since then, there has been a rise in cancers and birth defects in southern Iraq. More DU was used by NATO forces in the Kosovo war against Serbia (1999) and, in particular, during the American-led war in Iraq in 2003.

New Scientist, 5/6/99, 20-21 and 19 April 2003, 4.