Uranium Medical Research Institute 
Exploring the Effects of Isotopes on Humans and the Biosphere

Comparison of two Cases of Uranium Contamination  – Similarities of Symptomatology of a Contaminated Nuclear Facility Worker and Ammunitions Clean-up Worker

Klimaschewski, F.

CBRNe Science and Consequence Management World Congress, Cavtat, Croatia, 10.2023

Abstract

Introduction

The inhalational effects of uranium contamination on the human body have been scientifically studied and documented for decades and yet are the subject of widespread dispute in the media. Typical reported symptoms of uranium-contaminated subjects are fatigue, muscle and joint pain, headaches, neuropsychiatric disorders, confusion, visual disturbances, memory loss, breathing disorders, impotence, morphological and functional changes in the urinary tract and cancer, to name but a few. The comparison of the two cases indicates analogies of severity and complexity of adverse health effects of uranium contamination for professionals working with uranium and civilians in areas affected by radioactive warfare.

Subjects

Case 1 was made public and received wide media attention in Germany. In 1971, 19-year-old German nuclear worker Michael Weber (S1) was contaminated in the uranium processing facility RBG-Siemens in Hanau, Germany, by the accidental release of uranium dust during the filling of a barrel when the seal burst, which covered his body head to foot in black uranium dust. He was not wearing protective gear to avoid the inhalation of the released contaminant. The reported symptoms were severe shortness of breath (the lungs lost 85% of their function, which made artificial oxygenation necessary), inflammation and physical weakness. The subject passed away after a long and severe illness in September 2003. Case 2: In 2019, the Uranium Medical Research Institute (UMRI) conducted a case study on an ammunition clean-up worker (S2) who had been working a total of 13 days in 2014 and 2015 collecting projectiles from the beaches of the Dutch Islands Vlieland and Terschelling in the North Sea which are being used for military target practice. The work was conducted during severe winds, which led to the inhalation of sand and dust during excavations. This symptomatic subject has also shown multiple health problems, such as shortness of breath, severe reduction of lung function, and physical weakness.

Methods

Since the first case had been made public, data could be retrieved from publicly accessible media archives. S1 had been under the supervision of medical doctors. The second subject, S2, had his urine analysed at the Jülich Research Facility in Germany. 

Findings

Data on isotopes in the urine of S1 could not be retrieved from public sources. However, radiation measurements detected uranium dust on the subject's clothes. After medical investigations, the occupational health insurance officially accepted uranium contamination as the cause of the illnesses and a total disability pension was granted. The total uranium concentration measured in the 24-hour-urine of the S2 years after exposure was below the mean concentration of uranium urine excretion in Germany, but it does not rule out the possibility of initial contamination of the lung with uranium from uranium-containing weapon systems at the time of exposure. 

Conclusion

Both subjects had been exposed to uranium dust through inhalation. The quantity of intake at time zero cannot be precisely determined but can be estimated. Regardless, in both cases, the subjects' symptoms show similarities and parallels to symptomatic military personnel and civilians exposed to uranium dust in Gulf War I and II and Afghanistan after Operation OEF. Further research is warranted.

Radioactive Warfare – The ISO 14001 Standard as Adequate Guidelines on Environmental Emergency Preparedness and Response for Civilian Organisations and Business Continuity?

Klimaschewski, F.; Campkin, F.

CBRNe Science and Consequence Management World Congress, Cavtat, Croatia, 10.2023

Crisis Management Performance of Countries during Covid-19 - An Intercultural Comparison and Key Cultural Dimensions in view of Nuclear Emergency Preparedness Education

Klimaschewski, F.; Campkin, F.

24th Nuclear Medical Defence Conference (ConRad), Munich, Germany, 05.2021.

The Quantitative Analysis of Uranium Isotopes in the Urine of an Ammunition Clean-up Worker deployed on Dutch North Sea Islands

Klimaschewski, F.

European Association of Nuclear Medicine (EANM), Barcelona, Spain, 12.-16.10.2019.

Abstract

The military training sites on the Dutch Islands Vlieland and Terschelling in the North Sea are used for military target practice including uranium weapons. Civilians are employed on those islands to collect projectiles, debris and remove tank wrecks. 

One subject involved in the clean-up reported severe multiple health problems (i.e. general weakness, problems with lung function and blood cells/leukemia) after approximately two weeks of work on the testing sites. 

A 24-hour urine analysis with ICP-MS were performed by Jülich laboratory four years after exposure to determine the concentration and precise isotopic composition of three uranium isotopes (234U, 235U, 238U) in the urine specimen. 

The analysis measured a 234U concentration of 5.6E-04 ng/l (1.3E-4 Bq/l) and a 238U concentration of 1.13E+01 ng/l (1.4E-4 Bq/l).) The 238U/234U ratio was 17 417, normally indicative of natural uranium. 235U reported as non-detectable indicates a rather unusual result inconsistent with other population studies.

The total uranium concentration measured in urine of the subject years after exposure is below the mean concentration of uranium urine excretion in Germany (21.5 ng/d ± 19.4 SD). However, this does not rule out the possibility of an initial contamination of the lung with uranium from uranium containing weapon systems at time zero that exceed permitted levels since uranium might have been metabolised several years after inhalation. Further research especially into the environmental contamination is warranted.

Emergency Readiness in the local Community – Developing a Learning Civilian Preparedness Network to Increase the Efficacy of Interagency Disaster Responses

Klimaschewski, F. (invited speaker)

World CBRN & Medical Congress (CEBIRAM), Prague, Czech Republic, 17.-19.10.2018.

Community Resilience - Creating linear-reflective Emergency Preparedness Structures to Increase Adaptive Response Capabilities for Radiological/Nuclear Disasters

Klimaschewski, F.

World Congress on CBRNe Science and Consequence Management (CSCM), Cavtat, Croatia, 03.-06.09.2018.

Forensic Analysis of Inhaled Radioactive Dust in Human Lung Tissue – Quantitative Analysis and Geometric Topology of Isotopes with Micro CT, Electron Microscopy and LA-ICP-MS - A Comparative Methodology Report

Klimaschewski, F.; Duraković, A.

World Congress on CBRNe Science and Consequence Management (CSCM), Cavtat, Croatia, 03.-06.09.2018.

The Scientific Legacy of Dr. Asaf Durakovic - An Anthology of Key Advances and Publications on the Medical Effects of Depleted Uranium, Ionizing Radiation, and Internal Contamination with Actinides

Duraković, A. (author), Bell, D.E., and Bell, M. (editors)

(WLIPH), Medina, NY, USA 2018. 

Medical Effects of a Transuranic "Dirty Bomb"

Duraković, A.

US Journal of Military Medicine, 182, April, 2017.

Military Medicine magazine (MilMed) article

Abstract

The modern military battlefields are characterized by the use of nonconventional weapons such as encountered in the conflicts of the Gulf War I and Gulf War II. Recent warfare in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Balkans has introduced radioactive weapons to the modern war zone scenarios. This presents the military medicine with a new area of radioactive warfare with the potential large scale contamination of military and civilian targets with the variety of radioactive isotopes further enhanced by the clandestine use of radioactive materials in the terrorist radioactive warfare. Radioactive dispersal devices (RDDs), including the "dirty bomb," involve the use of organotropic radioisotopes such as iodine 131, cesium 137, strontium 90, and transuranic elements. Some of the current studies of RDDs involve large-scale medical effects, social and economic disruption of the society, logistics of casualty management, cleanup, and transportation preparedness, still insufficiently addressed by the environmental and mass casualty medicine. The consequences of a dirty bomb, particularly in the terrorist use in urban areas, are a subject of international studies of multiple agencies involved in the management of disaster medicine. The long-term somatic and genetic impact of some from among over 400 radioisotopes released in the nuclear fission include somatic and transgenerational genetic effects with the potential challenges of the genomic stability of the biosphere. The global contamination is additionally heightened by the presence of transuranic elements in the modern warzone, including depleted uranium recently found to contain plutonium 239, possibly the most dangerous substance known to man with one pound of plutonium capable of causing 8 billion cancers. The planning for the consequences of radioactive dirty bomb are being currently studied in reference to the alkaline earths, osteotropic, and stem cell hazards of internally deposited radioactive isotopes, in particular uranium and transuranic elements. The spread of radioactive materials in the area of the impact would expose both military and civilian personnel to the blast and dust with both inhalational, somatic, and gastrointestinal exposure, in the aftermath of the deployment of RDDs. The quantities of radioactive materials have proliferated from the original quantity of plutonium first isolated in 1941 from 0.5 mg to the current tens of thousands of kilograms in the strategic nuclear arsenal with the obvious potential consequences to the biosphere and mankind. In an event of RDD employment, the immediate goal of disaster and mass casualty medicine would be a synchronized effort to contain the scope of the event, followed by cleanup and treatment procedures. A pragmatic approach to this problem is not always possible because of unpredictability of the terrorist-use scenarios.

Developing a Methodology to Assess Human Lung Failure due to Uranium Dust Contamination - A Progress Report

Klimaschewski, F. (1) ; Duraković, Asaf (2); Tromba, G. (3) ; Pacilѐ, S.(3); Dreossi, D. (3); Dullin, C. (4)

(1) Uranium Medical Research Institute, London, UNITED KINGDOM, (2) UMRC, Washington, DC, UNITED STATES, (3) Elettra Synchrotron Light Laboratory, Trieste, ITALY, (4) Dept. Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Medical Center Göttingen, GERMANY. 

22nd Nuclear Medical Defence Conference (ConRad), Munich, Germany, 05 2017.

Developing a Methodology to Assess Human Lung Failure due to Uranium Dust Contamination - A Progress Report

Clinical Observation, Genomic Bioindication, and Medicolegal Interests in Assessment of Chronic Exposure to Low-Dose Ionizing Radiation in the US FUSRAP Madison Site of the St. Louis District

Duraković, A.; Bell, D. E.

22nd Nuclear Medical Defence Conference (ConRad), Munich, Germany, 05 2017.

The European Union`s Missing Strategy for Civilian Nuclear/Radiological Emergency Preparedness for Mass Casualties

Klimaschewski, F.

22nd Nuclear Medical Defence Conference (ConRad), Munich, Germany, 05 2017.

Spectrometric Isotope Analysis of Urine and Whole Body of a Child from Tokyo after Exposure to the Radioactive Outfall from Fukushima – A Case Study

Klimaschewski, F.

22nd Nuclear Medical Defence Conference (ConRad), Munich, Germany, 05 2017.

Spectrometric Isotope Analysis of Urine and Whole Body of a Child from Tokyo after Exposure to the Radioactive Outfall from Fukushima – A Case Study

Klimaschewski, F.; Duraković, A.

Nuclear Medical Defence Conference (ConRad), Munich, Germany, 2017

Depleted Uranium on Radioactive Battlefields - The Risk of Proliferation of Nuclear Materials for Radiological Dispersal Devices (RDDs)

Duraković, A.; Klimaschewski, F.

AMSUS Military Medicine Conference - Federal Health 2016, Washington, USA, 29.11. - 02.12.2016

The Specter of Plutonium in Modern Warfare    

Duraković, A.                                                       

Journal Article  06/2016: Stem Cell and Translational Investigation, 2016; 3: e1359                                 

Abstract

 The current global reality of re-emerging of the Cold War, migration of the large segments of the global population, depletion of natural resources, and the ever-increasing need for alternate energy presents existential challenges to geopolitical unresolved crisis, and ultimately, stability of the biosphere. While the strategic nuclear confrontation is an unlikely scenario because of its irreversible consequences, tactical warfare is a realistic probability of the outcomes of regional and geopolitical differences around the globe. The fragile and limited scope of the stratosphere, including the airspace and waters, provides ever-decreasing probabilities of expansion, limited options for sustainable life, and increasing risk to the survival of the environment. The industrial pollution is enhanced by the nuclear age radioactive environment, which is irreversible in light of man-made insults to the biosphere by the nuclear-era civilian and military release of man-made imbalance. Non-proliferation nuclear treaties, to which not all countries are signatories, do not provide a prospect of security for mankind in the current polarized geopolitical realities, enhanced by clandestine use of nuclear-era destructive powers and by settling regional differences in the confrontational rather than compromising manor. Current realities of the instabilities of the Middle and Far East, large segments of Euro-Asia, shifting of the military priorities, and unceasing production of the nuclear arsenals appear a challenge not only to the well-being, but to sustainable homeostasis. Radiation dispersal devices, nuclear terrorism, renewable energy challenges, chemical and radioactive pollution, melting of the polar caps, and global warming present existential challenges to this fragile segment of the galaxy. The advent of transuranic elements, exemplified by plutonium, adds a recent relatively new dimension to the challenges facing the biosphere. This article attempts to objectively assess the role of radioactive pollution by actinides in the current global reality.                                                                                       

DOI  10.14800/scti.1359.

 [Complete article on:  http://www.smartscitech.com/index.php/SCTI/article/view/1359/pdf

Chromosomal Aberrations in Veterans and Civilian Populations as Bioindicators of Genotoxicity of Actinides

Duraković, A.; Klimaschewski, F.

World Congress on CBRNe Science and Consequence Management (CSCM), Tbilisi, Georgia, 05-06.2016.

Nuclear/Radiological Terrorism - The Urgent Need to Develop a Simple and Effective Civilian Resilience Strategy for Urban Scenarios

Klimaschewski, F.

World Congress on CBRNe Science and Consequence Management (CSCM), Tbilisi, Georgia, 05-06.2016.

Depleted Uranium on Radioactive Battlefields - The Legacy that can Lead to the Uncontrolled Proliferation of Nuclear/Radiological Materials for the RDD Terrorist Scenario

Klimaschewski, F.

World Congress on CBRNe Science and Consequence Management (CSCM), Tbilisi, Georgia, 05.06.2016.

Medical effects of internal contamination with actinides: Further controversy on depleted uranium and radioactive warfare

Duraković, A.

Journal article 03/2016: Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine, 1-7

Abstract

The Nuclear Age began in 1945 with testing in New Mexico, USA, and the subsequent bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Regardless of attempts to limit the development of nuclear weapons, the current world arsenal has reached the staggering dimensions and presents a significant concern for the biosphere and mankind. In an explosion of a nuclear weapon, over 400 radioactive isotopes are released into the biosphere, 40 of which pose potential dangers including iodine, cesium, alkaline earths, and actinides. The immediate health effects of nuclear explosions include thermal, mechanical, and acute radiation syndrome. Long-term effects include radioactive fallout, internal contamination, and long-term genotoxicity. The current controversial concern over depleted uranium’s somatic and genetic toxicity is still a subject of worldwide sustained research. The host of data generated in the past decades has demonstrated conflicting findings, with the most recent evidence showing that its genotoxicity is greater than previously considered. Of particular concern are the osteotropic properties of uranium isotopes due to their final retention in the crystals of exchangeable and nonexchangeable bone as well as their proximity to pluripotent stem cells. Depleted uranium remains an unresolved issue in both warfare and the search for alternative energy sources.

DOI  10.1007/s12199-016-0524-4

Genetic Aberration Studies in Veterans and Family Members after Exposure to Radioactive Dust from Uranium Containing Weapons used during Operations Iraqi Freedom (OIF), Iraq and Enduring Freedom (EF), Afghanistan
Duraković, A.; Klimaschewski, F.
21st Nuclear Medical Defence Conference, ConRad, Munich, Germany, 05.2015.

Radioactive Warfare  - New Illnesses and Genetic Aberrations after the Dispersion of Uranium and Transuranice Isotopes during Gulf War I, Gulf War II, Afganistan, Gaza, the Balkan and current Wars

Duraković, A.

CSCM Conference, Zagreb, Croatia 04.2015.

Quantitative Measurements of Uranium Isotope 236U in War Zones of Afghanistan,
Duraković, A.; Klimaschewski, F.; Weyman, T.; Zimmerman, I.
European Association of Nuclear Medicine (EANM), Gothenburg, Sweden, 18.-22.10.2014.

Uranium Isotopes Induced Alterations in the Human Genetic Pool as the First Indicator of Contamination after Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), Gulf War II and Enduring Freedom (OEF)
Duraković, A.; Klimaschewski, F.; Weyman, T.; Zimmerman, I.,
European Association of Nuclear Medicine (EANM), Gothenburg, Sweden, 18.-22.10.2014.