Fifty tons of depleted uranium — a radioactive metal popular among weapons makers — has been quietly dumped in scrap piles across the United Kingdom, according to the GUARDIAN (UK). Detritus left over from decommissioned aircraft and hospital equipment, the depleted uranium may pose serious risks to the environment and human health.
UK environmentalists only learned of the dumping through the US Freedom of Information Act; British authorities have declared it confidential.
An American firm has offered to salvage the radioactive waste — possibly for reuse by weapons manufacturers. The rest would be buried in a licensed dump in Texas.
The MoJo Wire revealed that depleted uranium was used extensively in anti-tank weapons by NATO forces in Kosovo.