Editing Depleted uranium (section)

==Civilian applications==
Depleted uranium has a very high density and is primarily used as shielding material for other radioactive material, and as [[Sailing ballast|ballast]]. Examples include sailboat [[keel]]s, as [[counterweight]]s and as shielding in industrial [[radiography]] cameras.

===Energy===
Most civilian [[Nuclear reactor|nuclear reactors]], as well as all [[Nuclear marine propulsion|naval reactors]], require fuel containing concentrated <sup>235</sup>U, and production of that fuel generates depleted uranium as residue. Some power-generating reactors design are able to use unenriched fuel, for example the [[Pressurized heavy-water reactor|pressurized heavy-water reactors]] such as the [[CANDU reactor|CANDU]] design. However as of 2013, about 10% of those built use that technology.<ref>{{cite book |title=Proceedings of American Nuclear Society 2013 Wilmington, North Carolina |date=2013 |publisher=ANS American Nuclear Society |oclc=864923078}}</ref> [[Travelling wave reactor|Travelling wave reactors]] are a proposed type of reactor which can use depleted uranium as fuel.

===Radiation shielding===
Depleted uranium is the best radiation shielding by weight, due to the high atomic weight of the uranium atoms; materials are more able to block radioactivity the higher their atomic weight, and uranium is one of the heaviest natural elements. [[Lead]], the heaviest stable element, is the most common low-cost alternative, but a lead shield needs to be about three times as thick as a DU shield to provide the equivalent protection. Uranium also has by far a higher melting point {{Convert|2070|F|C}}, and its tensile strength is similar to that of steel.<ref>{{Cite web |author=Vaziri |first=Kamran |title=Radiation Basics – Radiation Shielding |url=http://hps.org/publicinformation/ate/q8929.html |access-date=2023-01-26 |website=Health Physics Society}}</ref>

[[Industrial radiography]] cameras include a very high activity [[gamma radiation]] source (typically [[Iridium-192#Iridium-192|Ir-192]] with an activity above 10 TBq). Depleted uranium is often used in the cameras as a shield to protect individuals from the gamma source. Typically, the uranium shield is supported and enclosed in [[polyurethane]] foam for thermal, mechanical and oxidation protection.<ref>{{cite web
 |url=http://www.ir100.com/PROD01.html
 |title=The INC IR-100 Gamma Ray Camera
 |url-status=dead
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930093916/http://www.ir100.com/PROD01.html
 |archive-date=30 September 2007
}}</ref>

===Coloring in consumer products===
Consumer product uses have included incorporation into [[dental porcelain]], used for [[false teeth]] to simulate the fluorescence of natural teeth, and uranium-bearing reagents used in chemistry laboratories (e.g. [[uranyl acetate]], used in [[analytical chemistry]] and as a [[staining|stain]] in [[electron microscopy]]). Uranium (both depleted uranium and natural uranium) was widely used as a coloring matter for [[Fiestaware|porcelain]] and [[Uranium glass|glass]] in the 19th and early-to-mid-20th century. The practice was largely discontinued in the late 20th century. In 1999, concentrations of 10% depleted uranium were being used in "jaune no.17" a yellow [[Vitreous enamel|enamel]] powder that was being produced in [[France]] by Cristallerie de Saint-Paul, a manufacturer of enamel [[pigment]]s. The depleted uranium used in the powder was sold by [[Cogéma]]'s Pierrelatte facility. In February 2000, Cogema discontinued the sale of depleted uranium to producers of enamel and glass.<ref>{{cite web
 |url= http://www.wise-uranium.org/dviss.html#ENAMELF
 |title= Depleted Uranium found as Coloring Matter in Enamel (France)}}</ref>

===Trim weights in aircraft===
Aircraft that contain depleted uranium trim weights for stabilizing wings and control surfaces (such as the [[Boeing 747|Boeing 747–100]]) may contain between {{convert|652|and|1059|lb}} of DU.<ref>{{Cite web |author=Gallacher |first=Thomas |date=8 September 1994 |title=Boeing Use of Depleted Uranium Counterweights in Aircraft |url=https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML0321/ML032180089.pdf |access-date=27 June 2023 |work=nrc.gov}}</ref> This application is controversial because the DU might enter the environment if the aircraft crashes. The metal can also [[oxidation|oxidize]] to a fine powder in a fire. Its use has been phased out in many newer aircraft. [[Boeing]] and [[McDonnell-Douglas]] discontinued using DU counterweights in the 1980s. Depleted uranium was released during the crash of [[El Al Flight 1862]] on 4 October 1992, in which {{convert|152|kg}} was lost, but a [[case study]] concluded that there was no evidence to link depleted uranium from the plane to any health problems.<ref name="Uijt">{{cite journal |author=Uijt de Haag |first1=P. A. |last2=Smetsers |first2=R. C. |last3=Witlox |first3=H. W. |last4=Krus |first4=H. W. |last5=Eisenga |first5=A. H. |year=2000 |title=Evaluating the risk from depleted uranium after the Boeing 747-258F crash in Amsterdam, 1992 |journal=Journal of Hazardous Materials |volume=76 |issue=1 |pages=39–58 |doi=10.1016/S0304-3894(00)00183-7 |pmid=10863013|bibcode=2000JHzM...76...39U }}</ref> DU counterweights manufactured with [[cadmium plating]] are considered non-hazardous as long as the plating is intact.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/Advisory_Circular/AC20-123.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/Advisory_Circular/AC20-123.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|title=AC20-123 Avoiding or Minimizing Encounters with Aircraft Equipped with Depleted Uranium Balance Weights during Accident Investigations}}</ref>

===US NRC general license===
US Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulations at [https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/cfr/part040/part040-0025.html 10 CFR 40.25] establish a general license for the use of depleted uranium contained in industrial products or devices for mass-volume applications. This general license allows anyone to possess or use depleted uranium for authorized purposes. Generally, a registration form is required, along with a commitment to not abandon the material. Agreement states may have similar, or more stringent, regulations.

===Sailboat keel===
[[Pen Duick|''Pen Duick VI'']], a boat designed by {{ill|André Mauric|fr}} and used for racing, was equipped with a [[keel]] of depleted uranium.<ref>"Pen Duick heading for Bass Strait" ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', 4 December 1973, [https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1301&dat=19731204&id=0rIpAAAAIBAJ&sjid=EeUDAAAAIBAJ&pg=755,1709736 p. 17].</ref> The benefit is that, because of the very high density of uranium, the keel could be thinner for a given weight, and so have less resistance than a normal keel. It was later replaced by a standard lead keel.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.volvooceanrace.com/en/news/7245_Roaring-Forties-chapter-22-Frances-inspiration.html |title=Roaring Forties, chapter 22: France's inspiration |date=19 August 2013 |work=[[Volvo Ocean Race]] |access-date=26 February 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130819125034/http://www.volvooceanrace.com/en/news/7245_Roaring-Forties-chapter-22-Frances-inspiration.html |archive-date=19 August 2013}}</ref>

===Sampling calorimeters for detectors in high-energy particle physics===
Depleted uranium has been used in a number of [[calorimeter (particle physics)#Homogeneous versus sampling|sampling calorimeters]] (such as in the D0<ref>{{cite report | last=Pifer | first=B. | title=An Experiment at D0 to Study anti-Proton – Proton Collisions at 2-TeV: Design Report | publisher=Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI) | date=1983| doi=10.2172/1131090 | page=}}</ref> and ZEUS<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www-zeus.desy.de/bluebook/ch05/chapter2_4.html|title=The ZEUS detector: Status Report 1993}}</ref> detectors) because of its high density and natural radioactivity.{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}