License for Depleted Uranium at U.S. Army Sites

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has completed a program to identify active and inactive 

U.S. military ranges with depleted uranium, often referred to as DU, and determined that all are under 

appropriate regulatory oversight through an NRC license and a Memorandum of Understanding between 

the NRC and the Department of Defense. 

The program includes physical security, radiation safety and environmental monitoring at each 

of 17 military firing ranges where DU was identified, subject to NRC inspection and enforcement. With 

this oversight, the NRC is confident that DU remaining at these sites does not pose a health or safety risk 

to members of the military or the public.

Background

Natural uranium is made up of three isotopes: U-234, U-235 and U-238. “Depleted” uranium has 

a lower percentage of U-234 and U-235 than natural uranium. DU is about twice as dense as lead, 

making it useful in commercial and military applications. Uranium in a form that dissolves easily can be 

toxic to the kidneys if ingested in large amounts, such as by inhaling dust or drinking contaminated 

water. The DU at the Army sites is not believed to be in this soluble form.

A number of Army sites have DU fragments from spotting rounds left from training with the 

Davy Crockett system from 1960-1968. The Atomic Energy Commission, the NRC’s predecessor, gave 

the Army a license to make, test and distribute the spotting rounds. Under that license, the Army 

distributed the rounds for training. Each round contained about six ounces of DU. At the Army’s 

request, the license expired in 1978, after the Army had stopped producing and distributing the spotting 

rounds. 

In 2005, the Army found tail assemblies from the spotting rounds at the Schofield Barracks on 

Oahu. This discovery prompted a review of all sites that trained with the system. The Army found DU at 

other sites, including the Pohakuloa Training Area on the island of Hawaii. Under NRC regulations, the 

Army must have a license to possess this material. The Army applied for a possession-only license in 

November 2008. It was not until 2011 that the Army identified all the sites where it used the Davy 

Crockett system. At that time, the NRC and the Army decided to continue with licensing the two 

Hawaiian sites and to address the remaining installations through an amendment. The license was issued 

in 2013 and amended in 2016 to include 15 additional sites.

The DU is mostly in large fragments. It is on operational ranges not accessible to the public. 

Data the Army collected and analyzed, and the NRC reviewed, show there is no immediate health risk to 

people who work at the ranges or live or travel nearby. The high density and large fragment size mean 

the DU cannot easily become airborne or move off-site.

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The NRC’s role

Part of the NRC’s role is to oversee licensed 

“source material,” which includes DU. The NRC 

license allows the Army to possess up to 12,567 

pounds of DU at the sites. It limits the amount of 

DU the Army can possess at each location. It 

requires the Army to comply with NRC regulations 

and standards for protecting the public and the 

environment from radiation and is subject to NRC 

inspections and periodic reviews. 

The license requires the Army to have 

environmental monitoring as well as radiation 

safety and physical security plans. These 

requirements are meant to ensure the DU will not 

pose a future health risk. The license does not authorize the Army to use the DU or decommission the 

sites. Any cleanup would require additional review and approval by the NRC to ensure that public health 

and safety will continue to be protected. 

The sites covered by the license are the Schofield Barracks and Pohakuloa Training Area 

(Hawaii); Forts Benning and Gordon (Georgia); Forts Campbell and Knox (Kentucky); Fort Carson 

(Colorado); Fort Hood (Texas); Joint Base Lewis-McChord/Yakima Training Center (Washington); Fort 

Bragg (North Carolina); Fort Polk (Louisiana); Fort Sill (Oklahoma); Fort Jackson (South Carolina); 

Fort Hunter Liggett (California); Fort Wainwright (Alaska); Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst (New 

Jersey); and Fort Riley (Kansas).

To complete the program and ensure that all U.S. military sites where DU munitions were used 

are properly identified and monitored, the NRC staff conducted an extensive search through expired 

AEC and NRC licenses and other documents. This search did not identify other military ranges where 

DU was not under appropriate regulatory control. At the NRC’s request, the Army, Navy and Air Force 

reviewed these findings and indicated there were no additional sites to consider.

The NRC’s efforts on depleted uranium are described in the September 2020 memorandum, 

“Results of Implementation Plan to Identify Depleted Uranium on Military Ranges and Determine its 

Licensing Status.” (ML20188A173)

December 2020