The use of depleted uranium weapons is once more causing concern. The people of Kosovo have been alarmed to discover that the conflict there has left radioactive contamination, just as it did in Kuwait nine years ago. Some commentators allege that it is a conspiracy between the military and the nuclear industry to dispose of dangerous waste in hostile countries. The real reasons are more complex.
Metallic uranium occurs naturally in tiny quantities.
It is a poisonous heavy metal like lead or mercury but only slightly radioactive. You could hold a piece of DU for days without serious exposure to radiation, but swallowing or inhaling it is more dangerous. When metal meets metal at five times the speed of sound strange things happen. Hard ened steel shatters like glass. Metal flows like putty, or simply vaporises.