iraqi tanks didn't stand a chance against these sophisticated munitions dug rocky and his unit worked to selvage us armored vehicles that had been contaminated through exposure to depleted uranium we collected it all together we buried a lot in the desert and we shipped a lot back to the united states have been took over three years of cleanup. later some allied soldiers began showing symptoms of what would later be called gulf war syndrome. the depleted uranium becomes dangerous only after the munitions hit their targets and the toxic material is released into the environment the d.-u. particles are radioactive as well and release alpha particles over a limited area. and. experts estimate that about three thousand tons of depleted uranium dust have been generated in iraq. the pentagon plans to keep using dui. but it is trying to minimize the risk to its own