John Lees

A few days ago there was a monumental explosion in Ukraine, when a Russian strike hit a munitions storage depot. The explosion was so large that it took on the classic mushroom cloud shape as it rose behind the city.
Possibly due to the mushroom cloud appearance, there was immediately speculation that the munitions depot contained depleted uranium. Which is of course nonsense, since depleted uranium has no effect on the shape of the cloud rising from an explosion. What creates the mushroom cloud form is the sheer scale of the explosion, whether it is nuclear or conventional.
What is of further interest is that some sources have now provided a graph showing a rise in gamma radiation in the area.
However, we should note that the rise is only a 40% increase on the normal background rate.
A background rate which we would assume to be harmless.
Yes, depleted uranium produces low levels of gamma radiation.
So, we could jump to the conclusion that this provides the explanation.
But you know what else produces low levels of gamma radiation?
Soil. (see second image) And quite definitely lots of soil was blown into the sky!!
We can see that quite clearly from the giant hole that this explosion left in the ground.
So, as with all technical matters, this requires more than jumping to conclusions based on a total lack of serious analysis.
Of course there may in fact be some other explanation which I haven't thought of. And furthermore I do not claim to have access to sufficient data to perform any such analysis.
However, I'm not inclined to buy the depleted uranium theory.
Especially not since it seems to have been originally born out of the perception that a "sinister" looking mushroom cloud suggests something nuclear in nature!!

Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at 09:58 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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