The paper deals with the unusual pathologies some soldiers contracted after exposure in battle theatres in Iraq and in the Balkans, and considers the hypotheses the Authors developed to explain the origin of those diseases, that proved to be lethal in a few cases. The scenario of particulate nanopollution generated by high-temperature combustions characteristic of some weapons is described. The electron-microscopy observations carried out in 37 soldiers' pathological tissues verified the internal dissemination of toxic metallic micro and nano-particles. The article considers the way of entrance of those nanopollutants: the lung for inhalation and the digestive system for the ingestion of polluted food. Battle theatre pollution is also discussed.
Nanocontamination of the Soldiers in a Battle Space / Gatti, Antonietta; S., Montanari. - STAMPA. - XI:(2009), pp. 83-92. (Intervento presentato al convegno NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Nanomaterials: Environmental Risks and Benefits tenutosi a Faro (Portugal) nel 27-30 April 2008) [10.1007/978-1-4020-9491-0_6].
Nanocontamination of the Soldiers in a Battle Space
GATTI, Antonietta;
2009
Abstract
The paper deals with the unusual pathologies some soldiers contracted after exposure in battle theatres in Iraq and in the Balkans, and considers the hypotheses the Authors developed to explain the origin of those diseases, that proved to be lethal in a few cases. The scenario of particulate nanopollution generated by high-temperature combustions characteristic of some weapons is described. The electron-microscopy observations carried out in 37 soldiers' pathological tissues verified the internal dissemination of toxic metallic micro and nano-particles. The article considers the way of entrance of those nanopollutants: the lung for inhalation and the digestive system for the ingestion of polluted food. Battle theatre pollution is also discussed.
Pubblicazioni consigliate
I metadati presenti in IRIS UNIMORE sono rilasciati con licenza Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal, mentre i file delle pubblicazioni sono rilasciati con licenza Attribuzione 4.0 Internazionale (CC BY 4.0), salvo diversa indicazione.
In caso di violazione di copyright, contattare Supporto Iris
