This article explores the use of depleted uranium (DU) munitions and armour in war, and its impact on environments, humans and other animals. Specifically, the concern is to describe the use of depleted uranium weapons in the Gulf (over two wars, within the space of sixteen years), and to trace the health and environmental implications of this use. The article then analyses the use of depleted uranium from the point of view of state crime, in relation to the issues of legitimacy and denial. This is followed by consideration of the relevance of such issues for a 21st-century critical criminology. The politics of knowing—when `knowledge' is uncertain—is highlighted in discussion of the complexities of denial/affirmation surrounding the use of DU for war purposes.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	critical criminology, denial, depleted uranium, politics of knowing, scientific expertise, state crime
Research Division:	Studies in Human Society
Research Group:	Criminology
Research Field:	Criminology not elsewhere classified
Objective Division:	Law, Politics and Community Services
Objective Group:	Justice and the Law
Objective Field:	Justice and the Law not elsewhere classified
UTAS Author:	White, R (Professor Rob White)
ID Code:	51808
Year Published:	2008
Web of Science® Times Cited:	21
Deposited By:	Sociology and Social Work
Deposited On:	2008-04-30
Last Modified:	2015-02-11
Downloads:	4 View Download Statistics