"Exposes 500,000 of their own troops to depleted uranium" ?
ONLY those who are within about 20 yards of an assault with the DU penetrator weapon - at the time of the attack are immediately exposed to any risk. The last time I studied up on things, those in a targeted vehicle are intended to be placed "at risk" by those shooting at it.
Those who enter the immediate area before the dust settles and the immediate aerosols are dispersed, or who dig around in the debris can expose themselves to some risk, just as those who "salvage" in and immediately around any damaged vehicle may find unexploded ammunition, leaking fuel, and any number of other hazards.
A common automotive battery that's burned in a fuel fire produces a closely comparable risk, over a similar area, due to the lead and cadmium volatilized in the smoke. Both of these materials have toxicity very similar to DU, and very similar common paths of entry by inhalation or ingestion. They also are at least as persistent as DU, both as ingested toxins and as environmental contaminants.
As to the "radioactivity" of DU, the little pellet of Cesium in the smoke detector in your bedroom may be as "radioactive" as one of these penetrator devices. The persistent toxic heavy metal material from about a dozen NiCad C-size batteries that you toss into the trash to go to the landfill is comparable in environmental impact to the "burnup" of one 30 mm penetrator.
Active military service people whom I've met recently are fully aware of this stuff. While I can't personally affirm that all troops are adequately trained in all subjects, the training materials are in place and they're supposed to be trained. There's a bit of a "communications gap" that may make it difficult to inform the civilian population about all the risks of warfare, but I suspect that they're being given information about it - by both sides.