Fears Grow About Depleted Uranium
by JEFFREY ULBRICH
Associated Press Writer
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) -- European governments are
disturbed. Some of their
soldiers are falling sick and dying, and they don't
know why. Every day the
question grows louder: Can the armor-piercing munitions
made of depleted
uranium that NATO used in Kosovo be causing cancer?
There is no answer. Nobody has made the connection
scientifically. Certainly not
NATO.
The United States, the only NATO ally to use depleted
uranium weapons during
the 78-day air campaign against Yugoslavia in 1999,
insisted again Thursday that
the munitions pose no health threat.
In Washington, the Pentagon said it is aware of the
concerns being raised by
some allies.
''We share those concerns,'' said Lt. Col. Paul
Phillips. He said the United States
has conducted many studies on depleted uranium,
particularly since the 1991
Gulf War when the weapons were first used.
''In each study, we've come away convinced that the use
of depleted uranium
munitions does not present significant or residual
environmental or health risks,''
Phillips said.
NATO spokeswoman Simone de Manso in Brussels, said:
''According to our
knowledge from independent research ... there is no
study that can prove a direct
link between certain types of diseases of which people
are now afraid and
contact with depleted uranium.''
His remarks echoed those of the NATO-led peacekeeping
force in Bosnia, SFOR.
It said in a statement Wednesday that research has
shown ''there is a negligible
hazard'' from the ammunition.
''SFOR doesn't believe that either the troops serving
within SFOR today or the
civilian population in Bosnia are at risk,'' the
statement said.
The reassurances haven't calmed jittery Europeans, and
Thursday the 15-nation
European Union added its voice.
''There will be an informal inquiry,'' said EU
spokesman Jonathan Faull. He said it
was too soon to say if soldiers who served in the
Balkans under NATO were
suffering from illnesses as a result of contact with
depleted uranium. ''What we
know is that community citizens have been affected.''
Romano Prodi, president of the European Commission, the
EU's executive arm,
said the EU ''needs to know the truth.''
''If there exists the slightest risk, then these
weapons should be abolished
immediately,'' Prodi told Italian radio.
A year ago, NATO Secretary-General Lord Robertson
confirmed that American
jets had fired about 31,000 depleted uranium rounds at
Yugoslav armored
vehicles in Kosovo.
The U.N. Environment Program is expected to release a
report on the subject
next month. And the subject will be discussed at NATO's
regular weekly political
committee Tuesday.
Italy launched an investigation last week into a
possible link between depleted
uranium munitions and about 30 cases of serious illness
involving soldiers who
served in missions Kosovo and earlier in Bosnia, 12 of
whom developed cancer.
Five of the soldiers have died of leukemia.
And France said Thursday that four French soldiers who
served in the Balkans
during the 1999 bombing campaign are being treated for
leukemia.
Spain, Portugal, Finland, Belgium, Greece, Bulgaria,
the Czech Republic and
Turkey announced plans to screen peacekeepers.
Some don't believe the screening is worth the effort.
Wendla Paile of the Finnish Center for Radiation and
Nuclear Safety in Helsinki
said such screening was ''pointless.''
''The radiation from uranium depleted ammunition is so
little that it could not
explain these extra cases (of leukemia),'' Paile said.
Paul Beaver, an analyst at Janes Defense Weekly, said
the countries screening
their troops have no idea what to look for.
''The problem is there hasn't been any really good work
done on it,'' Beaver said.
''There is no concrete information. There has been
research carried out by the
U.S. Army, the British and the French as well, but it
seems inconclusive. I've
read all the literature I can find on it, but I have no
straight answer.''
AP-NY-01-04-01 1517EST<
