Veterans' alert on uranium shells
By Macer Hall
(Filed: 23/09/2001)
The Telegraph, London
SHELLS with depleted uranium tips are being transported to the Middle
East
for use in
the war against terrorism despite concerns of health threats to
thousands
of Nato service
personnel, The Telegraph has learnt.
Veterans of the Gulf War and the Balkans who believe that the
armour-piercing ammunition caused them to suffer leukaemia and other
illnesses, last night
gave a
warning that a new generation of service personnel could be at risk.
Nato
has been
investigating complaints by former service personnel from several
European
countries
that radioactive dust spread by the weapons made them ill.
A spokesman for the United States Defence Department confirmed that
depleted uranium
shells were widely used in America's armed forces. The department
refused
to take any
action after a Pentagon report found no link between depleted uranium
and
cancer.
The Ministry of Defence, which earlier this year agreed to test hundreds
of
veterans for
traces of uranium poisoning, also confirmed that depleted uranium rounds
could be used
in a forthcoming conflict against terrorists. An MoD spokesman said: "We
do
still have
depleted uranium-tipped shells and, if we have to, we will use them." He
added that the
only depleted uranium-tipped shells used in British Armed Forces were
those
fired by the
the Army's Challenger 2 tank.
Tony Flint, a spokesman for the National Gulf Veterans and Families
Association, said:
"This is a major concern for us. Depleted uranium should not be used in
any
forthcoming
conflict. These weapons do not just affect the enemy, they have
consequences for the
troops that go in on the ground after they are fired."
Mr Flint, a 54-year-old Gulf veteran, now suffers from fatigue and a
muscle-wasting
illness. He added: "Depleted uranium will cause a lot more deaths
through
poisoning. We
could be creating another generation of service personnel with terrible
illnesses."
Bernie McPhillips, of the Gulf Families Association, another campaign
group, said: "If they
go ahead with a ground invasion, it is more than likely that depleted
uranium weapons
will be used and there will be consequences for our troops. Until they
develop a new
weapon, depleted uranium will continue to be used."
A recent investigation for the MoD by the scientists at the Royal
Society
found no
evidence of a link between depleted uranium and cancer, but conceded
that
further
research was needed.
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