Uranium 'killing Italian troops'

[Tessa]

Uranium 'killing Italian troops'

By Christian Fraser
BBC News, Rome

Italian soldiers are still dying following exposure to depleted uranium in the wars in Bosnia and Kosovo, their relatives say.

Troops who served during the wars in the 1990s believe they have contracted cancer and other serious illnesses from extended exposure to the munitions.

The US says it fired around 40,000 depleted uranium rounds during the Bosnian and Kosovo conflicts.

A pressure group says 50 veterans have died and another 200 are seriously ill.

<snip>

Children with disabilities

The association representing the soldiers, known as Anavafaf, says many of those who have died or are ill have contracted cancer.

In 2002 the Italian defence ministry published a report compiled by independent scientists which found a higher than average number of servicemen were suffering from cancer.

It said there was an excessive number of Hodgkin's disease victims among Italian Balkan peacekeepers.

A number of children fathered by the soldiers have been born with disabilities.

There are similar reports from soldiers' associations in Belgium, Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands.

Both the US and Britain acknowledge the dust from depleted uranium can be dangerous if inhaled but they insist the danger is short-lived and localised.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6247401.stm

[Tessa]

Uranium 'killing Italian troops'

By Christian Fraser
BBC News, Rome

Italian soldiers are still dying following exposure to depleted uranium in the wars in Bosnia and Kosovo, their relatives say.

Troops who served during the wars in the 1990s believe they have contracted cancer and other serious illnesses from extended exposure to the munitions.

The US says it fired around 40,000 depleted uranium rounds during the Bosnian and Kosovo conflicts.

A pressure group says 50 veterans have died and another 200 are seriously ill.

<snip>

Children with disabilities

The association representing the soldiers, known as Anavafaf, says many of those who have died or are ill have contracted cancer.

In 2002 the Italian defence ministry published a report compiled by independent scientists which found a higher than average number of servicemen were suffering from cancer.

It said there was an excessive number of Hodgkin's disease victims among Italian Balkan peacekeepers.

A number of children fathered by the soldiers have been born with disabilities.

There are similar reports from soldiers' associations in Belgium, Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands.

Both the US and Britain acknowledge the dust from depleted uranium can be dangerous if inhaled but they insist the danger is short-lived and localised.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6247401.stm

[Tessa]

Uranium 'killing Italian troops'

By Christian Fraser
BBC News, Rome

Italian soldiers are still dying following exposure to depleted uranium in the wars in Bosnia and Kosovo, their relatives say.

Troops who served during the wars in the 1990s believe they have contracted cancer and other serious illnesses from extended exposure to the munitions.

The US says it fired around 40,000 depleted uranium rounds during the Bosnian and Kosovo conflicts.

A pressure group says 50 veterans have died and another 200 are seriously ill.

<snip>

Children with disabilities

The association representing the soldiers, known as Anavafaf, says many of those who have died or are ill have contracted cancer.

In 2002 the Italian defence ministry published a report compiled by independent scientists which found a higher than average number of servicemen were suffering from cancer.

It said there was an excessive number of Hodgkin's disease victims among Italian Balkan peacekeepers.

A number of children fathered by the soldiers have been born with disabilities.

There are similar reports from soldiers' associations in Belgium, Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands.

Both the US and Britain acknowledge the dust from depleted uranium can be dangerous if inhaled but they insist the danger is short-lived and localised.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6247401.stm

[Tessa]

Uranium 'killing Italian troops'

By Christian Fraser
BBC News, Rome

Italian soldiers are still dying following exposure to depleted uranium in the wars in Bosnia and Kosovo, their relatives say.

Troops who served during the wars in the 1990s believe they have contracted cancer and other serious illnesses from extended exposure to the munitions.

The US says it fired around 40,000 depleted uranium rounds during the Bosnian and Kosovo conflicts.

A pressure group says 50 veterans have died and another 200 are seriously ill.

<snip>

Children with disabilities

The association representing the soldiers, known as Anavafaf, says many of those who have died or are ill have contracted cancer.

In 2002 the Italian defence ministry published a report compiled by independent scientists which found a higher than average number of servicemen were suffering from cancer.

It said there was an excessive number of Hodgkin's disease victims among Italian Balkan peacekeepers.

A number of children fathered by the soldiers have been born with disabilities.

There are similar reports from soldiers' associations in Belgium, Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands.

Both the US and Britain acknowledge the dust from depleted uranium can be dangerous if inhaled but they insist the danger is short-lived and localised.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6247401.stm

[Tessa]

Uranium 'killing Italian troops'

By Christian Fraser
BBC News, Rome

Italian soldiers are still dying following exposure to depleted uranium in the wars in Bosnia and Kosovo, their relatives say.

Troops who served during the wars in the 1990s believe they have contracted cancer and other serious illnesses from extended exposure to the munitions.

The US says it fired around 40,000 depleted uranium rounds during the Bosnian and Kosovo conflicts.

A pressure group says 50 veterans have died and another 200 are seriously ill.

<snip>

Children with disabilities

The association representing the soldiers, known as Anavafaf, says many of those who have died or are ill have contracted cancer.

In 2002 the Italian defence ministry published a report compiled by independent scientists which found a higher than average number of servicemen were suffering from cancer.

It said there was an excessive number of Hodgkin's disease victims among Italian Balkan peacekeepers.

A number of children fathered by the soldiers have been born with disabilities.

There are similar reports from soldiers' associations in Belgium, Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands.

Both the US and Britain acknowledge the dust from depleted uranium can be dangerous if inhaled but they insist the danger is short-lived and localised.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6247401.stm

[Tessa]

Uranium 'killing Italian troops'

By Christian Fraser
BBC News, Rome

Italian soldiers are still dying following exposure to depleted uranium in the wars in Bosnia and Kosovo, their relatives say.

Troops who served during the wars in the 1990s believe they have contracted cancer and other serious illnesses from extended exposure to the munitions.

The US says it fired around 40,000 depleted uranium rounds during the Bosnian and Kosovo conflicts.

A pressure group says 50 veterans have died and another 200 are seriously ill.

<snip>

Children with disabilities

The association representing the soldiers, known as Anavafaf, says many of those who have died or are ill have contracted cancer.

In 2002 the Italian defence ministry published a report compiled by independent scientists which found a higher than average number of servicemen were suffering from cancer.

It said there was an excessive number of Hodgkin's disease victims among Italian Balkan peacekeepers.

A number of children fathered by the soldiers have been born with disabilities.

There are similar reports from soldiers' associations in Belgium, Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands.

Both the US and Britain acknowledge the dust from depleted uranium can be dangerous if inhaled but they insist the danger is short-lived and localised.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6247401.stm

[Tessa]

Uranium 'killing Italian troops'

By Christian Fraser
BBC News, Rome

Italian soldiers are still dying following exposure to depleted uranium in the wars in Bosnia and Kosovo, their relatives say.

Troops who served during the wars in the 1990s believe they have contracted cancer and other serious illnesses from extended exposure to the munitions.

The US says it fired around 40,000 depleted uranium rounds during the Bosnian and Kosovo conflicts.

A pressure group says 50 veterans have died and another 200 are seriously ill.

<snip>

Children with disabilities

The association representing the soldiers, known as Anavafaf, says many of those who have died or are ill have contracted cancer.

In 2002 the Italian defence ministry published a report compiled by independent scientists which found a higher than average number of servicemen were suffering from cancer.

It said there was an excessive number of Hodgkin's disease victims among Italian Balkan peacekeepers.

A number of children fathered by the soldiers have been born with disabilities.

There are similar reports from soldiers' associations in Belgium, Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands.

Both the US and Britain acknowledge the dust from depleted uranium can be dangerous if inhaled but they insist the danger is short-lived and localised.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6247401.stm

[Tessa]

Uranium 'killing Italian troops'

By Christian Fraser
BBC News, Rome

Italian soldiers are still dying following exposure to depleted uranium in the wars in Bosnia and Kosovo, their relatives say.

Troops who served during the wars in the 1990s believe they have contracted cancer and other serious illnesses from extended exposure to the munitions.

The US says it fired around 40,000 depleted uranium rounds during the Bosnian and Kosovo conflicts.

A pressure group says 50 veterans have died and another 200 are seriously ill.

<snip>

Children with disabilities

The association representing the soldiers, known as Anavafaf, says many of those who have died or are ill have contracted cancer.

In 2002 the Italian defence ministry published a report compiled by independent scientists which found a higher than average number of servicemen were suffering from cancer.

It said there was an excessive number of Hodgkin's disease victims among Italian Balkan peacekeepers.

A number of children fathered by the soldiers have been born with disabilities.

There are similar reports from soldiers' associations in Belgium, Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands.

Both the US and Britain acknowledge the dust from depleted uranium can be dangerous if inhaled but they insist the danger is short-lived and localised.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6247401.stm

[Tessa]

Uranium 'killing Italian troops'

By Christian Fraser
BBC News, Rome

Italian soldiers are still dying following exposure to depleted uranium in the wars in Bosnia and Kosovo, their relatives say.

Troops who served during the wars in the 1990s believe they have contracted cancer and other serious illnesses from extended exposure to the munitions.

The US says it fired around 40,000 depleted uranium rounds during the Bosnian and Kosovo conflicts.

A pressure group says 50 veterans have died and another 200 are seriously ill.

<snip>

Children with disabilities

The association representing the soldiers, known as Anavafaf, says many of those who have died or are ill have contracted cancer.

In 2002 the Italian defence ministry published a report compiled by independent scientists which found a higher than average number of servicemen were suffering from cancer.

It said there was an excessive number of Hodgkin's disease victims among Italian Balkan peacekeepers.

A number of children fathered by the soldiers have been born with disabilities.

There are similar reports from soldiers' associations in Belgium, Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands.

Both the US and Britain acknowledge the dust from depleted uranium can be dangerous if inhaled but they insist the danger is short-lived and localised.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6247401.stm

[Tessa]

Uranium 'killing Italian troops'

By Christian Fraser
BBC News, Rome

Italian soldiers are still dying following exposure to depleted uranium in the wars in Bosnia and Kosovo, their relatives say.

Troops who served during the wars in the 1990s believe they have contracted cancer and other serious illnesses from extended exposure to the munitions.

The US says it fired around 40,000 depleted uranium rounds during the Bosnian and Kosovo conflicts.

A pressure group says 50 veterans have died and another 200 are seriously ill.

<snip>

Children with disabilities

The association representing the soldiers, known as Anavafaf, says many of those who have died or are ill have contracted cancer.

In 2002 the Italian defence ministry published a report compiled by independent scientists which found a higher than average number of servicemen were suffering from cancer.

It said there was an excessive number of Hodgkin's disease victims among Italian Balkan peacekeepers.

A number of children fathered by the soldiers have been born with disabilities.

There are similar reports from soldiers' associations in Belgium, Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands.

Both the US and Britain acknowledge the dust from depleted uranium can be dangerous if inhaled but they insist the danger is short-lived and localised.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6247401.stm

[Tessa]

Uranium 'killing Italian troops'

By Christian Fraser
BBC News, Rome

Italian soldiers are still dying following exposure to depleted uranium in the wars in Bosnia and Kosovo, their relatives say.

Troops who served during the wars in the 1990s believe they have contracted cancer and other serious illnesses from extended exposure to the munitions.

The US says it fired around 40,000 depleted uranium rounds during the Bosnian and Kosovo conflicts.

A pressure group says 50 veterans have died and another 200 are seriously ill.

<snip>

Children with disabilities

The association representing the soldiers, known as Anavafaf, says many of those who have died or are ill have contracted cancer.

In 2002 the Italian defence ministry published a report compiled by independent scientists which found a higher than average number of servicemen were suffering from cancer.

It said there was an excessive number of Hodgkin's disease victims among Italian Balkan peacekeepers.

A number of children fathered by the soldiers have been born with disabilities.

There are similar reports from soldiers' associations in Belgium, Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands.

Both the US and Britain acknowledge the dust from depleted uranium can be dangerous if inhaled but they insist the danger is short-lived and localised.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6247401.stm

[Tessa]

Uranium 'killing Italian troops'

By Christian Fraser
BBC News, Rome

Italian soldiers are still dying following exposure to depleted uranium in the wars in Bosnia and Kosovo, their relatives say.

Troops who served during the wars in the 1990s believe they have contracted cancer and other serious illnesses from extended exposure to the munitions.

The US says it fired around 40,000 depleted uranium rounds during the Bosnian and Kosovo conflicts.

A pressure group says 50 veterans have died and another 200 are seriously ill.

<snip>

Children with disabilities

The association representing the soldiers, known as Anavafaf, says many of those who have died or are ill have contracted cancer.

In 2002 the Italian defence ministry published a report compiled by independent scientists which found a higher than average number of servicemen were suffering from cancer.

It said there was an excessive number of Hodgkin's disease victims among Italian Balkan peacekeepers.

A number of children fathered by the soldiers have been born with disabilities.

There are similar reports from soldiers' associations in Belgium, Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands.

Both the US and Britain acknowledge the dust from depleted uranium can be dangerous if inhaled but they insist the danger is short-lived and localised.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6247401.stm

[Tessa]

Uranium 'killing Italian troops'

By Christian Fraser
BBC News, Rome

Italian soldiers are still dying following exposure to depleted uranium in the wars in Bosnia and Kosovo, their relatives say.

Troops who served during the wars in the 1990s believe they have contracted cancer and other serious illnesses from extended exposure to the munitions.

The US says it fired around 40,000 depleted uranium rounds during the Bosnian and Kosovo conflicts.

A pressure group says 50 veterans have died and another 200 are seriously ill.

<snip>

Children with disabilities

The association representing the soldiers, known as Anavafaf, says many of those who have died or are ill have contracted cancer.

In 2002 the Italian defence ministry published a report compiled by independent scientists which found a higher than average number of servicemen were suffering from cancer.

It said there was an excessive number of Hodgkin's disease victims among Italian Balkan peacekeepers.

A number of children fathered by the soldiers have been born with disabilities.

There are similar reports from soldiers' associations in Belgium, Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands.

Both the US and Britain acknowledge the dust from depleted uranium can be dangerous if inhaled but they insist the danger is short-lived and localised.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6247401.stm

[Tessa]

Uranium 'killing Italian troops'

By Christian Fraser
BBC News, Rome

Italian soldiers are still dying following exposure to depleted uranium in the wars in Bosnia and Kosovo, their relatives say.

Troops who served during the wars in the 1990s believe they have contracted cancer and other serious illnesses from extended exposure to the munitions.

The US says it fired around 40,000 depleted uranium rounds during the Bosnian and Kosovo conflicts.

A pressure group says 50 veterans have died and another 200 are seriously ill.

<snip>

Children with disabilities

The association representing the soldiers, known as Anavafaf, says many of those who have died or are ill have contracted cancer.

In 2002 the Italian defence ministry published a report compiled by independent scientists which found a higher than average number of servicemen were suffering from cancer.

It said there was an excessive number of Hodgkin's disease victims among Italian Balkan peacekeepers.

A number of children fathered by the soldiers have been born with disabilities.

There are similar reports from soldiers' associations in Belgium, Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands.

Both the US and Britain acknowledge the dust from depleted uranium can be dangerous if inhaled but they insist the danger is short-lived and localised.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6247401.stm

[Tinoire]

Spring 2001

Little Risk in NATO's Depleted Uranium Weapons

Gen. Wesley K. Clark, as supreme allied commander of NATO, led the alliance to victory in Kosovo. He spoke with NPQ in Washington in January.

NPQ | A furor has arisen in Europe over the illness of Italian and other soldiers said to be exposed to the depleted uranium weapons NATO used during the wars in Kovoso and Bosnia. Is there anything to this in your view?

WESLEY CLARK | There are very well-known safety standards for exposure to radiation, set internationally by the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) and other institutions, based upon extensive research and testing by the US and other governments over the years. NATO has always abided by those standards.
We thus know very well what the correlation of radiation content to risk of depleted uranium is. It is measurable, and it is very low-40 percent less radioactive than natural uranium. There has never been any correlation between this level of radiation and a specific effect. Simply put, depleted uranium falls within the scale of what is safely admissible.

<snip>


NPQ | If the effects of depleted uranium have been so well researched over the years, why the furor now in Europe?

CLARK | First of all, this was a long-term Serb propaganda campaign started in the mid-1990s after the first NATO bombing runs against the Serb forces in Bosnia. Since then, it has ricocheted back and forth in the press. It has now picked up a patina associated with European political dynamics vis a vis NATO.

To deflate this scare, those who want new testing on the subject should do it in a comprehensive, scientific way and not on the political stage.

My personal view is that, based on research already done, it is highly unlikely that anything new will show up.

(snip)


NPQ | So, this is a tempest in a teapot?

CLARK | I would never put it that way because an issue like this must be taken very seriously. But I am certain no new, unexamined correlation between DU weapons and health will be found.

All we have here are two sets of facts: First, 31,000 rounds of depleted uranium weapons were fired over a period of two months throughout an area 60 miles by 60 miles-almost 4,000 square miles. Second, some number of European soldiers are ill.
Somebody correlated these two. But there is no basis for this correlation scientifically, medically, statistically or experientially.


http://www.digitalnpq.org/archive/20...ttle_risk.html

[Tinoire]

Spring 2001

Little Risk in NATO's Depleted Uranium Weapons

Gen. Wesley K. Clark, as supreme allied commander of NATO, led the alliance to victory in Kosovo. He spoke with NPQ in Washington in January.

NPQ | A furor has arisen in Europe over the illness of Italian and other soldiers said to be exposed to the depleted uranium weapons NATO used during the wars in Kovoso and Bosnia. Is there anything to this in your view?

WESLEY CLARK | There are very well-known safety standards for exposure to radiation, set internationally by the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) and other institutions, based upon extensive research and testing by the US and other governments over the years. NATO has always abided by those standards.
We thus know very well what the correlation of radiation content to risk of depleted uranium is. It is measurable, and it is very low-40 percent less radioactive than natural uranium. There has never been any correlation between this level of radiation and a specific effect. Simply put, depleted uranium falls within the scale of what is safely admissible.

<snip>


NPQ | If the effects of depleted uranium have been so well researched over the years, why the furor now in Europe?

CLARK | First of all, this was a long-term Serb propaganda campaign started in the mid-1990s after the first NATO bombing runs against the Serb forces in Bosnia. Since then, it has ricocheted back and forth in the press. It has now picked up a patina associated with European political dynamics vis a vis NATO.

To deflate this scare, those who want new testing on the subject should do it in a comprehensive, scientific way and not on the political stage.

My personal view is that, based on research already done, it is highly unlikely that anything new will show up.

(snip)


NPQ | So, this is a tempest in a teapot?

CLARK | I would never put it that way because an issue like this must be taken very seriously. But I am certain no new, unexamined correlation between DU weapons and health will be found.

All we have here are two sets of facts: First, 31,000 rounds of depleted uranium weapons were fired over a period of two months throughout an area 60 miles by 60 miles-almost 4,000 square miles. Second, some number of European soldiers are ill.
Somebody correlated these two. But there is no basis for this correlation scientifically, medically, statistically or experientially.


http://www.digitalnpq.org/archive/20...ttle_risk.html

[Tinoire]

Spring 2001

Little Risk in NATO's Depleted Uranium Weapons

Gen. Wesley K. Clark, as supreme allied commander of NATO, led the alliance to victory in Kosovo. He spoke with NPQ in Washington in January.

NPQ | A furor has arisen in Europe over the illness of Italian and other soldiers said to be exposed to the depleted uranium weapons NATO used during the wars in Kovoso and Bosnia. Is there anything to this in your view?

WESLEY CLARK | There are very well-known safety standards for exposure to radiation, set internationally by the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) and other institutions, based upon extensive research and testing by the US and other governments over the years. NATO has always abided by those standards.
We thus know very well what the correlation of radiation content to risk of depleted uranium is. It is measurable, and it is very low-40 percent less radioactive than natural uranium. There has never been any correlation between this level of radiation and a specific effect. Simply put, depleted uranium falls within the scale of what is safely admissible.

<snip>


NPQ | If the effects of depleted uranium have been so well researched over the years, why the furor now in Europe?

CLARK | First of all, this was a long-term Serb propaganda campaign started in the mid-1990s after the first NATO bombing runs against the Serb forces in Bosnia. Since then, it has ricocheted back and forth in the press. It has now picked up a patina associated with European political dynamics vis a vis NATO.

To deflate this scare, those who want new testing on the subject should do it in a comprehensive, scientific way and not on the political stage.

My personal view is that, based on research already done, it is highly unlikely that anything new will show up.

(snip)


NPQ | So, this is a tempest in a teapot?

CLARK | I would never put it that way because an issue like this must be taken very seriously. But I am certain no new, unexamined correlation between DU weapons and health will be found.

All we have here are two sets of facts: First, 31,000 rounds of depleted uranium weapons were fired over a period of two months throughout an area 60 miles by 60 miles-almost 4,000 square miles. Second, some number of European soldiers are ill.
Somebody correlated these two. But there is no basis for this correlation scientifically, medically, statistically or experientially.


http://www.digitalnpq.org/archive/20...ttle_risk.html

[Tinoire]

Spring 2001

Little Risk in NATO's Depleted Uranium Weapons

Gen. Wesley K. Clark, as supreme allied commander of NATO, led the alliance to victory in Kosovo. He spoke with NPQ in Washington in January.

NPQ | A furor has arisen in Europe over the illness of Italian and other soldiers said to be exposed to the depleted uranium weapons NATO used during the wars in Kovoso and Bosnia. Is there anything to this in your view?

WESLEY CLARK | There are very well-known safety standards for exposure to radiation, set internationally by the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) and other institutions, based upon extensive research and testing by the US and other governments over the years. NATO has always abided by those standards.
We thus know very well what the correlation of radiation content to risk of depleted uranium is. It is measurable, and it is very low-40 percent less radioactive than natural uranium. There has never been any correlation between this level of radiation and a specific effect. Simply put, depleted uranium falls within the scale of what is safely admissible.

<snip>


NPQ | If the effects of depleted uranium have been so well researched over the years, why the furor now in Europe?

CLARK | First of all, this was a long-term Serb propaganda campaign started in the mid-1990s after the first NATO bombing runs against the Serb forces in Bosnia. Since then, it has ricocheted back and forth in the press. It has now picked up a patina associated with European political dynamics vis a vis NATO.

To deflate this scare, those who want new testing on the subject should do it in a comprehensive, scientific way and not on the political stage.

My personal view is that, based on research already done, it is highly unlikely that anything new will show up.

(snip)


NPQ | So, this is a tempest in a teapot?

CLARK | I would never put it that way because an issue like this must be taken very seriously. But I am certain no new, unexamined correlation between DU weapons and health will be found.

All we have here are two sets of facts: First, 31,000 rounds of depleted uranium weapons were fired over a period of two months throughout an area 60 miles by 60 miles-almost 4,000 square miles. Second, some number of European soldiers are ill.
Somebody correlated these two. But there is no basis for this correlation scientifically, medically, statistically or experientially.


http://www.digitalnpq.org/archive/20...ttle_risk.html

[Tinoire]

Spring 2001

Little Risk in NATO's Depleted Uranium Weapons

Gen. Wesley K. Clark, as supreme allied commander of NATO, led the alliance to victory in Kosovo. He spoke with NPQ in Washington in January.

NPQ | A furor has arisen in Europe over the illness of Italian and other soldiers said to be exposed to the depleted uranium weapons NATO used during the wars in Kovoso and Bosnia. Is there anything to this in your view?

WESLEY CLARK | There are very well-known safety standards for exposure to radiation, set internationally by the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) and other institutions, based upon extensive research and testing by the US and other governments over the years. NATO has always abided by those standards.
We thus know very well what the correlation of radiation content to risk of depleted uranium is. It is measurable, and it is very low-40 percent less radioactive than natural uranium. There has never been any correlation between this level of radiation and a specific effect. Simply put, depleted uranium falls within the scale of what is safely admissible.

<snip>


NPQ | If the effects of depleted uranium have been so well researched over the years, why the furor now in Europe?

CLARK | First of all, this was a long-term Serb propaganda campaign started in the mid-1990s after the first NATO bombing runs against the Serb forces in Bosnia. Since then, it has ricocheted back and forth in the press. It has now picked up a patina associated with European political dynamics vis a vis NATO.

To deflate this scare, those who want new testing on the subject should do it in a comprehensive, scientific way and not on the political stage.

My personal view is that, based on research already done, it is highly unlikely that anything new will show up.

(snip)


NPQ | So, this is a tempest in a teapot?

CLARK | I would never put it that way because an issue like this must be taken very seriously. But I am certain no new, unexamined correlation between DU weapons and health will be found.

All we have here are two sets of facts: First, 31,000 rounds of depleted uranium weapons were fired over a period of two months throughout an area 60 miles by 60 miles-almost 4,000 square miles. Second, some number of European soldiers are ill.
Somebody correlated these two. But there is no basis for this correlation scientifically, medically, statistically or experientially.


http://www.digitalnpq.org/archive/20...ttle_risk.html

[Tinoire]

Spring 2001

Little Risk in NATO's Depleted Uranium Weapons

Gen. Wesley K. Clark, as supreme allied commander of NATO, led the alliance to victory in Kosovo. He spoke with NPQ in Washington in January.

NPQ | A furor has arisen in Europe over the illness of Italian and other soldiers said to be exposed to the depleted uranium weapons NATO used during the wars in Kovoso and Bosnia. Is there anything to this in your view?

WESLEY CLARK | There are very well-known safety standards for exposure to radiation, set internationally by the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) and other institutions, based upon extensive research and testing by the US and other governments over the years. NATO has always abided by those standards.
We thus know very well what the correlation of radiation content to risk of depleted uranium is. It is measurable, and it is very low-40 percent less radioactive than natural uranium. There has never been any correlation between this level of radiation and a specific effect. Simply put, depleted uranium falls within the scale of what is safely admissible.

<snip>


NPQ | If the effects of depleted uranium have been so well researched over the years, why the furor now in Europe?

CLARK | First of all, this was a long-term Serb propaganda campaign started in the mid-1990s after the first NATO bombing runs against the Serb forces in Bosnia. Since then, it has ricocheted back and forth in the press. It has now picked up a patina associated with European political dynamics vis a vis NATO.

To deflate this scare, those who want new testing on the subject should do it in a comprehensive, scientific way and not on the political stage.

My personal view is that, based on research already done, it is highly unlikely that anything new will show up.

(snip)


NPQ | So, this is a tempest in a teapot?

CLARK | I would never put it that way because an issue like this must be taken very seriously. But I am certain no new, unexamined correlation between DU weapons and health will be found.

All we have here are two sets of facts: First, 31,000 rounds of depleted uranium weapons were fired over a period of two months throughout an area 60 miles by 60 miles-almost 4,000 square miles. Second, some number of European soldiers are ill.
Somebody correlated these two. But there is no basis for this correlation scientifically, medically, statistically or experientially.


http://www.digitalnpq.org/archive/20...ttle_risk.html