Soldiers to be screened over DU weapons

The MoD is to begin testing on military personnel returning from the Gulf for evidence of poisoning from depleted uranium (DU) munitions.

The move comes after the Royal Society, the UK’s national science academy, yesterday called on Coalition forces to reveal where and how much depleted uranium was used in the conflict in Iraq, so that an effective clean-up and monitoring programme of both soldiers and civilians can begin.

Professor Brian Spratt FRS, chair of the Royal Society working group on depleted uranium, said: “Fragments of depleted uranium penetrators are potentially hazardous, and a recent Royal Society study recommended that they should be removed, and areas of contamination around impact sites identified, and where necessary made safe.

"Impact sites in residential areas should be a particular priority. Long-term monitoring of water and milk to detect any increase in uranium levels should also be introduced in Iraq. This would provide a cost effective method of monitoring sensitive components in the environment, and provide information about uranium levels to concerned local populations."

The Royal Society’s recent study on the health hazards of depleted uranium found that most soldiers and civilians are "unlikely to be exposed to dangerous levels of depleted uranium" during and after its use on the battlefield, but concluded that some soldiers might suffer kidney damage and an increased risk of lung cancer if they breathe in substantial amounts of it – for instance inside an armoured vehicle hit by a depleted uranium penetrator.

Prof Spratt added: “It is only by measuring the levels of DU in the urine of soldiers that we can understand the intakes of DU that occur on the battlefield, which is a requirement for a better assessment of any hazards to health. It is vital that this monitoring takes place and that it takes place within a matter of months.”

Munitions containing rods of depleted uranium (DU) are used on the battlefield to destroy heavily armoured vehicles. These munitions, known as penetrators, contain no explosive charge but the extremely dense DU rod, travelling at high speed, is able to pierce the heavy armour of a modern battle tank. Around 340 tonnes of DU were used in munitions during the 1991 Gulf war, and an estimated 11 tonnes in the Balkans in the late 1990s.

(GMcG)