HEALTH-KOSOVO: Doubts Linger about Link between Leukaemia and Depleted Uranium

By Gustavo Capdevila Reprint | | Print |

Gustavo Capdevila

GENEVA, Jan 9 2001 (IPS) - The World Health Organisation (WHO) says it is unlikely that the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) troops deployed in Kosovo are at risk of contracting leukaemia as a result of exposure to radiation from the depleted uranium found in some weapons used there during the 1990s.

Based on the available scientific evidence, there is no direct link between leukaemia and exposure to this substance, which is used in tank armour, anti-tank munitions, missiles and projectiles due to its high density.

WHO officials acknowledge that it is difficult to reach definitive conclusions due to the lack of information on the exposure levels of military personnel stationed in Kosovo.

The WHO did not request that information from NATO, nor from its member countries, because that task is not included in the United Nations agency’s mandate, explained Australian physician Mike Repacholi, coordinator of Occupational and Environmental Health at the WHO.

Repacholi outlined the initial findings of a study on the health consequences of exposure to depleted uranium, announcing Monday in Geneva that a final version will be published in February.

The UN agency’s statements this week marked its first response to the widespread concern among European nations about the deaths and illnesses suffered by military and civilian personnel stationed in Kosovo following the NATO bombings in 1999.

The WHO report covers the use of depleted uranium weapons in the Balkans conflict, which included attacks against Serb positions in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1994 and 1995, and particularly against Kosovo in the NATO war on Yugoslavia in 1999.

Repacholi said there is speculation that the “Gulf War Syndrome” is linked to depleted uranium exposure, but no causal relationship has been established.

Some veterans of the 1991 war against Iraq, launched by a broad alliance headed by the United States, maintain that the munitions used at the time caused the illnesses associated with the syndrome.

The WHO’s doubts about the links between depleted uranium and leukaemia cases among veterans of the Kosovo conflict are based on the fact that “while ionising radiation exposure is known to cause leukaemia, significant radiation exposures are necessary,” said Repacholi.

“Some 15 years after the Chernobyl nuclear reactor accident, the main cancer resulting was a very steep increase in childhood thyroid cancer,” the WHO official cited as an example. “No increase in leukaemia has been detected in the exposed population.”

Nor have radiation-related increases in leukaemia been established among uranium miners or workers milling uranium metal to make nuclear fuel elements, he added.

“Generally, several years – normally at least two to five – are needed between exposure to ionising radiation and the clinical detection of leukaemia,” Repacholi explained.

As far as inhalation and ingestion of contaminated dust, even under the extreme conditions found shortly after a bombing, the amount of dust inhaled is equivalent to half the annual dose limit for workers in the uranium industry, he pointed out.

But Repacholi warned that if that amount of soluble depleted uranium were inhaled, severe kidney malfunctions could result.

Though from the scientific perspective leukaemia is not necessarily caused by contact with depleted uranium, he said, the WHO recognises that it does not have adequate information on the situation of the peacekeeping troops in Kosovo that would allow the agency to reach concrete conclusions.

The world health official stressed that a “detailed survey is needed to determine the numbers of soldiers exposed, the amount of depleted uranium used, how much exists on the surface, how much is buried in the groundà before better conclusions can be made.”

To reach a reliable conclusion, scientists would also need to establish the composition of fine and course particles. “Breathing ultra-fine particles could lead to a theoretical risk of cancer,” Repacholi said.

He cautioned that children rather than adults may be more at risk of depleted uranium exposure as residents return to normal activities within the war zone because the young are more likely to engage in “hand- to-mouth activity of inquisitive play,” leading to ingestion from contaminated soil.