HEALTH: UN Warns Field Staff Against Depleted Uranium

By Thalif Deen Reprint | | Print |

Thalif Deen

UNITED NATIONS, Jan 19 2001 (IPS) - Alarmed by media reports about the dangers of depleted uranium used during the bombing of the former Yugoslavia two years ago, the United Nations has warned its field staff against handling remnants of armaments that may contain the radioactive substance.

“The health of all UN personnel currently working in (conflict and former conflict) areas and those who worked there in the past is of primary concern,” Assistant Secretary-General for Human Resources Rafiah Salim said. “The United Nations will, therefore, continue to closely monitor the situation and immediately issue medical advice to staff, as appropriate,” she added.

According to several news reports, exposure to depleted uranium could cause various health effects such as leukaemia. But the United Nations says there is very little scientific evidence to suggest there is a risk of contracting the disease.

Still, some of these reports and recent medical evidence are being evaluated by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Health Organisation (WHO), along with the Western military alliance, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), which led the bombing of the former Yugoslavia.

The military strikes, which continued uninterrupted for over five weeks, not only claimed human lives but also destroyed bridges, factories, assembly plants and oil storage tanks causing severe environmental problems.

The 19-member NATO is known to have used depleted uranium munitions during the bombing. But so far there has been no scientific evidence that Western peacekeepers in the Balkans who had contracted cancer and other ailments were exposed to the munitions.

According to the New York Times, in Italy alone about 30 soldiers have reported a variety of post-war illnesses, and seven have died of leukaemia.

But last week, a majority of NATO members rejected requests from several Western allies for a temporary ban on depleted uranium munitions in NATO arsenals.

“The weapons have caused a political storm in Europe because of suspicions that they harmed the health of Western peacekeepers in the Balkans, as well as the environment,” the Times said last week.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna says that depleted uranium is only slightly radioactive, being about 40 percent as radioactive as natural uranium.

The chemical toxicity is normally the dominant factor for human health. “However, it is necessary to carefully assess the impact of depleted uranium in the special circumstances in which it was used, for example, to determine whether it was inhaled or ingested or whether fragments came into close contact with individuals,” IAEA said last week.

The UN agency also said that it is therefore essential that a detailed survey be carried out of the territory in which depleted uranium was used and of the people who came in contact with the munitions in any form.

The Nairobi-based UNEP has just completed measurements of the presence of depleted uranium in selected areas of the Balkans. The samples that were collected by UNEP are to be analysed during the next few weeks. A final report, providing a more accurate assessment of risk, is expected to be released by UNEP in March.

The UNEP field mission carried out in November visited 11 of the 112 sites identified as being targeted by ordnance containing depleted uranium. The work was carried out in close co-operation with the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and the NATO Kosovo peacekeeping force (KFOR).

The team, which consisted of 14 scientists from several countries, collected soil, water and vegetation samples and conducted smear tests on buildings, destroyed army vehicles and depleted uranium penetrators.

In October 1999, a UN Balkans Task Force conducted a similar study on the damage caused to the environment by NATO bombing. But at that time, there was insufficient data to address the issue of depleted uranium, UNEP Executive Director Klaus Toepfer said last week.

At a press conference in Geneva last week, Toepfer was asked whether it would also be advisable to send a similar UNEP mission to Iraq where the US is known to have used depleted uranium munitions during the 1990-1991 Gulf War.

Admitting that “it was a very important question for UNEP”, Toepfer said he believed that UNEP should first await the results of the tests in the Balkans before making any further decisions.

Meanwhile, the results of a WHO study are expected sometime next month. “We intend to review that report urgently and to take immediate and necessary action, should it be required,” Salim said.

The United Nations has promised to closely monitor the situation and provide field staff with any medical information that would be forthcoming.