|
Sent: Thursday, December 28, 2000 5:37 AM Subject: SN1062:MoD 'monitoring' health checks on Kosovo soldiers > > http://www.independent.co.uk/news/UK/Health/2000-12/soldier281200.shtml > > MoD 'monitoring' health checks on Kosovo soldiers > > By Kim Sengupta > > 28 December 2000 > > The Ministry of Defence is "closely monitoring" investigations being carried > out by its Nato allies into whether soldiers were exposed to dangerous > levels of depleted uranium in ammunition used by US forces in Kosovo. > > Spain is the latest country to announce that it is carrying out tests on > soldiers who served in Kosovo. All 32,000 who went to the Serbian province > will receive medical checks. > > Italy and France are carrying out similar checks, and Portugal has decided > to send scientists to Kosovo to check radiation levels on spent rounds. > > The Dutch government is considering an inquiry into the possible effects of > depleted uranium on soldiers who served elsewhere in the Balkans. > > The United Nations sent a team to Kosovo last month to carry out its own > inquiry into the effects of depleted uranium (DU) and is expected to report > its findings in February. > > The Ministry of Defence said yesterday that although it was carrying out > research on weapons containing DU, no tests had been carried out on British > soldiers who served in the Kosovo Force (KFor). But a spokesman added: "We > are very interested in the various investigations being carried out and we > shall be closely monitoring them. > > "There are no tests on soldiers planned at the moment, but that does not > mean none will be carried out in the future. We are open to any evidence > which is presented to us." > > Around 1,400 British ex-servicemen who served in the Gulf war are registered > as suffering from Gulf war syndrome. Another 469 have died. Campaigners say > exposure to DU is partly to blame. The British Governmentmaintains that > there is no evidence of a link. > > In March this year Lord Robertson, the Nato secretary-general, told the UN > secretary-general, Kofi Annan, that around 31,000 rounds of ammunition > containing DU were used by American A-10 ground attack aircraft in Kosovo. > > A Pentagon spokesman said this week that there had been no outbreaks of > illnesses linked to DU, such as leukaemia, among US troops who served in the > Balkans. The US Defense Department has said that rounds containing DU > carried no greater health risks than conventional weapons. > > > news | UK | Health Up > |
