-Caveat Lector- THURSDAY JANUARY 18 2001 UN team links DU shells to plutonium BY MICHAEL EVANS DEFENCE EDITOR JOHN PHILLIPS AND JAMES ROBSON THE European Parliament called for a moratorium by the United States and Britain on depleted uranium weapons yesterday. The appeal came as a United Nations team said it was examining fragments of DU found in Kosovo for traces of plutonium. Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary, rejected the call and said that British forces would continue to use DU weapons unless there was scientific evidence proving there was a link to cancer-related illnesses. The focus on plutonium followed the discovery by a laboratory working for the UN Environment Programme (Unep) of small amounts of Uranium 236, a more radioactive isotope, in the DU fragments. Pekka Haavisto, chairman of the Unep investigation team, which visited DU sites in Kosovo last year, said: “U-236 is much more radioactive than depleted uranium.” Traces of U-236 were also found by the Finnish Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority, which had also been sent samples from Kosovo. However, Mr Haavisto, a former Finnish Environment Minister, said that the minute traces found would not change the “overall picture of radiological effects”. Nevertheless, the discovery indicated that the DU used in the shells came from uranium that had been reprocessed from nuclear power station fuel and could include elements of plutonium, potentially a far more hazardous material. President Ciampi of Italy said yesterday that Nato had a duty to prove conclusively that depleted uranium had not caused widespread deaths from leukaemia among peacekeeping troops serving in the Balkans. The risks to the military and civilians, including the local population, would have to be clarified, he said. His strongly worded speech was delivered to Italian troops serving with the Nato-led peacekeeping force in Kosovo at their headquarters in Pec. Copyright 2001 Times Newspapers Ltd. This service is provided on Times Newspapers' standard terms and conditions. To inquire about a licence to reproduce material from The Times, visit the Syndication website. ANOMALOUS IMAGES AND UFO FILES http://www.anomalous-images.com <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html">Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
