Radiation tests for NATO troops

NATO has agreed to respond to members' calls for more information on uranium bullets used in the Balkans conflict.

ROME, Italy -- Six NATO countries are to screen troops who were stationed in Bosnia and Kosovo for possible side-effects from depleted uranium ammunition.

The move by Portugal, Finland, Turkey, Spain, Italy and Greece comes as concern grows among some NATO countries about a possible link between cancer-related deaths and illnesses among soldiers who served in the Balkans and uranium bullets used in the war.

Fears have been raised about a possible link after six Italian soldiers died of leukaemia and four French servicemen were diagnosed with the illness.

Member countries are calling on NATO to provide information on the armour-piercing weapons, while the European Commission's President Romani Prodi has demanded to "know the truth" about their use in the Balkans.

AUDIO Mark Laity Nato spokesman downplays the risk of uranium to human health. 0.37 MB/30 sec. AIFF or WAV sound Possible link between depleted uranium and serious illness 1.07 MB/104 sec. AIFF or WAV sound     MESSAGE BOARD Peace in the Balkans

Prodi told Italian state radio RAI: "If there exists the slightest of risk, then these weapons should be abolished immediately."

NATO has said that U.S. warplanes operating in Kosovo fired armour-piercing rounds containing depleted uranium during the alliance's 78-day bombing campaign in 1999.

It has agreed to help member countries investigate any link, but no scientific evidence has been found to date.

Media reports in Italy said NATO used around 31,500 bullets and shells capped with uranium during the campaign.

Italy last week launched a probe in to a possible link after 30 cases of serious illness were reported -- 12 soldiers developed cancer and five died of leukaemia.

The latest soldier to die was a 24-year-old from Sicily who served twice in Bosnia but never in Kosovo.

Some 60,000 Italian soldiers and 15,000 civilians served in the Balkans during the 1990s.

Italy wants NATO to discuss the issue when the alliance's political committee meets on Tuesday, the Italian foreign ministry said.

Italy's Foreign Minister Sergio Matarella flew to Bosnia on Thursday in an effort to reassure troops still serving in the region while Undersecretary Marco Minniti will travel to Kosovo on Friday.

Italian Prime Minister Giuliano Amato said in an interview published in La Repubblica newspaper that alarm over the so-called "Balkan syndrome" was "more than legitimate."

He added: "We've always known that it was a danger only in absolutely exceptional circumstances ... while in normal circumstances it isn't dangerous at all," he said. "But now we're starting to have a justified fear that things aren't that simple."

Four French soldiers are in a "satisfactory" condition while being treated in a military hospital for leukaemia, the Defence Ministry said on Thursday.

Defence Minister Alain Richard has asked for tests to be undertaken to determine whether the soldiers were exposed to anything during the conflict that might have caused the illness.

Richard repeated the hope that NATO's political committee will discuss the issue "so each partner can benefit from the expertise of the other."

Greece will screen more than 1,000 of its soldiers and will send experts to test areas where they are serving as peacekeepers, the defence ministry said.

Premier Costas Simitis also ordered his ministers of defence, environment, health and foreign affairs to meet and examine details requested from NATO about the ammunition.

Government spokesman Dimitris Reppas said: "It is an open issue for us that will be dealt with responsibly and without exaggerations."

The Defence Ministry said none of the 3,000-plus soldiers that served in Bosnia and Kosovo have developed cancer or any other sickness that could be linked to radiation or uranium poisoning.

Sources at the ministry added that 10 peacekeepers had been examined by specialists at a nuclear research facility in Athens and tests were negative.

A team of military and civilian nuclear specialists would travel to Kosovo and conduct further radiation tests. A similar survey conducted in March 2000 was negative.

About 1,481 Greek troops are serving in Kosovo, while a reduced contingent of 120 is stationed in Bosnia.

Belgium has called for European Union defence ministers to discuss health problems suffered by peacekeepers in the former Yugoslavia.

Portugal has ordered medical tests for its military and civilian personnel serving in Kosovo to check for exposure to radiation and Defence Minister Julio Castro Caldas has proposed a meeting of NATO countries to share information and agree common methods of testing.

Concerns have also been raised by service members or civilian aid workers in Britain and the Netherlands.

Reuters contributed to this report.

NATO weapons in cancer scare
January 3, 2001
Peacekeepers' deaths linked to 'Balkans syndrome'
December 30, 2000

NATO
Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

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