BEFORE anybody starts using depleted uranium (DU) anti-tank shells in Iraq or elsewhere, they ought to think hard about the aftermath of their use in Bosnia. I suggested this to the veterans minister, Lewis Moonie.
Moonie replied that a UN Environment Programme (UNEP) team used sensitive instruments to measure radioactivity at 14 sites. They found DU contamination in a tank repair facility and ammunition storage areain Hadziciand in the Han Pijesak barracks. UNEP says that no UN peacekeeping forces or British forces have used these facilities. Its final report is due this month, but is not expected to reveal any more DU-contaminated sites.
The minister added that the UNEP press release recommends that any DU-tainted building should be decontaminated immediately. Britain's policy on environmental monitoring and DU clean-up is well documented in parliamentary records: the health of civilians is the responsibility of their own government, although the British government does ...
To continue reading this article, subscribe to receive access to all of newscientist.com, including 20 years of archive content.