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Nuclear adviser issued shells alert
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Watchdog outlined health fears in 1991
Secret paper told of risk to British troops
THE Government was warned by its own nuclear safety adviser a decade ago that depleted uranium shells fired during the Gulf War would be a health risk to British troops and would lead to “political problems”.
Years before depleted uranium (DU) weapons were used by Nato in the Balkans, a confidential paper written by the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (AEA) made clear that the shells left in Kuwait after the Gulf War were a potential source of radioactive contamination.
Yesterday Shaun Rusling, chairman of the National Gulf Veterans’ and Families’ Association, said that 521 Gulf veterans had died since the 1991 conflict and more than 5,000 were suffering illnesses including leukaemia.
The report by the AEA, the Government’s adviser on nuclear safety, said: “Handling heavy metal munitions does pose some potential hazards, as does the possibility of the spread of radioactive and toxic contamination as a result of firing in battle... and can become a long-term problem if not dealt with... and (pose) a risk to both the military and civilian population.”
The tank ammunition alone fired by both American and British vehicles in the Gulf War amounted to “50,000lb of DU”. If that quantity of DU were inhaled it could kill 500,000 people, the paper said, although it added: “Obviously this theoretical figure is not realistic; however, it does indicate the significant problem.”
The report was revealed as Carla Del Ponte, the Chief UN War Crimes Prosecutor, said yesterday that her tribunal could open an investigation into the use of DU ammunition by Nato, which many blame for cancer among soldiers who served in the Balkan campaign.
The AEA warning came to light as Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary, dismissed any idea of stopping the Army from using DU rounds in Challenger 2 tanks.
Although the Royal Navy is withdrawing DU ammunition from its Phalanx “point defence” Gatling guns by 2003, Mr Hoon said there was no intention of doing the same with the Army’s tank shells. They were “extraordinarily effective” and helped to save British lives, he told Sky News.
However, the paper written by AEA Industrial Technology, the AEA’s trading name, gave warning of the urgent need to clear up the DU shells in Kuwait because of the risks of radioactive contamination.
Today those same fears are being expressed in relation to the Nato bombing campaign over Kosovo in 1999. A team from the United Nations Environment Programme that examined 11 of 112 sites in the Yugoslav province affected by DU attacks urged the authorities to cordon off the areas to prevent local people from coming into contact with Serb armoured vehicles damaged by depleted uranium weapons.
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