PARIS, Jan 7 (AFP) - Both NATO and the European Union were this week probing possible after effects of so-called depleted uranium munitions used in the Balkans, amid mounting alarm over reports of cancer among former personnel there.

NATO's top decision-making body, the North Atlantic Council, will meet on Tuesday to discuss the crisis over the controversial weaponry, which is being more and more widely linked to subsequent cancer in veterans.

On the same day the European Union political and security committee will also discuss the "Balkan syndrome," as it is being called.

Seven Italian soldiers, five Belgians, two Dutch, two Spaniards, a Portuguese and a Czech have died from cancer since returning from tours of duty in Bonia or Kosovo where the US has fired depleted uranium (DU) shells.

Four French soldiers and four Belgians have also contracted leukemia.

EU Commission President Romano Prodi last week demanded the abolition of the tank-busting weapons if there was a risk of radioactive contamination.

The European Union was considering launching its own investigation into the use of the controversial hardware, a spokesman said.

NATO Secretary-General George Robertson ordered a detailed investigation of potentially contaminated Bosnian sites following calls from Belgium, France, Italy and Portugal for further information on DU projectiles and their potential health hazard.

European ministers called Thursday for an urgent inquiry into NATO's use of the weapons and suspected health risks.

Meanwhile Greece has asked Sweden to take the lead in Europe to clarify dangers posed by DU ammunition. Sweden currently holds the rotating European Union presidency.

Greece's Defence Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos asked Bjorn von Sydow, his Swedish counterpart, to broach the issue at the next EU defence ministers' session.

In Kosovo itself, health experts were examining effects of uranium dust on public health after the head of a UN scientific team repeated warnings that civilians and mine-clearers could be at risk.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) said that it had found no evidence of an increased leukemia risk in the province nor that the disease could be linked to DU ordnance with which US jets peppered Yugoslav army targets during the Kosovo conflict.

But research continued after the head of a UN team which found depleted uranium at eight sites warned that landmine clearance could stir up toxic dust, and that children especially ran an increased radiation risk.

The team urged that the targetted sites be sealed off. But this had not yet happened, a spokesman for NATO-led peacekeepers confirmed Saturday.

Uranium is used in DU munitions to make bullets or missiles denser so that they can cut through armour. The material gives off relatively low levels of radiation, but can be dangerous if ingested, inhaled in dust or if it enters the body through cuts or wounds.

Washington has failed to allay growing European concern over the use of DU munitions. The Pentagon has said no adverse effects had been found in US personnel who handled the ammunition and rejected calls for a moratorium on the use of DU shells, still being used by US peacekeepers in Kosovo.

In Britain the defence ministry admitted that depleted uranium-tipped shells had been used on firing ranges in Britain. But it insisted it had no reason to believe that the shells posed any significant risk.

The announcement came as British defence officials were to be questioned by a parliamentary committee over fears that soldiers in the Balkans may have contracted cancer from the ammunition.