LONDON, Jan 9, 2001 -- (Reuters) A furore over possible health damage to peacekeepers from NATO depleted uranium (DU) weapons used in the Balkans could be divisive for the Atlantic Alliance.

How the 19-nation military alliance manages the political fallout may affect its ability to conduct future joint operations, some analysts say.

The initial reactions of allied governments to reports of a so-called "Balkan syndrome" involving leukemia among veterans of the Bosnia and Kosovo operations have diverged sharply.

NATO's two main military powers -- the United States and Britain -- have dismissed or played down any health risk, while allies such as Germany, Italy, Belgium and Portugal are demanding a full investigation.

U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said on Monday there was "absolutely no proof" of any link between the armor-penetrating depleted uranium used to tip missiles, shells and bullets, and the potentially fatal blood cancer.

That view is supported by the World Health Organization and by NATO officials.

But the alliance is under strong political pressure to stop using the munitions pending an expert investigation and to agree on health checks for soldiers who have served in the Balkans.

Despite rising public concern, Britain's Ministry of Defense insisted on Tuesday it had no plans to screen servicemen or women, denying reports of a change of heart. "We see the risk as minimal," a spokeswoman said.

But several allies -- including Portugal, Norway and Greece -- have begun mass screening of soldiers who served in the Balkans after the cancer deaths of six Italians and a Portuguese soldier and dozens more cases of unexplained illness.

European Commission President Romano Prodi has demanded to know "the truth" about DU weapons and said they should be abolished if they posed even a minimal health hazard.

Three Portuguese cabinet ministers were visiting Kosovo on Tuesday to try to assess the risk from depleted uranium.

CONTRASTING ATTITUDES

So far the controversy has focused on the risk to allied soldiers rather than the longer-term consequences for the populations of countries subjected to attack with DU weapons.

The contrasting responses mirror differing attitudes towards both public health and military risk among the allies.

Washington and London often favor a robust use of force whereas their continental European partners tend to prefer diplomacy or more limited military action.

The DU scare comes amid widespread concern over food safety in Europe prompted by the outbreak of mad cow disease.

It also comes on top of unresolved worries about a "Gulf War syndrome" suffered by some Western soldiers who served in the 1991 U.S.-led war to drive Iraqi forces out of Kuwait.

The involvement of uranium, even in a depleted form with low radioactivity, may be fanning concern in countries with a strong public aversion to all things nuclear.

European countries that still have conscription may be also more anxious about health risks to soldiers than states with all-volunteer professional armed forces, although the United States has gone to great lengths to investigate "Gulf War syndrome" and take care of soldiers affected by it.

Several European allies allow soldiers' trade unions and recognize greater individual rights for service personnel than the United States or Britain.

POLITICAL FALLOUT

British defense analyst Francis Tusa suggested the political fallout for the alliance from the DU affair could be serious.

"We're looking at potentially a greater moment of stress for NATO over the depleted uranium issue that we saw over the creation of the European Rapid Reaction Force," he told Sky television.

"This is a major problem for NATO and needs to be sorted out as fast as possible. It can't be swept under the carpet now."

Recalling that U.S. A-10 tank-busting aircraft that fired DU munitions in Bosnia and Kosovo flew from bases in Italy, he raised the specter of local Italian citizens demanding a ban on the planes because of fears of a crash or health hazards.

But Sir Timothy Garden, a former British air force commander and NATO defense planner, said the issue was less likely to prove divisive than pending controversies over U.N. National Missile Defense plans, the next wave of NATO enlargement and possible moves to pull U.S. forces out of the Balkans.

Garden said an agreement on a consistent approach to testing would probably defuse the depleted uranium dispute at NATO.

"It will inevitably be a pretty expensive operation because it will involve not just screening all soldiers who served in the Balkans but running control groups to monitor over the long term whether there is a higher incidence of cancer," he said.

He said the U.S. and British defense ministries had probably looked at the risk and decided it was not worth the cost after taking expert advice that the danger was slight.

They would now have to spend the money for the sake of alliance cohesion and to assuage public concern, he added.