[Consider the source. Would you trust Charles Manson to investigate the Tate murders?]

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - A committee of 50 nations hastily set up by NATO two weeks ago has found no evidence so far to support claims that depleted uranium (DU) munitions can cause cancer, NATO said on Wednesday.

Soldiers who served as peacekeepers in the NATO-led missions in Bosnia and Kosovo -- where U.S. aircraft fired some 40,000 DU shells -- were no sicker than those who had not, committee chairman Daniel Speckhard told a news conference.

NATO spokesman Mark Laity said it was ``quite possible´´ that tiny traces of highly radioactive plutonium and uranium 236 would turn up in Balkans soil samples now being taken or analyzed by international experts.

``We´re not predicting it...we will not be surprised, neither will we be worried,´´ he said, stressing that scientific evidence showed the traces were too small to ``add in any way to the existing low-level health risk.´´

Risk Of Political Heart Attack

The toxic chemical effects of DU, a heavy metal used for its armor-piercing capability, could cause kidney problems if its dust were ingested in sufficient quantities.Mere mention of plutonium contamination, however, can trigger political heart attacks among some of Europe's most environmentally sensitive governments.

On Tuesday, in a bid to help European allies allay public fears, a Pentagon spokesman said plutonium traces got into DU rounds made 30 years ago because of contaminated equipment at a nuclear plant, but amounts were incredibly small and harmless. Plutonium and U-236 would still be in America's DU munitions today, he said, because no new stocks were made since the 1970s. In Athens, NATO's Supreme Commander Europe, U.S. Air Force General Joseph Ralston, said he would not hesitate to authorize firing DU rounds ``tonight,´´ in the unlikely event that peacekeepers or civilians in Kosovo faced a tank attack.

NATO says there is simply no evidence that DU's weak radioactivity can cause cancer. This is questioned by some recent studies which suggest ingested DU emits alpha radiation that can cause significant damage to cells.

``To date no nation has found evidence of an increase in the incidence of illness among peacekeepers in the Balkans compared with the incidence of illness among armed forces not serving in the Balkans,´´ Speckhard said.

``None of the nations reported finding a health link between health complaints of personnel employed in the Balkans and depleted uranium munitions,´´ he added.

Tuesday's standing-room-only meeting of the committee reinforced the report issued last week by NATO's top military medical officers showing no link to cancer, but the committee would continue meeting weekly as ``scores´´ of studies -- national and multilateral -- were carried out.

Everyone's Testing

Speckhard said more than a dozen nations had tested their soldiers or sent teams to the region since the DU scare erupted shortly after Christmas. ``To date, based on preliminary findings, there has been no indication of increased levels of radioactivity at any of the sites tested,´´ he said.

Countries on the DU committee include the 19 NATO members and some 30 partners most of whom have deployed troops in the Balkans missions. They include Malaysia, Argentina, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Azerbaijan.

Laity said NATO had posted a detailed map on its Web site (www.nato.int) showing the target sites in Bosnia and Kosovo where DU munitions had been fired. The alliance was determined to provide ``maximum transparency and openness,´´ he said. He suggested some European media had handled the issue irresponsibly, failing to look at available scientific facts before deciding to spread fears.