Seattle Times

Seattle Times
Monday, January 08, 2001, 12:00 a.m. Pacific
Editorial
Study uranium shells
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/SeattleTimes.woa/wa/gotoArticle?zsection_id=268448410&text_only=0&slug=unan08&document_id=134258902

Depleted uranium, a bomb byproduct used to make armor-piercing shells, has been the subject of persistent stories of cancer. The Pentagon has denied any long-lasting health threat from exploded uranium fragments.

But after 850,000 such shells were exploded in the Gulf War, and another 31,000 in the war against Serbia, the reports have continued. Following the death of a 24-year-old Sicilian solider from leukemia after two tours in Kosovo, Italy's defense minister has said the weapons should be banned.

It's too soon to say that. That six Italians and two Dutch have died of leukemia since returning from the Balkans may not be enough to ban these weapons entirely. The world needs a scientific appraisal. If these weapons do litter the Earth with cancer-causing fragments - and depending on how potent these fragments remain - depleted uranium ordnance should at least be heavily restricted.

Up to now, this issue has been the province of peace activists. Now the Italian defense minister has weighed in and the secretary-general of NATO promises an investigation of sites in Bosnia. That's a start, but it should not be left entirely in military hands. It should also be an issue for Congress.