THE SUNDAY TIMES
7 January, 2001
Hoon faces Kosovo cancer inquiry
Robert Locke

THE defence secretary Geoff Hoon is expected to be summoned before the Commons defence committee to defend the government against charges that servicemen's cancer may be linked to radioactive ammunition used by Nato in the Balkans.

This weekend the United Nations said it had found higher than normal levels of radiation at sites in Kosovo where Nato aircraft had fired weapons containing depleted uranium during the 1999 war.

Bruce George, the Labour chairman of the committee, said a Ministry of Defence investigation into the claims was urgent. "The ministry has got to come up with a statement pretty quickly to allay fears and reassure servicemen and their families," he said.

George said there should be no repeat of the long struggle that took place between the ministry and veterans over Gulf war syndrome. "I am sure the present-day ministers will not want to be as uncooperative as their predecessors," he said.

The committee meets on Wednesday when it is expected to issue an invitation to Hoon and other defence ministers.

The demand came after inspectors from the UN's Environment Programme said they were "surprised" to find remnants of depleted uranium (DU) shells lying on the ground at some sites 18 months after the Kosovo conflict. They warned of the risk of polluted water and said anyone at the sites should take safety precautions.

Pekka Haavisto, chairman of the UN assessment team and a former environment minister of Finland, said: "It can happen that children are playing in those areas and can pick up remnants." The UN team found "slightly higher than normal" levels of contamination at eight out of 11 sites it inspected.

The disclosure comes after six Nato countries - Belgium, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain - reported cases of leukaemia or cancer among some soldiers who had served in Kosovo and Bosnia. Some have called for an urgent investigation into the issue.

Any link between DU and illness has been denied by Nato, however. Britain - which had the largest number of troops of any European nation in the Kosovo conflict - has also rejected a link and says it will not screen its soldiers for possible DU-related illnesses.

"Anyone would know that DU poses minimal risk," said a defence ministry spokesman. "There is no need for a screening programme."

DU is a leftover of natural uranium after it has been enriched for use in nuclear weapons or reactors. It is used as a coating for some missiles and shells because its exceptional hardness enables it to penetrate armour. DU ammunition has been routinely fired on ranges in Cumbria, Dorset and near the Solway Firth in Scotland.



Commento: se l'Europa non coglie questa occasione per risolvere il disastro radioattivo, non ci srà più bisogno di andare al cinema per vedere i film di Dario Argento.