The Moscow Times
Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2001, 6:44 PM Moscow Time
Russia and France Will Study Depleted Uranium
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2001/01/17/162.html
The Associated Press

Russia and France have agreed to participate in a study on the effects of depleted uranium munitions on human health, a top Russian security official said Wednesday.  Sergei Ivanov, secretary of President Vladimir Putin's powerful Security Council, said he and French Defense Minister Alain Richard had discussed the health threat from uranium-tipped bullets and rockets at a meeting in the Kremlin Wednesday, Interfax reported.

The two agreed to help organizations including the International Atomic Energy Agency to conduct studies of how the high-tech munitions used during the 1999 Kosovo conflict affect human health.

Laboratories in Europe have already begun tests. On Wednesday, the U.N. Environment Program said that ammunition tips found at sites in Kosovo contained traces of enriched uranium from nuclear reprocessing plants. While enriched uranium is more radioactive than depleted uranium, it was not immediately clear if the find indicated a higher health risk.

The Interfax report did not say exactly how Russia would help with the studies. Controversy over the armor-piercing munitions arose after six Italian soldiers who served in Kosovo died of cancer, and other soldiers in Europe fell ill. NATO aircraft fired thousands of rounds of depleted uranium bullets during the 1999 conflict.  Russia has protested the use of depleted uranium and said its military has never used the material.

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