The Times (UK)
FRIDAY JANUARY 05 2001
France to test soldiers for uranium link
BY MICHAEL EVANS, DEFENCE EDITOR

FOUR French soldiers who served in Kosovo have joined the growing list of Nato veterans who have been found to have leukaemia, with a possible link to radioactive dust from American-fired depleted uranium shells.  The French Defence Ministry announced yesterday that the four were being treated in a military hospital and their health was “satisfactory”.

A number of Nato countries are now checking the health of soldiers who served in either Bosnia or Kosovo. Depleted uranium shells were fired in both operations, although there is no evidence linking illnesses, such as leukaemia, to the use of these weapons.

The countries now carrying out investigations or calling for a Nato inquiry into the suspected depleted uranium connection are Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Finland, Turkey, Greece, Belgium and The Netherlands.

However, the Turkish general staff said yesterday that none of its soldiers had been affected by radiation in Kosovo. Most of the depleted uranium shells had been dropped in northern Kosovo, and Turkish troops had been assigned to the southern section. But “17 spots” affected by depleted uranium had been marked and closed to civilians and military in southern Kosovo, the general staff said in a statement.

Germany said there was no evidence that its troops who had served in the Balkans were suffering from illnesses related to depleted uranium.

The Ministry of Defence in London, which has not joined in calls for an investigation, said neither the Balkans unit at the ministry nor the claims unit had received any inquiries from Bosnia and Kosovo veterans alleging ill health due to their service in the region.

However, Larry Cammock, chairman of the Gulf Veterans Association, said the Newcastle branch had been visited by half a dozen serving soldiers who had been deployed as peacekeepers in Kosovo and complained of a range of illnesses. He said: “The illnesses they were suffering from could have been related to depleted uranium poisoning but it’s not at all clear.” None of the six serving soldiers who were seen by the association was suffering from leukaemia.

Alain Richard, the French Defence Minister, has asked for tests to be carried out on the four soldiers now in hospital to determine whether they were exposed to radiation that might have caused leukaemia. However, medical experts said leukaemia would not normally become evident until ten years after exposure.

The Greek Defence Ministry said an army sergeant who had served in Bosnia had been ill with leukaemia since last August. The ministry carefully avoided linking the case with concern over any “Balkans illness”. Tests on 20 Greek military personnel and journalists who worked in Kosovo found no sign of ailments that could have been caused by depleted uranium. Greece is planning to screen 1,000 of its soldiers stationed in Kosovo.

In The Netherlands, the Defence Ministry said two soldiers were known to have died from leukaemia. One had been based in Bosnia and the other in Kosovo.

Nato has agreed to discuss the issue and to provide more information about depleted uranium shells, following pressure from Italy which has reported the death of six Balkans veterans from leukaemia.