The testing of Australian troops for health problems related to their service in the Balkans has been expanded to more than 1800 Gulf War veterans.

The Australian Government yesterday announced details of the tests for 216 Balkans veterans, who will be contacted this week amid international concerns about the health effects of depleted uranium-tipped weapons used by NATO forces in Kosovo. But Veterans Affairs Minister Bruce Scott also revealed that the testing would be extended to 1862 veterans of the Gulf War.

In both conflicts, NATO forces used tank-warfare weapons tipped with depleted uranium - a heavy metal by-product of nuclear fission and prized in munitions production for its denseness.

An international debate is raging about the dangers of exposure to depleted uranium weapons, with more than 20 deaths among European veterans of the conflict blamed on the so-called "Balkan syndrome" caused by proximity to explosions of the weapons. The Australian Defence Force has not used the weapons since the mid-1980s, but it is believed more than 30,000 rounds were fired during the 1999 Kosovo conflict, in which Australia was part of a joint NATO-coordinated operation.

A spokesman for Mr Scott said the international claims of depleted uranium damage were concerned largely with the Balkan conflict, but the testing had been expanded to cover Gulf War veterans "for thoroughness".

"The vast majority of our Gulf War veterans were serving on ships and therefore the risk of exposure to depleted uranium for them will be non-existent," he said.

"But, because in the Gulf War it is known that stocks of depleted uranium were used, we've just got to be thorough and ensure that we give these men and women absolute confidence that we're doing everything to protect their health and welfare."

The Australian Government's advice is that soldiers would need to be close to
an explosion or have entered destroyed tanks without breathing gear to be in any danger from the effects of depleted uranium.

The 216 Balkan veterans will be sent a questionnaire asking where they served, whether they inspected destroyed vehicles and whether they inhaled dust after an explosion.

Labor's spokesman on defence science and personnel, Laurie Ferguson, yesterday said Australian troops should not be sent into conflict situations where weapons not sanctioned by Australia were known to be in use.

He said there was no use in Australia deciding not to use the weapons, then sending them to become part of campaigns where Australian allies were using them.

"This country stopped using depleted uranium munitions in the 1980s," he said.

"There are going to be more and more joint actions with the United Nations - if we're just going to be a minor figure in those and not know what our people are getting into, then that's just not good enough."