The United Nations, with NATO help, has started to place markers at sites where depleted uranium ammunition was used to warn the local population of possible health risks, UN spokesperson Fred Eckhard said yesterday (Agence France-Presse/Singapore Straits Times, 12 Jan). The signs are captioned, "Caution -- Area May Contain Residual Heavy Metal Toxicity -- Entry Not Advised" (UN Mission In Kosovo/ReliefWeb, 11 Jan).

A UN Environment Program team that checked for signs of depleted uranium radiation in Kosovo reported that a November survey showed many sites could be contaminated and that local people had appeared unaware of the possible risks during visits to the area.

Local residents had apparently not been warned of the possible risks, said Pekka Haavisto, the head of the UN team checking the sites for radiation. "It was a little bit disturbing, an uncomfortable feeling that people were just living their normal lives in the middle of all this mess after the war," Haavisto said. "Some of these sites were near villages or in the middle of villages. Cows were there, children were there" (Naomi Koppel, Associated Press/Nando.net, 11 Jan). He said none of the 11 western Kosovo sites had been marked or cleared at the time, and that advice on dealing with depleted uranium sites was given to troops in NATO's Kosovo peacekeeping force but apparently not to civilians (Williams/Guzelova, Financial Times, 12 Jan).

At eight of the 11 sites checked, the UNEP team found either slightly above normal amounts of radiation near holes made by depleted uranium ammunition or pieces of ammunition, Haavisto said. At the three other sites, no signs of increased radioactivity or depleted uranium ammunition remnants were found (UNEP release, 11 Jan).

More sites must be checked before any valid conclusions can be made, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency, which participated with the UNEP in conducting the Kosovo surveys. "The level of research carried out so far is not yet sufficient to warrant a scientific conclusion," said IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei. More cooperation and information is needed from NATO, he said (BBC Online, 11 Jan). (Back to Contents)