***************************************************************** 01/10/01 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 9.9 ***************************************************************** RADBULL IS PRODUCED BY THE ABALONE ALLIANCE CLEARINGHOUSE ***************************************************************** NUCLEAR POWER CONTENTS 1 New voice in Yucca fight 2 Tests confirm beryllium sensitivity in 10 former Honeywell 3 Meeting for former IAAP workers Wednesday 4 Report revisits risk of storing nuclear fuel 5 REPORT WILL LOOK AT RISKS OF STORING SPENT FUEL AT OFFLINE NUCLEAR 6 Joining of nuke lawsuits requested 7 Mayor threatens to sue DOE over nuke shipments 8 NUKES SURPASSES COAL-FIRED GENERATION AS LOW-COST PRODUCER 9 New Type of Nuclear Decay Demonstrated 10 Nuke Waste Ship Could Find Greenpeace in Its Wake 11 GREENPEACE TO SEND SEARCH PARTY FOR "SECRET" NUCLEAR SHIPMENT 12 Energy Department Releases Study of Radiation at the Paducah Site 13 Contractual problems further delay nuclear reactor project in North 14 Dounreay delay fuels election query 15 Cancer risk from private wells in radon areas 16 Norway criticises UK over continued pollution from Sellafield 17 Richardson commits to finding ways to dispose of nuke waste 18 Ten former Honeywell workers test sensitive to beryllium NUCLEAR WEAPONS CONTENTS 1 Opinion: Omission of PACE Union from article inexplicable 2 Doc still fighting for FFTF restart 3 Pasco pledges to back legal fight for FFTF 4 Business: Doe reports safety violation at Rocky Flats plant 5 Fernald sees help in subcontracting 6 METAL OF DISHONOR 7 U.S., Britain Reject Calls to Halt Use of Depleted-Uranium Arms 8 GROUP PLANS DEMONSTRATION AT MASS. URANIUM SHELL PLANT 9 U.S. Allies Worry About 'Balkans Syndrome' 10 Test Ban Backers Face Uphill Battle 11 Test Ban Backers Face Uphill Battle 12 $30B Sought To Secure Russian Nukes 13 Burning Russian plutonium risk-free, says Canadian Association of 14 Military to track Gulf vets' illnesses 15 RESOLUTION FOR A DAY OF REMEMBRANCE ON THE ˙FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 16 Defence to identify personnel who served in Balkans 17 Diggers may have exposure to Balkans carcinogens 18 NZ to investigate if troops were exposed to depleted uranium 19 Harming Both Others and Self 20 Li Peng arrives in India aiming to mend relations after nuclear rift 21 THE COMPREHENSIVE EMBARGO IMPOSED ON IRAQ FOR ALMOST 10 YEARS HAS 22 Nominee for DOE draws little response 23 Ill Belgian Soldier Wants Answers 24 Italy's 'Balkan' Death Toll at 7 25 NATO Devises Uranium Action Plan 26 Denmark, Sweden await EU, NATO meetings on leukemia issue 27 Germany to Stop Deploying Depleted Uranium Ammunition 28 NATO Will Keep Uranium Arms, Help Research 29 Europe to Investigate Uranium- Tipped Arms 30 UK Offers Soldiers Uranium Screening 31 Opinion - Guest column: Human guinea pigs? How dare they? 32 KOUCHNER VISITS DEPLETED URANIUM SITE IN KOSOVO 33 Screening for Irish troops 34 Uranium ammo fears grow after U-turn over tests 35 Depleted uranium 'to keep its place in Britain's arsenal' 36 Nato plays down DU health risk 37 DEPLETED URANIUM: THE HEALTH FEARS 38 Fury at uranium cancer denial 39 The military uses of DU 40 Nato seeks to calm DU fears 41 DU hits the euro media bigtime! 42 Papers enter the uranium debate 43 UN holds back on uranium warnings 44 Nato pledges to investigate use of 'safe' weapons 45 Gulf veterans left in cold 46 Armed forces minister's statement on depleted uranium 47 Bosnia soldier 'reduced to nothing' 48 NATO TO STUDY EFFECTS OF DEPLETED URANIUM 49 URANIUM CHECKS 'ARE INADEQUATE' 50 Europe orders own tests on dangers of uranium-tipped shells 51 NATO won't end use of uranium shells 52 NATO, EU focus on depleted uranium 53 BRITAIN JOINS SKEPTICS ON SAFETY OF MUNITIONS 54 Journalist says she suffers 'Gulf syndrome' 55 Ukraine calls for ban on depleted-uranium weapons 56 Russia's troops free of Balkans syndrome 57 Ivanov calls for NATO investigation 58 NATO Under Fire for Use of Uranium 59 Russia accuses West over uranium - 60 DU weapons are dangerous to use, Russian nuclear ministry 61 Part of Russian KFOR contingent examined for radiation diseases 62 Soviet Union Did not Have Depleted Uranium Weapons 63 Kazakhstan to Increase Uranium Production 64 Iraq Demands U.S., British Compensations for Depleted Uranium **************************************************************** ***************************************************************** NUCLEAR POWER ARTICLES ***************************************************************** 1 New voice in Yucca fight Today: January 10, 2001 at 16:01:59 PST LV Chamber of Commerce may take official stance BY JEFF GERMAN LAS VEGAS SUN Copyright 2000 Las Vegas Sun The Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce will consider for the first time formally opposing the storage of high level nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, the Sun has learned. The 6,500-member organization of local businesses has stayed out of the fight for two decades. But the battle has intensified in recent weeks amid a federal investigation into alleged bias on the part of the Energy Department and its chief Yucca Mountain contractor in the site-selection process. "Obviously, stopping nuclear waste is important to the community, " chamber President Pat Shalmy said Tuesday. "With the changes that have taken place in Washington, it seems to be a hot topic again." Shalmy said the chamber's 25-member board will vote on a Yucca resolution at its Jan. 31 meeting. A similar resolution was passed by the chamber's ally in the casino industry, the Nevada Resort Association, in September 1991. A lively discussion of Yucca Mountain surfaced at a chamber retreat attended by Shalmy last weekend. As a result, Shalmy said, he asked board member Phil Peckman, chief operating officer of the Greenspun Corp., owned by the Greenspun family, who also own the Sun to introduce the resolution at the next board meeting. Peckman said storing deadly nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, could result in an economic disaster for the community. "We (the chamber) need to be opposed to the dump, and I hope we will be," Peckman said. Shalmy said the timing is right for the chamber to take its first public stance against the Yucca Mountain project. The DOE has been accused of bias in favor of the project, as the agency gears up to decide whether to recommend the Nevada site to President-elect George W. Bush. Yucca Mountain is the only site under study to accept 77,000 tons of deadly radioactive waste from nuclear plants around the country. A team of investigators from the DOE's inspector general office are expected in Las Vegas next month to probe whether federal laws were broken during the site-selection process. The DOE is prohibited from taking sides in the process, but documents obtained by the Sun last month showed the agency might have been collaborating behind the scenes with the nuclear industry to promote Yucca Mountain to Congress. Sun stories on the DOE's alleged bias prompted prominent chamber member Stephen Cloobeck to organize a communitywide campaign against the dump. Cloobeck, president and chief executive of Diamond Resorts International, a company that runs several time-sharing condominium projects on the Strip, has arranged a public meeting at 1 p.m. Thursday at the Clark County Commission chambers to discuss the campaign. Cloobeck said Las Vegas stands to lose billions of dollars if a nuclear accident were to occur along the routes leading to Yucca Mountain. Those routes travel through the heart of city. Cloobeck welcomed the Chamber of Commerce into the fight. "That's absolutely fantastic," he said. "It's nice to see them stepping up." Gov. Kenny Guinn, who is supporting Cloobeck's effort, said he was pleased to hear about the chamber's resolution. "I think the more people we can get involved, the better it is for us," Guinn told the Sun this morning. "This is a good step for them to take." Bob Loux, executive director of the Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects, the state's Yucca Mountain watchdog, also praised the chamber's action. "I think it's a tremendous boost in the fight," he said. "The opposition really seems to be materializing." Having the chamber in the battle will help the state raise money from private funds to spread its message of opposition around the country, Guinn said. "What this will do is help us get more financial support from the business people," he said. "We need that kind of support so that we can gain financial strength." Guinn said the state of Utah now has become an ally in Nevada's fight against a repository at Yucca Mountain. Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt has proposed creating a state office similar to Nevada's nuclear projects agency to oppose the storing of nuclear waste in his state, Guinn said. Leavitt, Guinn said, also is concerned that high-level nuclear waste headed for Yucca Mountain is slated to come through Salt Lake City. Guinn said he talked with Leavitt over the weekend about coming up with a joint strategy to fight nuclear waste. The two Republican governors chatted during a visit to Bush's Texas ranch. ALL CONTENTS COPYRIGHT 2001 LAS VEGAS SUN, INC. ***************************************************************** 2 Tests confirm beryllium sensitivity in 10 former Honeywell workers postnet.com | News | GOOD EVENING, ST. LOUIS | Posted: Tuesday, January 9, 2001 | 1:24 p.m. KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) --Ten former workers at a Honeywell International plant have been found to be sensitive to beryllium, while 57 others are waiting for more results after their tests came back positive or inconclusive. Of the plant's 2,850 current employees, 268 have asked to be tested. Plant officials reported that eight had ``beryllium sensitization, '' which can develop into chronic beryllium disease, an illness that causes scarring in the lungs and affects breathing. The Kansas City plant is one of 26 plants nationwide cited by the Department of Energy as a possible source of beryllium-related illness. The department discovered the contamination last year during testing required under new regulations. Exposure occurs by breathing beryllium mist, dust or fumes. Symptoms vary but include shortness of breath, coughing, chest pain and weight loss. ``While it is not a curable disease, it is a treatable disease,'' said Donna Cragle, an Oak Ridge, Tenn., researcher who heads the testing program for former workers. Beryllium, a naturally occurring metal often used to strengthen copper, has been used for decades at the Kansas City plant. The plant, which is owned by the Department of Energy but operated by Honeywell International, manufactures triggers and other precision parts for nuclear weapons. More than 6,400 letters were sent to former workers urging them to undergo testing. Nearly 2,000 asked for screening and, as of December, 652 persons were tested. At a public meeting Monday, plant officials said those most at risk processed the metal into beryllium-copper alloy. Those include former machinists, model makers, welders, laborers and equipment repairers. Other employees including supervisors, process engineers, auditors, security guards, planners and waste/fire personnel might have been indirectly exposed, said Chris Gentile, the plant's director of environmental health and safety. Officials said the plant had never had a confirmed case of chronic beryllium disease. Only five labs in the country test for beryllium sensitivity, so the progress would be slow, Cragle said. Compensation is available for those diagnosed with chronic beryllium disease or workers who were beryllium-sensitized at Department of Energy sites. A statute passed last year provides for lump-sum payment of $150,000 for disability and full medical coverage for chronic beryllium disease-related illnesses. AP-CS-01-09-01 1351EST ***************************************************************** 3 Meeting for former IAAP workers Wednesday The Hawk Eye Newspaper Iowa Time: 11:58 PM The Hawk Eye MIDDLETOWN--Former nuclear weapons workers at the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant are encouraged to share health information Wednesday at the first of two public meetings with researchers from the University of Iowa. Wednesday's meeting will be from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Union Hall, 16452 U.S. 34. A second meeting, co-sponsored by the Iowa Alumni Association, will be from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Jan. 24 at Memorial Auditorium in Burlington. The U.S. Department of Energy has asked Iowa's College of Public Health to evaluate the long-range health condition of former nuclear weapons workers who may be at risk for health problems because of their employment at the IAAP. Laurence Fuortes, M.D., associate professor of occupational and environmental health and director of the Burlington Atomic Energy Commission Plant Former Worker Program, and colleagues want to identify all employees who worked on Line 1 between 1947 and 1975. Researchers will evaluate substances and occupational hazards plant workers were exposed to during the production of atomic weapons at Middletown. Based upon that information, they intend to develop a plan, based on the results of discussions and questionnaires, for possible further medical screening. Fuortes will discuss participants' eligibility and how the project might benefit former workers and their families. The Hawk Eye 800 S. Main St., Burlington Iowa 52601 319-754-8461 Front Desk ł 319-754-6824 FAX ł 1-800-397- 1708 Toll Free ***************************************************************** 4 Report revisits risk of storing nuclear fuel WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2001 BY MEREDITH GOAD AND SUSAN RAYFIELD, PORTLAND PRESS HERALD WRITERS WISCASSET - A NEW REPORT FROM THE U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WILL EXAMINE THE RISKS OF STORING SPENT FUEL AT OFFLINE NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS SUCH AS MAINE YANKEE, WHERE FUEL RODS NOW SIT UNDER WATER IN A POOL. THE REPORT, WHICH MAY BE RELEASED LATER THIS WEEK, COULD RAISE NEW QUESTIONS ABOUT THE RADIATION DANGERS POSED DURING A CATASTROPHIC EVENT SUCH AS AN EARTHQUAKE OR TERRORIST ATTACK AT DECOMMISSIONED PLANTS. ALTHOUGH THERE IS MUCH SPECULATION ABOUT WHAT THE REPORT SAYS, ITS EXACT CONTENTS ARE STILL UNCLEAR. "I JUST CAN'T COMMENT ON A REPORT THAT'S NOT BEEN RELEASED YET," SAID VICTOR L. DRICKS, AN NRC SPOKESMAN IN WASHINGTON, D.C. THE COMMISSION HAS BEEN WORKING WITH THE NUCLEAR POWER INDUSTRY ON THE ISSUE OF SPENT FUEL STORAGE FOR THE PAST YEAR AND A HALF. THE NRC BEGAN THE NEW RISK ASSESSMENT AFTER MAINE YANKEE ASKED FOR AND RECEIVED PERMISSION TO REDUCE ITS OFF-SITE EMERGENCY PLANNING. MAINE YANKEE ARGUED THAT ANY CREDIBLE ACCIDENT SCENARIO WOULD NOT RESULT IN A SIGNIFICANT HEALTH RISK TO THE PUBLIC, AND THE FEDERAL AGENCY AGREED. ANTI-NUCLEAR ACTIVISTS AND STATE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS OPPOSED THE PLAN TO ELIMINATE EMERGENCY EVACUATION DRILLS AND SIRENS IN NEIGHBORING COMMUNITIES TO WARN THE PUBLIC OF ACCIDENTS AT THE PLANT. NOW, A NUCLEAR ENGINEER WITH THE UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS, A LONGTIME CRITIC OF NUCLEAR POWER, SAYS THE NEW COMMISSION REPORT WILL CONCLUDE THAT, IN THE EVENT OF A CATASTROPHE, SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL RODS POSE A GREATER PUBLIC HEALTH RISK THAN PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT. DAVID LOCHBAUM SAID THAT UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS, SUCH AS AN EARTHQUAKE OR SABOTAGE BY A TERRORIST GROUP, SPENT FUEL POOLS COULD RELEASE MORE RADIATION THAN EXPECTED. "IT MAY BE THAT SOME ADDITIONAL SECURITY IS REQUIRED AROUND PLANTS, AND IT MAY BE THAT SOME PLANTS ARE OK TODAY," HE SAID. "THE FIRST STEP IN THAT IS TO KNOW WHAT THE DANGER IS, AND I THINK THIS REPORT TELLS US THAT." LOCHBAUM SAID HE HAS NOT READ THE REPORT HIMSELF, BUT HAS SPOKEN WITH COMMISSION STAFF ABOUT IT AND PARTICIPATED IN DISCUSSIONS OF ITS CONTENTS. IF HE IS CORRECT REGARDING THE REPORT'S CONCLUSIONS, IT RAISES THE QUESTION OF WHETHER SOME OFF-SITE SECURITY MEASURES AT MAINE YANKEE MIGHT HAVE TO BE RESTORED. KRIS CHRISTINE, AN ANTI-NUCLEAR ACTIVIST WHO LIVES IN ALNA, SAID IT WAS "OUTRAGEOUS" THAT THE COMMISSION ALLOWED MAINE YANKEE TO DROP ITS OFF-SITE EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS IN THE FIRST PLACE. "NO LONGER DO FIRE DEPARTMENTS AND EMERGENCY CREWS PRACTICE DRILLS IN THE EVENT OF A RADIOLOGICAL EMERGENCY," SHE SAID. "NOW ALL OF A SUDDEN WE'RE FINDING THAT SPENT FUEL POSES MORE OF A RISK THAN PREVIOUSLY BELIEVED. . . . IT'S SO INFURIATING WHEN YOU HAVE A FAMILY AND YOU'RE CONCERNED ABOUT THEIR WELFARE." ERIC HOWES, A MAINE YANKEE SPOKESMAN, WOULD NOT COMMENT ON THE REPORT. "WE HAVEN'T SEEN IT, SO IT'S NOT FAIR FOR US TO SPECULATE ON WHAT MIGHT BE IN IT," HE SAID. STAFF WRITER MEREDITH GOAD CAN BE CONTACTED AT 791-6332 OR AT: MGOAD@PRESSHERALD.COM STAFF WRITER SUSAN RAYFIELD CAN BE CONTACTED AT 725-8795 OR AT: JANUARY 28, 2001 11AM-3PM, MARRIOTT HOTEL IN SOUTH PORTLAND ***************************************************************** 5 REPORT WILL LOOK AT RISKS OF STORING SPENT FUEL AT OFFLINE NUCLEAR PLANTS BY ASSOCIATED PRESS, 1/10/2001 02:16 WISCASSET, Maine (AP) Maine Yankee and anti-nuclear activists are awaiting a Nuclear Regulatory Commission report on the risks of storing spent fuel at nuclear power plants that have been taken off line. The report could raise new questions about radiation dangers posed during a catastrophic event such as an earthquake or terrorist attack at decommissioned plants. The NRC has been working with the nuclear power industry for the past year and a half on the issue of spent fuel storage at offline plants such as Maine Yankee, where fuel rods now sit underwater in a pool. The report could be released later this week. Despite much speculation, its contents are unclear. ''I just can't comment on a report that's not been released yet,'' said Victor L. Dricks, an NRC spokesman in Washington, D.C. The NRC began the new risk assessment after Maine Yankee obtained permission to reduce its off-site emergency planning. The agency agreed with Maine Yankee that any credible accident scenario would not result in a significant health risk to the public. Anti-nuclear activists and state emergency management officials opposed the plan to eliminate emergency evacuation drills and sirens in neighboring communities to warn the public of accidents at the plant. Eric Howes, a Maine Yankee spokesman, would not comment on the new report. ''We haven't seen it, so it's not fair for us to speculate on what might be in it,'' he said. But David Lochbaum, a nuclear engineer with the Union of Concerned Scientists and a longtime critic of nuclear power, says the report will conclude that, in the event of a catastrophe, spent nuclear fuel rods pose a greater public health risk than previously thought. ''It may be that some additional security is required around plants, and it may be that some plants are OK today,'' Lochbaum said. ''The first step in that is to know what the danger is, and I think this report tells us that.'' Lochbaum said he has not read the report himself, but has spoken with NRC staff about it and participated in discussions of its contents. Kris Christine, an anti-nuclear activist who lives in Alna, said it was ''outrageous'' that the NRC allowed Maine Yankee to drop its off-site emergency preparedness in the first place. ''No longer do fire departments and emergency crews practice drills in the event of a radiological emergency,'' she said. ''Now all of sudden we're finding that spent fuel poses more of a risk than previously believed. . . . It's so infuriating when you have a family and you're concerned about their welfare'' Boston Globe Online: ***************************************************************** 6 Joining of nuke lawsuits requested Today: January 10, 2001 at 16:02:14 PST BY MARY MANNING LAS VEGAS SUN The Department of Energy has asked a federal court to combine 14 nuclear waste storage lawsuits brought by electrical utilities so that a single judge can hear the case. The current cases are divided among 10 judges who will hear the nuclear utilities' claims for damages after the DOE failed to remove radioactive wastes from nuclear power plants in January 1998, as planned. But the DOE has not finalized a site, let alone built a repository to bury 77,000 tons of nuclear wastes. Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, is the only site under study. Nuclear storage at Yucca, if it is found to be a scientifically acceptable site, would not begin until 2010. The Yucca Mountain project is being investigated by both the DOE's inspector general's office and the General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress, after the Sun obtained internal DOE documents revealing a bias by the agency in favor of the nuclear industry in creating a repository at Yucca. By law the DOE is supposed to be neutral. The DOE filed its motion for consolidation with the U.S. Court of Federal Claims on Monday. The latest motion is another step in the lengthy legal battle waged by nuclear power plants to force the DOE to remove more than 40,000 tons of spent fuel stored at more than 100 nuclear reactor sites nationwide. Federal courts have decided in the past year that the DOE failed to accept wastes under contracts sealed when the Nuclear Waste Policy Act was signed by President Ronald Reagan in 1987. The DOE offered to take liability for the wastes at reactor sites in 1999, but the industry refused the offer. In August the federal Court of Appeals rejected the DOE's argument that utility complaints could be addressed through an administrative process, a lengthy procedure by the DOE. The court invited all nuclear utilities to pursue damage claims in court. The nuclear industry has estimated the government's total liability could reach $50 billion or more, but the DOE maintains its financial responsibility is much less. If all the claims are combined before a single judge, a trial would result to set damages. ALL CONTENTS COPYRIGHT 2001 LAS VEGAS SUN, INC. ***************************************************************** 7 Mayor threatens to sue DOE over nuke shipments Today: January 10, 2001 at 16:02:11 PST BY ERIN NEFF LAS VEGAS SUN Calling the agency's actions criminal, Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman said Tuesday the city may sue the Energy Department to keep nuclear waste from coming to Yucca Mountain. In his strongest show of opposition yet to the proposed high-level nuclear waste dump 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, Goodman said his tour of the mountain left him without answers he needs to protect the city's residents. "The mission of this council is to protect the health and safety of our residents," Goodman said during his State of the City address Tuesday evening at City Hall. "We owe our constituents the best thinking," he said, as he opened his remarks with the Yucca Mountain issue. He said it is now time to "think outside of the box." "I have instructed our city attorney to evaluate the filing of a lawsuit whereby the city of Las Vegas would enjoin the Department of Energy from recommending Yucca Mountain as the nation's high-level waste dump," Goodman said. The City Council is expected to ratify Goodman's call for a legal evaluation at an upcoming meeting. After the speech, City Attorney Brad Jerbic said he will discuss the city's potential case with other governmental entities and legal representatives statewide before determining an exact cause of action. "The mayor has identified the core of our charter as protecting citizens, " Jerbic said. "The shipments of high-level nuclear waste obviously put that in jeopardy." Although Jerbic declined to comment specifically on the city's possible actions, other attorneys suspect there are several ways a lawsuit could enjoin the DOE. A 10th amendment suit could argue the state of Nevada's rights were abused by the federal government when Yucca was first identified as an interim storage facility. Another possibility is examining potential criminal wrongdoing with respect to the way Yucca was selected, some say. A team of investigators from the DOE's inspector general are expected in Las Vegas next month to probe whether federal laws were broken during the agency's site selection process. The DOE is prohibited from taking sides in the process, but documents obtained by the Sun and published in a copyrighted story last month showed the agency might have been collaborating behind the scenes with the nuclear industry to promote Yucca Mountain with Congress. A decision on a recommendation of the Yucca site has been put on hold until the investigation is completed. When Goodman toured Yucca Mountain, shortly after taking office, he questioned how the volcanic make-up of the site and the earthquake fault running through it could allow Yucca to safely serve as a nuclear waste repository. "The two representatives (of the DOE) could not tell us that it was safe," Goodman said. Thus he believes, "It's conceivable that what's taking place could be comparable to a crime." After the speech, Congresswoman Shelley Berkley, D-Nevada, said she was thrilled by Goodman's strong rhetoric. "I am in full agreement with him," Berkley said. "Anything we can do to stop or delay or draw attention to the storage of high-level waste at Yucca Mountain is important," Berkley said. "We both agree that this has criminal aspects that need to be explored." ALL CONTENTS COPYRIGHT 2001 LAS VEGAS SUN, INC. ***************************************************************** 8 NUKES SURPASSES COAL-FIRED GENERATION AS LOW-COST PRODUCER Power Online News for power industry professionals According to McGraw-Hill’s Utility Data Institute (UDI), production costs at U.S. nuclear power plants are the lowest of any major reliable electricity source, including coal. This marks the first time in more than a decade that nuclear power has even come close to fulfilling the dreams of its proponents—electricity too cheap to meter. In 1999, production costs, including fuel and operations and maintenance, at nuclear power plants averaged 1.83 cents per kWh. By comparison, coal came in at 2.07 cents per kWh, oil-fired plants at 3.18 cents per kWh, and natural gas plants at 3.52 cents per kWh. In 1998, average production costs for coal-fired plants were 2.07 cents per kWh, with nuclear energy plants at 2.13 cents per kWh, oil-fired units at 3.24 cents per kWh and natural gas plants at 3.3 cents per kWh, according to Washington-based UDI. UDI takes its data directly from the Form 1 filings that utilities send annually to the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The past year’s spikes in oil and natural gas prices aren’t yet reflected in the full-year data available from UDI. “At a time when the eyes of the nation are on energy prices, nuclear power’s re-emergence as the low production-cost leader is a reminder that the United States needs a diverse energy portfolio that relies on nuclear energy,” said Marvin Fertel, Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) senior vice president. “Electricity consumers of all kinds, as well as state and federal lawmakers, should take notice that nuclear power plants provide tremendous value-economically, environmentally and with regard to reliability, energy security and stable electricity price,” Fertel said. “Nuclear energy is unmatched among large-scale electricity sources capable of producing electricity 24 hours a day, seven days a week.” Average production costs at nuclear power plants haven’t been lower than those for coal-fired plants since the mid-1980s, when safety improvements initiated across the industry caused the nuclear industry to lose the production-cost advantage that it held for years. Although production costs don’t represent the complete cost of electricity at nuclear power plants, Fertel said low production costs position these facilities to thrive in a competitive electricity marketplace even after capital costs, property taxes and other expenses are added. “Assuming electricity markets average between 2.5 and 3 cents per kWh on a total cost basis, U.S. nuclear power plants already are very competitive,” Fertel said. “They are operating at record levels of safety and reliability.” “They are stabilizing the electrical grid and helping to avert brownouts and blackouts,” he said. “And they are doing so economically and without emitting any pollutants into the atmosphere. Consumers, the environment and our nation’s economy are all the better for it.” NEI is the nuclear energy industry’s Washington-based policy organization. For more information, visit www.nei.org. By April C. Murelio, Managing Editor, Power Online ***************************************************************** 9 New Type of Nuclear Decay Demonstrated inScight - 9 January 2001: Physicists predicted democracy--in atomic decay--but researchers have caught neon atoms doing something that might turn out to be very undemocratic. If they are correct, they will have discovered a new form of nuclear decay, and given scientists a powerful way of investigating the structure of the nucleus. Radioactive nuclei are unstable by nature, and they perform all kinds of tricks to settle down. For instance, they might spit out a helium nucleus (also known as an alpha particle) or a proton. In some cases, a nucleus may wish to spit out two protons. There are several ways physicists imagine this can happen. The nucleus can emit a single proton and then a second in rapid succession, or it can emit them both at the same time--a process dubbed "democratic decay" by the Soviet theorists who predicted it. Strangest of all, it ought to be able to spit out a bound packet of two protons--essentially a helium-2 nucleus, which is never spotted in nature. The helium-2 nucleus then splits into two separate protons. To try to demonstrate that helium-2 decay can exist, physicist Alfredo Galindo-Uribarri of Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee and colleagues smashed a stream of fluorine-17 into a hydrogen-rich target. When a fluorine atom hit a hydrogen (which is just a proton) hard enough, the fluorine-17 became neon-18--the nucleus the researchers were hoping to study. Neon-18 cannot emit one proton at a time, because it's forbidden by quantum theory. But it can lose two protons at a time. Thus, neon-18 must decay either via democratic decay or by emitting a helium-2, the team reports in the 1 January issue of Physical Review Letters. "I think the result is really quite exciting," says Philip Woods, a nuclear physicist at the University of Edinburgh, particularly because the data suggest that the helium-2 decay is going on, rather than democratic decay. If the results hold up, "... it would allow us, in theory, to understand better phenomena within the nucleus, " says Bertram Blank of the Center for Nuclear Studies in Bordeaux- Gradignan, France, including how protons inside the nucleus pair up. --CHARLES SEIFE c 2000 The American Association for the Advancement of Science ***************************************************************** 10 Nuke Waste Ship Could Find Greenpeace in Its Wake Environment News Service: BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA, January 9, 2001 (ENS) - The environmental group Greenpeace is dispatching a ship from the Argentinian port of Ushuaia to track down a nuclear waste shipment sailing from France to Japan. The group says the 192 blocks of high level waste on board the British- flagged freighter Pacific Swan contains an estimated 96 million curies of radioactivity. This, it claims, makes the vessel the largest high level nuclear waste shipment to have ever sailed. One of eight casks containing vitrified nuclear residues being loaded on board the Pacific Swan last month. (Photo courtesy Greenpeace/ Gleizes) The Pacific Swan left Cherbourg, France, December 19 bound for Mutsu Ogawara, Japan via Cape Horn. In Japan, the reprocessed nuclear waste is expected to be transported to a storage facility at the Rokkasho Mura nuclear site where Japan is building its own plutonium reprocessing facility. The waste is a byproduct of plutonium separation from Japanese irradiated nuclear fuel at a reprocessing plant operated by French company Cogema. Once recovered, plutonium can be reused in commercial nuclear reactors in the form of mixed oxide (MOX) fuel. Japan currently depends on foreign sources for more than 80 percent of its energy needs. Four years ago, the country embarked on a long- term program to develop its nuclear energy industry. Integral to this plan is the recycling of spent nuclear fuel into MOX fuel. MOX is part of the nuclear fuel cycle. A nuclear reactor uses enriched uranium fuel to produce heat, which in turn generates electricity. Plutonium is naturally produced within the reactor. Used nuclear fuel can then either be disposed of as waste or recycled. By separating the three percent of waste from the usable uranium and plutonium, 97 percent of nuclear fuel can be recycled. MOX fuel is manufactured by blending uranium and plutonium powders to include three to 10 percent plutonium. The powder is mixed with a lubricant and pressed into cylindrical pellets, which are baked and then housed in zirconium alloy tubes before being placed in steel casks for transport. Up to 20 more shipments are expected between Europe and Japan over the next decade. (Photo courtesy Greenpeace/Gleizes) Overall, 16 to 18 Japanese reactors will be loaded with MOX fuel by 2010, which means up to 20 more shipments between Europe and Japan will be necessary. Martin Prieto, of Greenpeace Argentina, called the Pacific Swan "a floating Chernobyl." "It is a dangerous and totally unnecessary shipment," said Prieto. "We do not want it in our waters, and British Nuclear Fuels cannot claim to be making innocent passage with such a lethal cargo." British Nuclear Fuels Limited (BNFL) is a shareholder in Pacific Nuclear Transport Limited (PNTL), which owns Pacific Swan. The vessel began its journey from Barrow in Furness, northwest England, before loading its cargo at Cherbourg. Greenpeace believes the vessel is likely to sail through Argentina and Chile's 200 mile (322 kilometer) exclusive economic zone (EEZ). While all four of the coastal Latin American countries along the route have condemned the shipment, Chile has gone furthest by stating that the ship should not enter Chile's EEZ. "Japan, France and the UK are ignoring the will of Latin American states that clearly expressed their opposition to the shipment," said Prieto. "If the governments of Argentina and Chile don't send a clear message of opposition to the use of the Cape Horn route and take strong measures to avoid the use of their EEZs, they will be opening up a nuclear highway for this and future shipments. Tokyo Electric's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. (Photo courtesy www.moxfuel.com) "The release of even a small fraction of this cargo could lead to an environmental and public health catastrophe. To send such a dangerous cargo along the South American coast and through such notorious waters as those that surround Cape Horn, where many ships have foundered, shows a total disregard for global safety, in a shameless pursuit of profit," added Prieto. Greenpeace claims that the Pacific Swan is carrying the most radioactive material ever produced. "A person standing within one meter of an unshielded block would receive a lethal dose of radiation in less than one minute," says a Greenpeace statement. "If released into the environment, it would be a deadly environmental pollutant for hundreds of thousands of years." A dedicated web site set up by BNFL and Cogema to explain the need for such shipments argues that there is "no plausible way for the cargo carried on PNTL's vessels becoming exposed to the environment." Map showing the potential transport routes for nuclear waste between Europe and Japan. (Map courtesy Greenpeace) In addition to assessments performed by the International Atomic Energy Agency and other agencies, the U.S. government's Sandia National Laboratories independently analyzed a range of scenarios at sea, says the site at www.moxfuel.com. An environmental impact assessment was undertaken by discounting the sealing capacity of a cask on the seabed at a depth of 200 meters. "The result of the assessment is an impact on local residents thousands of times smaller than the exposure levels a person receives from a single medical X-ray examination - or one millionth of natural background radiation levels," says the site. "The analysis shows that the impact on the environment is even smaller in deeper water," it adds. ***************************************************************** 11 GREENPEACE TO SEND SEARCH PARTY FOR "SECRET" NUCLEAR SHIPMENT 9 January 2001 Buenos Aires, Argentina - Greenpeace will send a search party into one of the most inhospitable oceans in the world to track down the largest high level nuclear waste shipment to have ever sailed. The location of the British-flagged freighter Pacific Swan is being kept secret, despite the fact that it is likely to sail through Argentina and Chile's 200 mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ), risking the environment and health of millions of people. Greenpeace has a ship that is ready to sail from the port of Ushuaia, Argentina, with crew members from Argentina, Brazil and Chile. The international environmental group will try to expose the "secret"passage of the Pacific Swan along the Cape Horn route. "This nuclear shipment is a floating Chernobyl - a cargo of nuclear waste containing an estimated 96,000,000 curies of radioactivity on board. It is a dangerous and totally unnecessary shipment. We do not want it in our waters, and British Nuclear Fuels can not claim to be making innocent passage with such a lethal cargo, "said Martin Prieto, of Greenpeace Argentina. The shipment, which left France bound for Japan in December, was condemned in a joint statement by all four of the coastal Latin American countries along the route - Brazil, Uruguay, Chile and Argentina. The Foreign Minister of Chile went further in stating that the ship should not enter Chile's 200 mile EEZ . "Japan, France and the UK are ignoring the will of Latin American states that clearly expressed their opposition to the shipment", Prieto said. "If the governments of Argentina and Chile don't send a clear message of opposition to the use of the Cape Horn route and take strong measures to avoid the use of their EEZs, they will be opening up a nuclear highway for this and future shipments". Bill Anderton, spokesperson for the shipping company PNTL, stated only last week that there are plans for 20 more shipments over the next ten years. Public and political opposition to nuclear transports in Panama and the Caribbean appears to have made the normal route through the Panama Canal impossible this time. In 1995 - the only other time the Cape Horn, South American route was used for the first transport of high level nuclear waste from France to Japan- there was strong opposition throughout Latin America, including the deployment of an armed Chilean warship which ordered the ship out of Chilean waters. "We urge the Chilean government to maintain the brave position they had in 1995 and ban this transport from our EEZ", said Rosa Moreno of Greenpeace Chile. The Pacific Swan is carrying 192 blocks of high level waste, a by- product of plutonium separation from Japanese irradiated nuclear fuel at the French state-controlled COGEMA La Hague reprocessing plant. This waste is among the most radioactive material ever produced - a person standing within one metre of an unshielded block would receive a lethal dose of radiation in less than one minute. If released into the environment, it would be a deadly environmental pollutant for hundreds of thousands of years. "The release of even a small fraction of this cargo could lead to an environmental and public health catastrophe. To send such a dangerous cargo along the South American coast and through such notorious waters as those that surround Cape Horn, where many ships have foundered, shows a total disregard for global safety, in a shameless pursuit of profit," added Martin Prieto. Greenpeace has repeatedly called on the Japanese government to stop its controversial program to procure a massive stockpile of weapons- usable plutonium. The program, which is the cause of these shipments of waste currently generates no electricity, and can not be justified on economic, energy-production, safety, security or nuclear non- proliferation bases. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: -Martin Prieto - Greenpeace Argentina, mobile +54 11 44 280 597 -Rosa Moreno - Greenpeace Chile +56 9 8259581 -Luisa Colasimone - Greenpeace Media officer, mobile +54 11 41 444 835 Interviews available in Spanish, English, French, Italian, Portuguese and German. Video footage of the Pacific Swan being loaded in France and sea conditions around Cape Horn is available on request. ***************************************************************** 12 Energy Department Releases Study of Radiation at the Paducah Site energy.gov - Headquarters' Press Release The Energy Department today released results of a study of possible past radiation exposures to workers at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Paducah, Kentucky. The study, which is part of Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson's worker health and safety initiative at the Paducah site, was jointly prepared for the department by researchers at the University of Utah and the Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers International Union. "This report identifies the type of work which, in the past, posed the greatest risk to Paducah workers." said Secretary Richardson. "It will serve as a basis for further study to ensure that workers made sick at Paducah get the compensation they deserve." The study concluded that from 1952-1991 an estimated 2,500 to 4,000 employees worked in areas which increased their potential radiation exposure beyond that expected for workers elsewhere at the plant. These highest risk areas included the Feed Plant (Buildings C-410/ 420), the Decontamination Building (C-400), the Metals Building (C- 340) and the Cascade Buildings (C-331, C-333, C-335 and C-337). The tasks which had the most potential for increased exposure included ash handling, cylinder heels cleaning, derbies processing, pulverizer operation, flange grinding and baghouse filter changing. The study helps to focus future health studies by identifying the job types, locations and time period that could have posed the highest risk. The study did not attempt to estimate doses for individual workers. While all types of possible radiation exposures were considered in the study, particular attention was given to potential exposures to transuranic elements – neptunium and plutonium. Current practices at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant keep worker exposures well below historic levels. Questions from workers can be directed to the Energy Department's Office of Worker Advocacy. The toll free number is (877) 447-9756. Former workers or retirees from the gaseous diffusion plants may also wish to enroll in the Medical Screening Program, which provides free medical screening for work related illnesses, by calling toll free (888) 241-1199. A public meeting on the study will be held on February 1, 2001, in Paducah. Representatives of the University of Utah, Paper, Allied- Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers International Union and DOE will be available to respond to workers and interested citizens. The meeting will begin at 6:00 p.m. CST in the Resource Center Building, Paducah Information Age Park, 2000 McCracken Boulevard, Paducah, Kentucky. NOTE TO NEWS MEDIA: A 30-MINUTE CONFERENCE CALL HAS BEEN ARRANGED FOR TODAY, JANUARY 10, 2001, AT 4 P.M. EST FOR INTERESTED MEDIA TO CALL IN AND TALK TO DEPARTMENT OFFICIALS AND THOSE PERSONS WHO WERE KEY IN DRAFTING THE EXPOSURE ASSESSMENT STUDY. SPECIFIC QUESTIONS RELATING TO THE STUDY RESULTS WILL BE ANSWERED AT THAT TIME. PLEASE CALL (202) 586-5806 BY NOON TODAY FOR THE CALL-IN NUMBER. THE CONFERENCE CALL WILL BEGIN PROMPTLY. MEDIA CONTACT: Dolline Hatchett, 202/586-5806 Walter Perry, 865/576-0885 Release No. R-01-007 ***************************************************************** 13 Contractual problems further delay nuclear reactor project in North Korea Calgary Herald News [I]Calgary Herald SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - Plans by a U.S.-led international consortium to build two nuclear power plants in North Korea may have to be delayed further because of new contractual problems, South Korean officials said Wednesday. Under a 1994 agreement, the American-led Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization, or KEDO, is required to build two one million- kilowatt reactors in North Korea in return for the communist country's promise to freeze its suspect nuclear weapons program. The first reactor is set to be built by 2003 and the second the next year. But the $4.6 billion US project has not gotten beyond the ground- breaking stage because of funding problems among the consortium's three key organizers - the United States, Japan and South Korea - and political and military tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Although no official decision has been made on a new date of completion, KEDO officials have said that several years of delay is inevitable. On Wednesday, South Korean officials said the project has to be delayed further because the U.S. company General Electric Co. backed out of a deal to supply turbine-generators for the project in December because of contractual problems. "GE has been making unacceptable demands that KEDO compensate for any accidents at the nuclear plants," said Choi Yong-joon at Seoul's KEDO office. GE reportedly was concerned about any financial liabilities in case of accidents at the plants, which also will have Japanese and South Korean equipment. GE's Seoul office declined comment. To replace GE, KEDO has just begun talks with a consortium of two Japanese firms - Hitachi and Toshiba - for supply of two turbine- generators worth $100 million each, Choi said. "A further delay is inevitable due to the change," Choi said. The latest hitch in the project could complicate negotiations between KEDO and North Korea, which has been demanding compensation for the anticipated delays. Energy shortages in North Korea are severe. The country claims that its power shortfall would not be as serious as it is now if there hadn't been delays. As an emergency measure, North Korea is asking South Korea to supply it with 500,000 kilowatts of electricity a year pending completion of the reactors. North Korea is believed to have upheld its end of the 1994 accord with the United States by freezing its nuclear program. Separate negotiations are under way to curb the North's long-range missile development and technology exports. The main builder and operator of the North Korean nuclear project is South Korea's state firm, Korea Electric Power Corp. South Korea is due to pay 70 per cent of the project's total cost, or $3.2 billion, Japan $1 billion, the United States $115 million and the EU $80 million. The balance has yet to be filled. The Korean Peninsula was divided into the communist North and the pro-Western South at the end of the Second World War in 1945. Their 1950-53 war ended without a peace treaty. © THE CANADIAN PRESS, 2001 Copyright © 2001 Calgary Herald Group Inc. ***************************************************************** 14 Dounreay delay fuels election query DAVID ROSS IT was confirmed yesterday that ministers have still not decided what to do with 25 tonnes of highly-radioactive nuclear fuel at Dounreay. A decision was due last summer, but put off three times by the Department of Trade and Industry. Speculation is now growing that the decision may even be postponed until after the general election in case it becomes an issue within the Scottish Parliament during the West-minster campaign. Anti-nuclear campaigners fear this points to a return to reprocessing at Dounreay. In April, plant operators, the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, at the behest of the department, launched a public consultation exercise on what to do with 24.7 tonnes of fuel which came out of the Dounreay's own prototype fast reactor programme, and other nuclear material at the plant. Three options were presented to the public: to reprocess the material at Dounreay; reprocess some at Dounreay and some at Sellafield; or store it above ground at Dounreay. The convener of Highland Council, David Green, said: "It is quite extraordinary that we were under such pressure to submit our response ... But here we are in January with no decision, so what was all the rush for?" Mrs Lorraine Mann, of Scotland against nuclear dumping, said: "I am worried that the delay means that they are deliberately putting it off until after the election so that they give Dounreay the go ahead to reprocess without having mentioned it in the election campaign. If that is the decision, whenever it is taken, I think there will be outrage in the Scottish Parliament." -Jan 10th ***************************************************************** 15 Cancer risk from private wells in radon areas ISSUE 2056 Wednesday 10 JANUARY 2001 BY RICHARD SAVILL - DEPARTMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT, TRANSPORT AND REGIONS [DETR] RESIDENTS who use private water supplies in areas affected by radioactive radon gas face a potential risk of stomach cancer unless they take remedial action, a study has found. The 18-month Government-commissioned study of homes and businesses with private water supplies in west Devon found that almost one in seven had radon levels that exceeded the advisory amount. West Devon Council, which was involved in the research, said: "Radon in water is less of a health risk than radon in air, but it is likely that long-term exposure to high levels of radon in water increases the risk of stomach cancer." The study, commissioned by the Department of the Environment, Transport and Regions, was the first in Britain to look at radon levels at the tap. Radon, a natural radioactive gas originating from uranium, occurs in many types of rock. It has been a particular problem in west Devon, which includes parts of Dartmoor, where 18 per cent of properties have their own wells, bore holes, or springs. The mains water is not affected because it is drawn from upland storage reservoirs where any radon has time to vent off into the atmosphere. The study also found about one in 14 premises had levels of uranium higher than a World Health Organisation guideline. However, the council did not believe the levels were high enough to produce a risk of kidney disease. Nick Payne, the council's head of environmental services, said: "This report reveals for the first time that only 10 per cent of radon is lost at the tap and only 70 per cent of radon is lost when water is boiled. It was previously assumed 100 per cent of radon was lost." He called for a larger study covering all radon-affected areas. Dr Sarah Harrison, public health consultant at South and West Devon Health Authority, said people should not be "unnecessarily concerned". There was no evidence that radon in water has caused stomach cancer but it remained a theoretical possibility. She said: "We are advising people to continue drinking water and to take advice about whether they should consider remedial measures." ***************************************************************** 16 Norway criticises UK over continued pollution from Sellafield Story Filed: Wednesday, January 10, 2001 10:26 AM EST JAN 10, 2001, M2 Communications - Norwegian Environment Minister Siri Bjerke has criticised the continued pollution of waters along the Norwegian coast caused by radioactive emissions from the British Sellafield nuclear plant. According to the Norwegian broadcaster NRK, Bjerke is planning to contact other nations that are opposed to the pollution from Sellafield in order to co-ordinate further fight against it. The statement from Bjerke follows the withdrawal by British authorities of a demand that the plant must reduce radioactive emissions by 80%. ((Comments on this story may be sent to nbr.feedback@nordicbusinessreport.com)) Copyright c 1998-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD http://www.m2.com p; Portions of above Copyright c 1997-2001, Northern Light Technology Inc. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 17 Richardson commits to finding ways to dispose of nuke waste without burning 09-Jan-2001 10:19 JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) - Outgoing Energy Secretary Bill Richardson said Monday the government will attempt to find alternatives to incinerating low-level nuclear waste at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory at Idaho Falls, Idaho. Richardson told about 250 Jackson Hole residents that he was accepting the recommendation of a panel appointed a year ago after a local outcry against the plan. Area residents feared burning the waste at the southeast Idaho facility would pollute the air around Jackson and Yellowstone National Park. "There are currently no alternatives to incineration, but we need to begin to investigate them," Richardson said. He said the change in plans is due to public opposition to burning. "The government, your government, especially the Department of Energy, which has not had the best record in environmental protection and restoration, has in this instance responded," Richardson said. "You raised your voice, we listened." Most the waste was created during nuclear weapons production at the Rocky Flats plant outside Denver. It includes clothing and equipment, solid sludge and other material contaminated with plutonium and other radioactive and hazardous material. Though there's no currently workable way of eliminating the waste except incineration, Richardson said the department is now convinced that burning poses unacceptable risks and that new methods now in the discussion stage need more study. Methods to be examined include separating the contamination with various chemical washes and biological treatment. Though public opposition spurred the change in policy, Richardson said there was sound basis for the new direction. "These conclusions were not political, they were scientific," he said. Richardson said he has added $3 million to the DOE budget for the next year to examine alternatives to burning. He is recommending the budget for the following year be increased from $10 million to $20 million. He also requested $400,000 for a new laboratory at the INEEL to study soil and groundwater contamination. INEEL will receive an additional $1 million to support study of cleanup projects around the country. Berte Hirschfield, president of Keep Yellowstone Nuclear Free, an anti-incineration group, congratulated Richardson and said "the public needs to be an ongoing partner in the process" of finding alternatives to burning. Hirschfield said the opposition in Wyoming, Idaho and Montana that inspired the DOE's policy change of policy must be extended to policy around the country. "If incineration does not belong here it does not belong anywhere, " she said. U.S. Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., said he was pleased by Richardson's announcement. "There is no doubt that the stakes in this matter are high and something needs to be done with the waste being stored at the INEEL, but that does not mean we have to jump at the most convenient solution when something better is not only possible, but is possibly imminent," he said. ***************************************************************** 18 Ten former Honeywell workers test sensitive to beryllium BY TANYANIKA SAMUELS - THE KANSAS CITY STAR DATE: 01/08/01 22:15 Tests have confirmed that 10 former workers at the Honeywell International plant on Bannister Road are sensitive to beryllium, a condition that can lead to an incurable lung disease. Fifty-seven others await additional results after their tests came back positive or inconclusive. At the first of two meetings Monday at Colonial Presbyterian Church, plant officials and researchers urged former workers to get tested for beryllium exposure. A third meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. today, also at Colonial Presbyterian, 9500 Wornall Road. The Kansas City plant is one of 26 facilities nationwide cited by the Department of Energy as a possible source of beryllium-related illness. The department discovered the contamination last year during testing required under new regulations. Of the plant's 2,850 current employees, 268 have asked to be tested. Plant officials reported that eight had what was called "beryllium sensitization." The condition could develop into chronic beryllium disease, an illness that causes scarring in the lungs and affects breathing. Exposure occurs by breathing beryllium in the form of mist, dust or fumes. Symptoms vary but include shortness of breath, coughing, chest pain and weight loss. "While it is not a curable disease, it is a treatable disease," said Donna Cragle, an Oak Ridge, Tenn., researcher who heads the testing program for former workers. Beryllium, a naturally occurring metal often used to strengthen copper, has been used for decades at the Kansas City plant. The plant is owned by the Department of Energy but operated by Honeywell International. It manufactures triggers and other precision parts for nuclear weapons. After the department found contamination, it sent more than 6,400 letters to former workers urging them to undergo testing. Nearly 2,000 asked for screening and as of December, 652 persons were tested. At the first meeting Monday, plant officials said those most at risk processed the metal into beryllium-copper alloy. Those include former machinists, model makers, welders, laborers and equipment repairers. Other employees including supervisors, process engineers, auditors, security guards, planners and waste/fire personnel might have been indirectly exposed, said Chris Gentile, the plant's director of environmental health and safety. Officials said the plant had never had a confirmed case of chronic beryllium disease. Only five labs in the country test for beryllium sensitivity, so the progress would be slow, Cragle said. Compensation is available for those diagnosed with chronic beryllium disease or workers who were beryllium-sensitized at Department of Energy sites. A statute passed last year provides for lump-sum payment of $150,000 for disability and full medical coverage for chronic beryllium disease-related illnesses. To reach Tanyanika Samuels, call (816) 234-7813 or send e-mail to TSAMUELS@KCSTAR.COM All content © 2001 THE KANSAS CITY STAR ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** NUCLEAR WEAPONS ARTICLES ***************************************************************** 1 Opinion: Omission of PACE Union from article inexplicable - David Fuller, President, Pace Local 5-550 The Paducah Sun EDITOR: I read your half-page article devoted to the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant in the Dec. 31 Paducah Sun. I read bullet-by-bullet of many of the extraordinary happenings at our plant in the last year. I was amazed to discover, as I read this entire article, that not once was the PACE union mentioned. PACE members have been instrumental in the investigation of these events and have provided extensive support to every group involved with these issues. The failure to acknowledge PACE's high level of participation is, to me, inexplicable. The article also wrongly mentions that the DOE hopes to do lung cancer screenings for employees at the plant. PACE, not DOE, is doing the lung cancer screening. This screening is ongoing and a significant number of current and former employees have been scanned. The scans are being done at the local PACE union hall. Local PACE workers are organizing and conducting these scans. Neither I nor the organization I represent seek publicity for publicity's sake, but the omission of any reference to the PACE union in a story recounting the events that this one did is almost beyond belief to me. PACE has been and will continue to be a driving force behind discovering what happened at the plant in the past, and ensuring that appropriate action is taken. This union has led these efforts and any objective reporting on the issue could not fail to notice that. DOE is not doing mobile lung cancer screening of plant workers. The PACE union is. DAVID FULLER President PACE Local 5-550 ***************************************************************** 2 Doc still fighting for FFTF restart Jan. 9, 2001: This story was published Tue, Jan 9, 2001 BY ANNETTE CARY HERALD STAFF WRITER Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash., is turning to President-elect Bush's proposed energy secretary for help to save Hanford's dormant Fast Flux Test Facility. The Department of Energy's decision to shut down the reactor fails to offer realistic alternatives to produce isotopes and to perform nuclear research as required by law, Hastings wrote in a letter to Spencer Abraham on Monday. DOE's plan to use two other reactors is a "no growth, no vision, no reserve, no contingency alternative," Hastings wrote. Outgoing Energy Secretary Bill Richardson has said he plans to issue a decision calling for FFTF to be shut down next week. Hastings is asking Abraham to appeal to Richardson not to sign the decision. Abraham also could be faced with questions about FFTF when he goes before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which will report to the Senate on Abraham's nomination. Sen. Ron Wyden, R-Ore., an opponent of restarting FFTF, has been a member of that committee. DOE did not receive enough firm commitments for isotopes to justify restarting the reactor, officials said in November. "It is not clear to me how (DOE) can arrive at such a conclusion without having formally asked for specific proposals to operate the reactor," Hastings wrote. Hastings also pointed out the market for therapeutic isotopes in 1999 already has outstripped by as much as 300 percent the annual projections made by an independent panel advising DOE. Hastings is calling for DOE to formally request proposals for using the reactor, which would take 60 days, before a decision is issued to shut down or restart FFTF. DOE is proposing reactors in Idaho and Tennessee be used to produce isotopes for new cancer treatments and to power deep-space flights. However, the Idaho reactor being considered "is committed to the Naval Reactors Program fuels and materials testing and there may be some question about its ability to take on new civilian missions, " Hastings wrote. The Tennessee reactor being considered is shut down, with a planned restart in April after investigation of potential problems. In the long term, DOE plans to develop an Advanced Accelerator Applications facility. But testing for one of its objectives, determining the technical feasibility of the Accelerator Transmutation of Waste, would require a reactor such as FFTF, Hastings said. Hastings also pointed out the key role the reactor could play in testing fuels for advanced nuclear energy reactors. DOE's advisory committees have recommended the nation's future energy needs be met in part by nuclear energy. COPYRIGHT 2000 TRI-CITY HERALD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS ***************************************************************** 3 Pasco pledges to back legal fight for FFTF Jan. 9, 2001: City council joins Kennewick, Richland in court challenge This story was published Tue, Jan 9, 2001 BY KRISTIN M. KRAEMER HERALD STAFF WRITER Pasco City Council members decided Monday to join the fight to revive Hanford's Fast Flux Test Facility. Though formal action won't be taken until next Monday, the council directed City Manager Gary Crutchfield to notify Benton County that Pasco wants to become a plaintiff in a future suit against the Department of Energy. "That project has been a good neighbor for Pasco," Councilman Carl Strode said, and Pasco needs to be a good neighbor by supporting FFTF. A decision to permanently shut down the dormant reactor could be made next week by Energy Secretary Bill Richardson, just before he leaves office. Benton County and the Tri-City Industrial Development Council want to delay the decision until Spencer Abraham, President-elect Bush's nominee for energy secretary, can take office. The Pasco City Council agreed to pay up to $3,000 for the first phase of the legal challenge. Richland said it will pay up to $7,500 for the first phase, and Kennewick has pledged up to $8,000. "While Pasco is probably the least affected by the shutdown of FFTF, I would maintain that our economy is influenced by such major employment actions at Hanford," Crutchfield said in a memo to the council. "And, to the extent we can actually minimize negative impacts, we should do so." Supporters of the facility say restarting the reactor is the best option for producing isotopes for medicine and other uses. Reactors currently are in operation in Idaho Falls and Tennessee. Isotopes have been shown to treat cancer with fewer side effects than surgery, chemotherapy or traditional radiation. Councilman Dan Lathim, a 30-year testicular cancer survivor, recalls how terrible his six weeks of radiation treatments were and would like to see other people have an alternative to that experience. "Today's methods and the possibilities of isotopes are just a wonderful, wonderful thing," Lathim said. "And I don't know how anybody couldn't support it. "It's a beautiful facility. There's absolutely no reason for it not to be utilized." Councilwoman Rebecca Francik said she is willing to join the challenge against the FFTF closure but wonders if it's the best option. "I think we've been fighting to keep FFTF open for a long, long time," she said. With the economy going down and Bush talking tax cuts, "there probably has to be some sacrifices made." COPYRIGHT 2000 TRI-CITY HERALD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS ***************************************************************** 4 Business: Doe reports safety violation at Rocky Flats plant Amarillo Globe-News: the AMARILLO GLOBE E-NEWS... >Web posted TUESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2001 12:21 p.m. CT The Associated Press DENVER (AP) - Workers risked a radioactive chain reaction at the former Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant last month when they overstuffed two drums with classified parts and uranium. The chain reaction, known as a "criticality," never occurred, but officials consider the problem a serious violation of procedures designed to prevent such events. The violations were revealed Monday at the monthly meeting of the Rocky Flats Coalition of Local Governments, which oversees the closure of the 6,400-acre Rocky Flats, northwest of Denver. The U.S. Department of Energy is deciding whether to fine Kaiser- Hill Co., the contractor hired to clean up the plant. "How close did we get to criticality? We did not get close at all, " said Paul Hartmann, the Energy Department's acting assistant manager for field performance assessment at the plant. If too much radioactive material is placed together, a criticality can occur, killing those close to it or exposing workers to high levels of radiation. The plant had 14 criticality incidents in 1999 and five last year. Kaiser-Hill has been fined $700,000 for safety violations since 1996. Also, in 1999 there were 138 worker-injury cases and 91 in 2000, Kaiser-Hill spokeswoman Jennifer Thompson said. The latest mistakes happened Dec. 6 and Dec. 21, said Mark Spears, vice president of engineering, environmental safety and quality programs for Kaiser-Hill. "Clearly the coalition is concerned about safety, and the events in the last month are quite disturbing," said David Abelson, executive director of the government coalition. Hartmann said some workers thought supervisors told them it was OK to not check the limits for the drums or to exceed them. James Masingale, a safety representative for United Steel Workers Local 8031, said one supervisor ignored warnings that a violation was about to occur. Also Monday, the coalition endorsed legislation to turn Rocky Flats into a national wildlife refuge after cleanup is complete. Work is expected to finish in 2006. Members opposed letting the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office use a firing range on the site. Still open is the issue of whether a road can run through the area. [?] [?] 2001 Documents 2000 Documents (10/17/00-present) 2000 Documents (01/01/00-10/16/00) 1999 Documents 1998 Documents 1997 ***************************************************************** 5 Fernald sees help in subcontracting WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2001 By MARIE MCCAIN THE CINCINNATI ENQUIRER CROSBY TOWNSHIP - A new provision of the renewed "closure contract" to clean up the former Fernald uranium processing site could prove to be a boon for those who stand to lose their livelihoods as the project nears completion. Fluor Fernald officials, according to the phone book-sized contract ratified in November, can subcontract certain jobs it thinks could be done more efficiently. This new condition fits in with the Fernald Community Reuse Organization's charge to offset anticipated economic hardship that will come to the surrounding area when the plant shuts down in nine years. Curt Paddock, CRO economic development consultant, said Tuesday that his group is bolstered by the possibilities of the new provision. At Department of Energy sites with similar cleanup projects, this subcontracting option has provided a significant boost to the surrounding economy, he said. "At the DOE site in New Mexico, they had a graphics unit where all employees of the prime contractor printed brochures and other material," Mr. Paddock said. " They came to the conclusion that the job could be done on an outsource basis and that it could be done with a contractor created from those workers who had at one time worked for the contractor." This area's CRO has helped with the startup of three businesses run by either current or former Fernald employees or residents affected by the plant's closure, he said. This new initiative could boost that number substantially and put to use newly-awarded federal funding CRO has received. This week, the agency learned it would receive $200,000 from the DOE's Office of Worker and Community Transition earmarked for the agency's entrepreneurial plan. This money will be added to the $325, 000 the group received in May and can help move forward several projects CRO has in the works, including a feasibility study for the creation of a business incubator, a single site that could house several start- up companies. Between 1997 and 2008, the site's total annual economic impact in Greater Cincinnati will decline by 81 percent, from $735 million to $136 million, according to a study commissioned by CRO. Direct and indirect employment through the region will decrease from 4,394 in 1997 to 1,629 in 2008. The cleanup project at the former Fernald uranium processing plant began in 1991. Fluor's previous contract listed the end of 2008 as the target completion date. But the new contract moves the target date to the end of 2010. sp; [I] Fernald sees help in subcontracting ***************************************************************** 6 METAL OF DISHONOR ˙˙˙ DEPLETED URANIUM HOW THE PENTAGON RADIATES SOLDIERS & CIVILIANS WITH DU WEAPONS Selections compiled and edited by the Depleted Uranium Education Project International Action Center New York City In May, 1997, the International Action Center published a book of essays and lectures on depleted uranium: the contamination of the planet by the United States military. In addition to exposing the deadly duplicity of the Department of Defense, the book documents the genocide of Native Americans and Iraqis by military radiation, the connection between depleted uranium and Gulf War Syndrome, the underestimated dangers from low-level radiation, the legal ramifications of DU Production and Use, and the growing movement against DU. SECTION I: INTRODUCTION AND CALL TO ACTION AGAINST DU By Sara Flounders, Organizer--International Action Center By Former Attorney General Ramsey Clark By Dr. Helen Caldicott, Founder, Physicians for Social Responsibility SECTION II: HOW DU WEAPONS HARMED GULF WAR VETERANS By Dan Fahey, Gulf War Syndrome activist researching DU use in the Gulf region By Carole Picou, Veteran of Medical Unit on the Iraqi Front By Dolores Lymburner, National Organizer of the Depleted Uranium Citizens' Network SECTION III: THE POLITICS OF WAR AND THE PENTAGON'S COVERUP By John Catalinotto, former organizer, American Servicemen's Union By Lenora Foerstal, N. American Coordinator, Women for Mutual Security; editor, CREATING SURPLUS POPULATION: THE EFFECT OF MILITARY AND CORPORATE POLICIES ON INDIGENOUS PEOPLES (excerpt) By Tod Ensign, attorney; Director, Citizen Soldier Secret (excerpt) By Pat Broudy, Legislative Director, National Associaion of Atomic Veterans and National Associaiton of Atomic Survivors By Alice Slater, President, Global Resource Action Center for the Environment SECTION IV: INDIGENOUS PEOPLES VICTIMIZED BY MILITARY RADIATION By Manuel Pino, Environmental Activist By Anna Rondon, Southwest Indigenous Uranium Forum (excerpt) By Glen Alcalay, anthropologist; National Committee for Radiation Victims Albuquerque, New Mexico, September 5-8, 1996 SECTION V: WHAT RISKS FROM LOW-LEVEL RADIATION? By Dr. Michio Kaku, professor of Theoretical Physics, CUNY (excerpt) By Dr. Jay M. Gould, author, THE ENEMY WITHIN (excerpt) By Dr. Rosalie Bertell, GNSH, Founding Member/President, International Institute of Concern for Public Health; Editor in Chief, International Perspectives in Public Health. (excerpt) By Leonard A. Dietz, physicist, charter member, American Society for Mass Spectrometry. SECTION VI: ENVIRONMENTAL COST OF GULF WAR TO IRAQUIS AND OTHERS By Dr. Barbara Nimri Aziz, anthropologist; journalist, WBAI-NY By Dr. Eric Hoskins, Medical Coordinator, Harvard Study Team's surveys of health and welfare in postwar Iraq (excerpt) By Prof. Dr. Siegwart-Horst Guenther, Founder/President, Austrian Yellow Cross International Rights, Geneva, Switzerland, May 21, 1996 (full text) By Suzy T. Kane,Women's International League for Peace and Freedom; author, The Hidden History of the Persian Gulf War SECTION VII: CAN A LEGAL BATTLE BE WAGED TO BAN DU? for the Prevention of Nuclear War; co-editor, War and Public Health By Philippa Winkler, attorney; Project Director, Hidden Casualties, The Environmental, Health and Political Consequences of the Persian Gulf War By Alyn Ware, Executive Director, Lawyers' Committee on Nuclear Policy APPENDICES Storage (under construction) construction) Opinions expressed by contributors of this book represent their personal views and are not necessarily those of the organizations involved. INTERNATIONAL ACTION CENTER DU EDUCATION PROJECT; 39 W. 14TH ST., #206; NEW YORK, N.Y. 10011. SNAILMAIL--NEW YORK: 39 WEST 14TH ST., #206; NEW YORK, N.Y. 10011. TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATIONS (OVER $50.00) SHOULD BE MADE PAYABLE TO IAC/DU PROJECT. FOR MORE INFORMATION, CALL 212-633-6646, FAX 212- 633-2889 OR E-MAIL TO [*][I] IACENTER@IACENTER.ORG SNAILMAIL--SAN FRANCISCO: 2489 MISSION ST., #28; SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. FOR MORE INFORMATION, CALL 415-821-6545, FAX 415-921-5782 ***************************************************************** 7 U.S., Britain Reject Calls to Halt Use of Depleted-Uranium Arms washingtonpost.com: By William Drozdiak Washington Post Foreign Service Wednesday, January 10, 2001 ; Page A15 BRUSSELS, Jan. 9--The United States and Britain rejected calls by other NATO allies today to suspend use of depleted-uranium munitions as controversy swelled within the 19-member alliance over whether the weapons pose serious health risks to peacekeeping forces in the Balkans. NATO diplomats said Italy, backed by Germany and several other European countries, called for removal of the armor-piercing shells from NATO arsenals pending medical tests. Italy contends that radioactive dust the shells left in Kosovo during the 1999 air campaign may have caused cancer and other ailments in allied soldiers there. But the United States and Britain, citing the World Health Organization and other experts, countered that there is no medical evidence showing a clear link between depleted-uranium weapons and health problems. They said the weapons play an important role in allied military forces and should remain in the arsenal. "There's absolutely no proof that there's a connection," said U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright. The furor over the depleted-uranium issue illustrates a growing estrangement between the United States and its European allies on several fronts at a time when NATO faces a variety of difficult decisions over its future as the world's dominant military alliance. As the Bush administration prepares to take office, NATO diplomats point to looming transatlantic conflicts. The incoming administration is leaning toward building a national missile defense and reassessing the U.S. role in peacekeeping in the Balkans, plans that put it at odds with European views. Bush officials also are suspicious of plans for a joint European military force, and they disagree with Europe over some aspects of NATO's future enlargement toward Russia's borders. "It was already going to be very hard to maintain unity within NATO in dealing with all of these matters that go to the core of the alliance's future," said a senior European diplomat. "The depleted-uranium problem could not have come at a worse time because it damages the sense of trust that has kept the alliance strong." The controversy arose after Italy, Belgium, Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands reported a spate of cancer cases among veterans who had returned from Balkan peacekeeping duties. Other soldiers complained of symptoms including chronic fatigue and hair loss, reminiscent of the "Gulf War syndrome" suffered by Western soldiers who served in the 1991 campaign to drive Iraqi forces out of Kuwait. Depleted uranium is what is left after uranium is processed to remove most of the radioactivity for use in nuclear fuel and weapons. Military experts say that because of the metal's density, uranium-tipped shells are the best available weapons to penetrate heavy armor. During the 1999 air war, American jets fired about 31,000 depleted- uranium shells as NATO sought to drive the Yugoslav army out of Kosovo province. "It's a very effective weapon," said Mark Laity, special adviser to NATO Secretary General George Robertson. "The medical consensus believes it does not pose health problems. It's got less radiation than the normal uranium that can be found in your own back yard." Defense experts say depleted-uranium munitions could present health risks if the pulverized dust left by an exploding shell was inhaled or ingested in significant quantities. But specialists at the World Health Organization who have studied the matter say there has been no rise in average levels of leukemia among civilians living in Kosovo. "Based on our studies and the evidence we have, it is unlikely that soldiers in Kosovo ran a high risk of contracting leukemia from exposure to radiation from depleted uranium," said Michael Repacholi, a WHO researcher. But those reassurances have done little to contain the political anxiety that has stirred several allied governments to take emergency action. Several NATO ambassadors have asked why, if the threat was so innocuous, did NATO commanders dispatch a warning in June 1999 before the start of the peacekeeping deployment in Kosovo citing a "possible toxic threat" and urging member states to take their own "preventive measures" in dealing with contamination risks. The memo warned of "residual heavy metal toxicity in armored vehicles" that had been struck by the weapons and said it could pose health risks to people coming into contact with the vehicles. "The time has come for us no longer to have complete confidence in anyone," said Portugal's Prime Minister Antonio Guterres. After a Portuguese soldier who had served in Kosovo died of a mysterious brain disease and another contracted leukemia, Guterres dispatched three cabinet ministers to Kosovo to conduct their own inquiry. Italy has demanded a full accounting of where depleted-uranium shells were fired in order to ascertain which areas might pose the gravest health dangers to its soldiers. Italian soldiers have been deployed in a sector of southern Kosovo where NATO warplanes fired a vast number of uranium-tipped shells at clusters of Yugoslav tanks and armored personnel carriers in the last stages of the air war. Meanwhile, Italian Defense Minister Sergio Mattarella said he would continue to press for removing such weapons from the alliance's arsenal until they were deemed safe--to the satisfaction of all NATO members. Britain announced today that it would provide voluntary medical checks for all Balkan veterans, joining other European allies that have ordered radiation screening and other health tests for their troops. c 2001 The Washington Post ***************************************************************** 8 GROUP PLANS DEMONSTRATION AT MASS. URANIUM SHELL PLANT BY JOHN DONNELLY AND ROSS KERBER, GLOBE STAFF, 1/10/2001 Ground zero in the mushrooming debate on the safety of depleted uranium shells fired in war is next to a residential Concord neighborhood given the peaceful name of Thoreau Hills. There, a Starmet Corp. facility had until 16 months ago produced tons of ammunition coated with depleted uranium, one of two US plants that made the vast majority of the tank-piercing munition used by US troops in Kuwait, Iraq, Bosnia, and Kosovo. Now the facility, as well as Pentagon policy supporting the use of depleted uranium shells, is about to come under increasing fire. On Monday, a group of demonstrators in Concord center will protest the manufacturing of depleted-uranium munitions at Starmet as well as the US use of the toxic and slightly radioactive material in war. It will be the first of several nationwide protests against depleted uranium that coincide with the 10th year anniversary of the end of the Gulf War. The protests may be too late to have an impact on Starmet, whose worsening financial condition caused the Nasdaq security market to say yesterday that the stock would be delisted. But activists said they can still make a broader point. ''We want to help our community understand what the risks are posed by depleted uranium,'' said Judy Scotnicki, a protest organizer. ''We were appalled once we realized the consequences of the weapon, ... including the potential health risk to the military personnel as well as civilians.'' Meanwhile, a storm of protest over depleted uranium among European governments, including Britain, Germany, and Italy, has put top Pentagon officials on the defensive. Defense Secretary William S. Cohen said yesterday that US officials provided NATO with warning instructions on the handling of depleted uranium. He said, too, that there have been no links between depleted uranium and leukemia. But Cohen admitted that the United States should take some responsibility for a portion of the cleanup. ''I suppose if there were any deficiency to be found, it would be in the failure to pick up fragments of destroyed vehicles or tanks that - in which depleted uranium projectiles were used,'' he told reporters at the Pentagon. ''But beyond that, I think adequate warnings were given, and there is a very low risk of coming into contact with this, provided there is sufficient protection taken.'' Cohen mentioned nothing about removing the soil from an estimated 112 sites in Kosovo, where NATO says it fired depleted-uranium shells. Many scientists believe that the major risk posed by depleted uranium is in inhaling or ingesting the heavy-metal particles. Some limited studies have found high levels of the metal in a person's urine years after exposure. Ever since Gulf War veterans began complaining of a myriad of diseases and ailments following the 100-hour ground war, the Pentagon has held that depleted uranium was not the cause. Recent literature reviews conducted by the California-based Rand Corp. and the National Institute of Medicine found no links between depleted uranium and health problems. But opponents of depleted uranium said the results were predictable because the studies have been too limiting. They said the Pentagon has declined to conduct studies of veterans who had climbed on destroyed Iraqi tanks, where soldiers could have inhaled dust tainted with the heavy metal. The depleted metal, first fired in wartime during the 1991 war against Iraq, is prized by the military for its ability to pierce the heavy armor of tanks. US A-10 warplanes fire shells coated with the substance, and many US tanks also have a protective layer of depleted uranium. The United States developed the weapon first, and the Concord factory as well as one in Jonesboro, Tenn., produced munitions for the military for years. ''NATO should take some responsibility in Kosovo now,'' said Dan Fahey, who has studied the use of depleted uranium since 1994 and now is studying for his master's degree at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. ''The UN has gone in and found radioactivity in the soil. This is NATO's job, specifically the United States, to clean it up, or at a minimum to put a fence around those sites.'' Starmet historically was one of the largest suppliers of depleted- uranium munitions, but the company quit making the shells in 1999 amid falling orders from the Pentagon. It now faces a host of financial problems and questions over who will pay for the cleanup of a local waste site. Formerly known as Nuclear Metals Inc., the company began manufacturing in 1958. Since it quit making depleted uranium munitions, it has tried to diversify. with products such as parts for Lockheed Martin Corp.'s Comanche attack helicopter. The company's stock trades under $1 a share, down from $7.50 on Jan. 10, 2000. Yesterday, Starmet said it will be delisted from Nasdaq on Friday because of a lack of tangible assets and questions over just who will pay for the cleanup of its waste-disposal pit in West Concord. There the company buried 400,000 pounds of depleted uranium from 1958 to 1985; by one estimate it would cost $50 million to remove all of the waste. Starmet had asked the Army to pay for the removal, or at least to pay for an $18 million remediation project. The Army denied the request in December, however, and the two sides are now at loggerheads, said Starmet chief operating officer Jerry Hoolahan. Told about the planned protests, Hoolahan indicated they were the least of Starmet's problems. ''They can send out whoever they want, '' he said. Donnelly reported from Washington; Kerber reported from Boston. This story ran on page A13 of the Boston Globe on 1/10/2001. ***************************************************************** 9 U.S. Allies Worry About 'Balkans Syndrome' ABCNEWS.com : January 9, 2001 Doubts About Depleted Uranium U.S. Allies Concerned About Arms Used in Kosovo, Gulf War [I] LONDON, Jan. 9 - The Clinton administration is downplaying the danger to NATO soldiers of using depleted uranium in weapons, despite their allies’ concerns that the weapons may be causing cancer in those who served in Kosovo and in the Gulf War. During the Kosovo war, U.S. aircraft fired more than 30,000 rounds of ammunition containing depleted uranium. The Pentagon used it because it is a heavy metal that can penetrate the armor that protects tanks. On impact, it leaves a cloud of low-level radioactive dust, but the United States has always insisted it poses no health risk. Europe Takes Action Today, Britain said it will offer screening to veterans of the Kosovo and Bosnian conflicts for signs of illness. The announcement followed a wave of concern across Europe, sparked by Italy’s decision last month to investigate illnesses among 30 of its soldiers who had served in the Balkans, including five who have died of leukemia. Since then, investigations or screening programs have been announced in a number of other European countries, with many civilian aid agencies also checking workers. Ireland and Denmark announced screening plans today. One Italian who served Kosovo — and now has cancer — said: “I was on the border and [the Americans] bombed that area.” “The wind could have blown the dust toward us.” The Italian military reports 12 soldiers who went to Kosovo have cancer. Six have since died. Belgium says they have five soldiers with cancer, Spain, three. And France says four of its veterans have leukemia. The American Case Against The United States, which has thousands of soldiers in Kosovo, is now the only NATO country that denies even the possibility of a link between depleted uranium and Balkan war syndrome. At her valedictory press conference today, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright told reporters: “As far as I have been told, there is no scientific evidence that would link this to health hazards. But what I think is very important is for the facts to be made known and not to have hysteria and emotion take over.” Another senior administration official was more brusque: “This is just the typical irrational European response without any basis in scientific fact.” Experts say it is unlikely that any cancer currently detected in Balkan veterans would be connected to depleted uranium because the disease would not have emerged so soon. Kidney damage would be expected earlier. Depleted uranium has not been widely studied and experts say they don’t know exactly how much must be consumed to be harmful. The few studies that have been conducted on veterans of the Gulf War — where depleted uranium ammunition was used in much higher amounts — have found no evidence of a connection to cancer or any other illness reported by troops. Some 300 tons or depleted uranium was fired by NATO forces in the Gulf War, compared to 9 tons in Kosovo and 3 tons in Bosnia, according to Britain’s Armed Forces Minister John Spellar. For all the public assurances, the Pentagon sent its allies a warning in 1999, saying soldiers should not enter armored vehicles hit by depleted uranium weapons unless absolutely necessary because of possible health risks. Now, U.N. scientists have recommended more than 100 bomb sites where depleted uranium was used to be cordoned off until everyone is sure that what the United States has been saying about its weapons is ABCNEWS’s Richard Gizbert in London and The Associated Press contributed to this report. ***************************************************************** 10 Test Ban Backers Face Uphill Battle January 09, 2001 ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON (AP)--President Clinton is appealing to the newly installed Senate to take up the same Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty that the old one refused to ratify 15 months ago. Over the short term, Clinton's pitch is not expected to go far because the incoming administration seems satisfied with the status quo. President-elect Bush and all his top foreign affairs advisers except Secretary of State-designate Colin Powell oppose the treaty, which is designed to discourage nuclear proliferation by outlawing nuclear tests. The United States suspended testing in 1992. When the Senate defeated treaty ratification in October 1999 by a 51-48 vote--well short of the requisite two-thirds majority-- it was a bitter foreign policy setback for Clinton. Rarely has the Senate defied a president on a matter of such national import. A number of Republicans who voted against the treaty are no longer in the Senate, but proponents are still believed to be short of the 67 votes needed for ratification. Clinton last week received a report from retired Gen. John Shalikashvili, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, that tries to address some criticisms that led to the treaty's defeat in 1999. "The security benefits of the treaty outweigh any perceived disadvantages, " Clinton said after meeting with Shalikashvili. "I also hope the Senate will take up the treaty at an early date." He noted that U.S. allies support the treaty. As proponents see it, the beauty of the treaty for the United States is that it lets the country keep its nuclear deterrent and pursue its nonproliferation objectives at the same time. As Ambassador Sir Michael Weston, a British arms control official, said during negotiations, the treaty "bans the bang, not the bomb." The Federation of American Scientists says: "For the sake of future generations, it would be unforgivable to neglect any reasonable action that can help prevent nuclear proliferation, as the Test Ban Treaty clearly would." But can a paper pledge ensure that countries will behave themselves? No, says Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama, top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee. "I'm not confident that we can now or can in the foreseeable future detect any and all nuclear explosions prohibited under the treaty, " Shelby says. He is worried about the specter of nuclear weapons development by countries hostile to the United States. Another issue is whether the aging U.S. deterrent will erode over time. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright calls that a nonissue. "The United States must maintain its military strength, including its nuclear deterrent forces," she said. "Our scientists have the means to do so without nuclear test explosions." Said Shalikashvili, "The nation's nuclear arsenal is safe, reliable, and able to meet all stated military requirements." But Dr. Merri Wood, a nuclear weapons design expert at Los Alamos, N.M., contends testing is essential to ensure reliability. To suggest otherwise is not science but "a religious exercise," she said, adding that it is not clear whether the weapons stockpile remains functional after eight years without testing. To make the treaty more palatable to swing voters in the Senate, Shalikashvili recommended increased American investment to enhance verification capabilities. He also called for improving the periodic assessments of aging warheads for signs of deterioration. In addition, he suggested a 10-year review period after ratification to determine whether the treaty is still in the national interest. As of last month, the treaty was signed by 160 countries and ratified by 69. By the rules, the treaty cannot enter into force until it has been ratified by the United States and 43 other specified states with nuclear power or research reactors. So far, it has been signed by all of these specified states except for India, Pakistan, and North Korea. It has been ratified by 30 of the required 44, including Britain, France, and Russia. George Gedda has covered foreign affairs for The Associated Press since 1968. //info@security-policy.org">http://info@security-policy.org ALL CONTENTS COPYRIGHT 2001 LAS VEGAS SUN, INC. ***************************************************************** 11 Test Ban Backers Face Uphill Battle January 09, 2001 ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON (AP)--President Clinton is appealing to the newly installed Senate to take up the same Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty that the old one refused to ratify 15 months ago. Over the short term, Clinton's pitch is not expected to go far because the incoming administration seems satisfied with the status quo. President-elect Bush and all his top foreign affairs advisers except Secretary of State-designate Colin Powell oppose the treaty, which is designed to discourage nuclear proliferation by outlawing nuclear tests. The United States suspended testing in 1992. When the Senate defeated treaty ratification in October 1999 by a 51-48 vote--well short of the requisite two-thirds majority-- it was a bitter foreign policy setback for Clinton. Rarely has the Senate defied a president on a matter of such national import. A number of Republicans who voted against the treaty are no longer in the Senate, but proponents are still believed to be short of the 67 votes needed for ratification. Clinton last week received a report from retired Gen. John Shalikashvili, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, that tries to address some criticisms that led to the treaty's defeat in 1999. "The security benefits of the treaty outweigh any perceived disadvantages, " Clinton said after meeting with Shalikashvili. "I also hope the Senate will take up the treaty at an early date." He noted that U.S. allies support the treaty. As proponents see it, the beauty of the treaty for the United States is that it lets the country keep its nuclear deterrent and pursue its nonproliferation objectives at the same time. As Ambassador Sir Michael Weston, a British arms control official, said during negotiations, the treaty "bans the bang, not the bomb." The Federation of American Scientists says: "For the sake of future generations, it would be unforgivable to neglect any reasonable action that can help prevent nuclear proliferation, as the Test Ban Treaty clearly would." But can a paper pledge ensure that countries will behave themselves? No, says Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama, top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee. "I'm not confident that we can now or can in the foreseeable future detect any and all nuclear explosions prohibited under the treaty, " Shelby says. He is worried about the specter of nuclear weapons development by countries hostile to the United States. Another issue is whether the aging U.S. deterrent will erode over time. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright calls that a nonissue. "The United States must maintain its military strength, including its nuclear deterrent forces," she said. "Our scientists have the means to do so without nuclear test explosions." Said Shalikashvili, "The nation's nuclear arsenal is safe, reliable, and able to meet all stated military requirements." But Dr. Merri Wood, a nuclear weapons design expert at Los Alamos, N.M., contends testing is essential to ensure reliability. To suggest otherwise is not science but "a religious exercise," she said, adding that it is not clear whether the weapons stockpile remains functional after eight years without testing. To make the treaty more palatable to swing voters in the Senate, Shalikashvili recommended increased American investment to enhance verification capabilities. He also called for improving the periodic assessments of aging warheads for signs of deterioration. In addition, he suggested a 10-year review period after ratification to determine whether the treaty is still in the national interest. As of last month, the treaty was signed by 160 countries and ratified by 69. By the rules, the treaty cannot enter into force until it has been ratified by the United States and 43 other specified states with nuclear power or research reactors. So far, it has been signed by all of these specified states except for India, Pakistan, and North Korea. It has been ratified by 30 of the required 44, including Britain, France, and Russia. --- George Gedda has covered foreign affairs for The Associated Press since 1968. //info@security-policy.org">http://info@security-policy.org ALL CONTENTS COPYRIGHT 2001 LAS VEGAS SUN, INC. ***************************************************************** 12 $30B Sought To Secure Russian Nukes January 09, 2001 ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON (AP)--A blue-ribbon panel is urging the United States to spend $30 billion over the next decade to help Russia secure its nuclear materials, or risk a "potential for catastrophic consequences." The task force in a report to be presented Wednesday said that Russia's vast stockpile of nuclear weapons and nuclear material poses "the most urgent unmet national security threat" facing the United States today. The bipartisan panel urged President-elect Bush and the new Congress to give the Russia nuclear proliferation concerns top priority. Several of the task force members already have discussed the findings with Vice President-elect Dick Cheney. U.S. spending on nuclear security programs in Russia now total about $700 million, an amount the task force called inadequate. The panel urged spending to be increased to $3 billion a year over the next eight to 10 years. The task force, chaired by former GOP Sen. Howard Baker and Lloyd Cutler, President Clinton's former White House counsel, was created a year ago by Energy Secretary Bill Richardson to examine the effectiveness of U.S. efforts to secure Russia's nuclear materials. Others on the panel include former Rep. Lee Hamilton, D-Ind., who has been mentioned as a possible U.N. ambassador in the Bush administration, and former Sen. Sam Nunn, D-Ga., who for years has been active on nuclear nonproliferation issues. While the U.S. assistance program has made some progress, its shortcomings "leave an unacceptable risk of failure and the potential for catastrophic consequences," the task force report says. Since the breakup of the Soviet Union, one of the gravest concerns among nuclear nonproliferation experts has been the safeguarding of more than 40,000 nuclear weapons and more than a 1,000 metric tons of nuclear scattered at facilities across Russia. The problem has been compounded by the thousands of Russian nuclear weapons scientists who are facing hard economic times "and may be tempted to sell their expertise" to other nations or terrorist groups, the report says. Some members of Congress have expressed reluctance to pump billions of dollars into the Russia program, especially in light of Russia's insistence on civilian nuclear technology sales to Iran and other disagreements. But the task force said the $30 billion price tag "would constitute the highest return on investment in any current U.S. national security and defense program." The report was to be presented to the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board on Wednesday. ALL CONTENTS COPYRIGHT 2001 LAS VEGAS SUN, INC. ***************************************************************** 13 Burning Russian plutonium risk-free, says Canadian Association of Physicists January 9, 2001 Burning Russian plutonium risk-free, says Canadian Association of Physicists OTTAWA (CP)--Plutonium from surplus Russian warheads could be burned in Candu reactors at no risk, says a study by the Canadian Association of Physicists. The study says Canada could play a crucial role in reducing risk of nuclear war by accepting plutonium-containing MOX fuel from Russia. The fear is that if the fuel is simply left in storage it could fall into the hands of rogue states. "The testing and use of MOX fuel in Canadian reactors presents no technical, safety, health security or transportation risks," says the study, released Tuesday. But anti-nuclear activists question the impartiality of the report, saying that one of its co-authors, William Buyers, currently with the National Research Council, used to work for Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. Jo Dufay of Greenpeace said the proposal to burn MOX fuel in Canada will contribute to sustaining Canada's nuclear industry, but won't do anything for world peace. "It isn't swords into plowshares, it's swords into boomerangs, and it's going to come back to haunt us." Dufay said Russian plutonium should be disposed of by vitrification, which involves fusing the material with glass. That would not require Canada's involvement. Gordon Drake, president of the physicists' association, said the risk of doing nothing with Russia's surplus plutonium far exceed the risks of its disposal either in Candu reactors or through vitrification. "Plutonium as a pure metal is not that radioactive, you can pick it up and handle it. It only becomes hazardous if it becomes a finely divided powder that you might breathe or ingest." Since the plutonium would be shipped in ceramic pellets there is virtually no way in which it could become dispersed, he said. Drake said the association received no funding from the government or the nuclear industry for the study. Atomic Energy of Canada is conducting tests at Chalk River, Ont., to determine how well Candu reactors burn the MOX fuel, which contains about one per cent plutonium. CNEWS POLL ***************************************************************** 14 Military to track Gulf vets' illnesses National - Ottawa Citizen Online [I] Wednesday 10 January 2001 JIM BRONSKILL The Ottawa Citizen The Defence Department has proposed a long-term study to determine whether Gulf War veterans are more likely than other troops to get cancer or die prematurely. The department is working with Statistics Canada to devise a protocol for the project, which could shed light on ill effects experienced by personnel who served in the Persian Gulf. "It's worth our while to just see if in fact among Canadians there is any difference in the instance of cancer or the mortality," said Cmdr. David Carpenter, head of the public health section in the Defence Department's directorate of medical policy. The proposal comes amid fevered controversy about another military health scare--the possibility that dangerous levels of depleted uranium pose a cancer risk to NATO troops stationed in the Balkans throughout the 1990s. Debate about Gulf War Syndrome has persisted for years. Some 4,500 Canadians were part of the multinational coalition that fought Iraq in 1991 and carried out followup missions in the region. Veterans from many countries have since complained of nagging ailments. Some believe exposure to chemical and biological weapons, anti-nerve gas pills, insect repellents or fumes from oil fires have caused their condition. A 1998 report commissioned by Defence found Canadian Forces members who served in the Gulf were more likely than other soldiers to report health problems, including chronic fatigue, anxiety, muscle pain and respiratory diseases. The report pointed to psychological stress--not exposure to dangerous chemicals--as the likeliest cause of most of the illnesses. Under the proposed study, computer database matches would determine the cancer and death rates among Gulf War veterans compared with a control group of military personnel who did not serve in the conflict. It is hoped the matches would be conducted every five years as part of an ongoing effort to track the health of Gulf veterans. "Nobody's looked at the long-term health implications," said Gary Catlin, director of the health statistics division of Statistics Canada. "With mortality due to some kinds of diseases and certain types of cancer, you don't see things until 10 or 15 years later." A Statistics Canada committee decided last May that before a final decision on whether to go ahead with the proposal, approval should be sought from representatives of Gulf veterans, says a memo obtained under the Access to Information Act by researcher Ken Rubin. Mr. Catlin said the project is being guided by an advisory committee consisting of representatives of the statistics agency, Defence, the military ombudsman, the Gulf War Veterans Association and a group that assists retired and injured Forces members. Once a formal protocol is drafted by an epidemiologist, Statistics Canada will determine whether permission to link the military and health databases should be granted. Matching data from different banks is often a sensitive issue because of privacy implications. The internal memo indicates the results of the study could take the form of a report to Defence or a paper published in a medical journal. No data identifying individuals would be made public. At least one outspoken Gulf War veteran is skeptical of the project. Louise Richard, who believes service in the Gulf triggered her many health problems, said Defence cannot be trusted to manage an independent study of the issues. "They have no credibility. So it would be a futile, expensive exercise as far as I'm concerned." Ms. Richard said panels composed of civilians and veterans should be established to study illnesses reported by veterans of the Persian Gulf and the Balkans. Yesterday, Britain became the latest country to make health tests available to soldiers to ensure they have not suffered ill effects from depleted uranium, a radioactive substance used in armour-piercing munitions. In Ottawa, Defence Minister Art Eggleton reiterated there is no need to introduce mandatory testing of peacekeepers who spent time in the Balkans. Mr. Eggleton noted Canada had already instituted voluntary tests of personnel that turned up no evidence linking illness with depleted uranium. "We're quite prepared to test more," he said. Copyright 2001 Ottawa Citizen Group Inc. ***************************************************************** 15 RESOLUTION FOR A DAY OF REMEMBRANCE ON THE ˙FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BEGINNING OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS ˙TESTING IN NEVADA WHEREAS January 27, 2001 marks the 50th Anniversary of the beginning of nuclear weapons testing at the Nevada Test Site on January 27, 1951; and WHEREAS many Utahns and many other citizens of the United States of America living downwind of those tests suffered as a result of being "active participants" in the nation's nuclear testing program; and WHEREAS uranium miners in Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and the Navajo Nation whose work fueled the nuclear weapons program also suffered from exposure to radiation; THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Utah Legislature and the Governor of the State of Utah recognize the sacrifices of the downwinders, uranium miners, and all other participants in and victims of the Cold War, and hereby memorialize their losses; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that henceforth January 27 shall be designated a "Day of Remembrance" to recognize the legacy of the Cold War, to express our hopes for peace, justice, healing, and reconciliation, and to convey our fervent desires and our commitment to assure that such a legacy will never happen again. ***************************************************************** 16 Defence to identify personnel who served in Balkans Age Breaking News By KAREN POLGLAZE Source: SMH|Published: Wednesday January 10, 8:02 PM The Australian Defence Department will conduct a survey to identify any personnel exposed to depleted uranium in the Balkans conflict. The move comes following revelations in Europe that six Italian soldiers who served in the Balkans conflict have died of leukaemia following service in Bosnia and Kosovo. There are concerns the deaths and the increasing reports of European soldiers suffering leukaemia and other cancers since serving with North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) forces in the former Yugoslavia are linked to radiation exposure. Depleted uranium was used by the United States in armour-piercing weapons during its bombing raids on the Balkans in 1999 and in the Gulf War in 1991. It is feared that radioactive dust spread in a potentially poisonous cloud when the weapons hit their targets. Australia had up to 200 personnel serving in the former Yugoslavia during the conflict. Many of them were on secondment to overseas military forces in Britain or the US and while it is believed most would have been well away from combat, the exact details of each soldier's involvement is not widely known. "Defence will be identifying all those people," a defence source told AAP. "Defence will investigate whether or not they have been exposed and an assessment will be made." Volunteer aid group CARE Australia is also concerned its workers may have been exposed to the uranium. CARE chief executive Paul Mitchell said the organisation should know within the next 24 hours whether volunteers who worked in the Balkans should be screened for radiation exposure. "There is the advice that we've got to date that the level of risk is low," Mr Mitchell told ABC Radio. New Zealand has also decided to investigate whether its troops were exposed to radioactive debris during the Gulf War and the Balkan conflicts. Anecdotal evidence suggested NZ service men and women were not exposed, but personnel locations would be double-checked, the New Zealand defence chief Air Marshal Carey Adamson said. Several European nations are also investigating and screening veterans of the conflict. Research had so far shown no link between the depleted uranium used on weapons in the Gulf War and the mysterious Gulf War Syndrome, an illness afflicting many US veterans. NATO officials also say there is no proven link between the munitions used in the Balkans and cancer among Western peacekeepers, but agreed further studies should be carried out. The Australian government recognised there are Australian veterans of the 1991 conflict who had symptoms unexplained by other causes. The government is calling for volunteers for a large-scale health study aimed at comparing veterans of the Gulf War with an equivalent number of ADF personnel who had not served in the conflict to assess problems. US jets fired some 31,000 rounds of depleted uranium ammunition during NATO's 1999 campaign to end Serb repression of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. About 10,000 rounds were also fired in neighbouring Bosnia in 1994-95. AAP Copyright © 2000 The Age Company Ltd. Any unauthorised use, ***************************************************************** 17 Diggers may have exposure to Balkans carcinogens 09:39 AEDT THURSDAY 11 JANUARY 2001 AAP-- The Australian Defence Department will conduct a survey to identify any personnel exposed to depleted uranium in the Balkans conflict. The move comes following revelations in Europe that six Italian soldiers who served in the Balkans conflict have died of leukaemia following service in Bosnia and Kosovo. There are concerns the deaths and the increasing reports of European soldiers suffering leukaemia and other cancers since serving with North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) forces in the former Yugoslavia are linked to radiation exposure. Depleted uranium was used by the United States in armour-piercing weapons during its bombing raids on the Balkans in 1999 and in the Gulf War in 1991. It is feared that radioactive dust spread in a potentially poisonous cloud when the weapons hit their targets. Australia had up to 200 personnel serving in the former Yugoslavia during the conflict. Many of them were on secondment to overseas military forces in Britain or the US and while it is believed most would have been well away from combat, the exact details of each soldier's involvement is not widely known. "Defence will be identifying all those people," a defence source told AAP. "Defence will investigate whether or not they have been exposed and an assessment will be made." Volunteer aid group CARE Australia is also concerned its workers may have been exposed to the uranium. CARE chief executive Paul Mitchell said the organisation should know within the next 24 hours whether volunteers who worked in the Balkans should be screened for radiation exposure. "There is the advice that we've got to date that the level of risk is low," Mr Mitchell told ABC Radio. New Zealand has also decided to investigate whether its troops were exposed to radioactive debris during the Gulf War and the Balkan conflicts. Anecdotal evidence suggested NZ service men and women were not exposed, but personnel locations would be double-checked, the New Zealand defence chief Air Marshal Carey Adamson said. Several European nations are also investigating and screening veterans of the conflict. Research had so far shown no link between the depleted uranium used on weapons in the Gulf War and the mysterious Gulf War Syndrome, an illness afflicting many US veterans. NATO officials also say there is no proven link between the munitions used in the Balkans and cancer among Western peacekeepers, but agreed further studies should be carried out. The Australian government recognised there are Australian veterans of the 1991 conflict who had symptoms unexplained by other causes. The government is calling for volunteers for a large-scale health study aimed at comparing veterans of the Gulf War with an equivalent number of ADF personnel who had not served in the conflict to assess problems. US jets fired some 31,000 rounds of depleted uranium ammunition during NATO's 1999 campaign to end Serb repression of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. About 10,000 rounds were also fired in neighbouring Bosnia in 1994-95. cAAP 2001 c 1997-2000 ninemsn Pty Ltd - All rights reserved - Terms ***************************************************************** 18 NZ to investigate if troops were exposed to depleted uranium Radio Australia News - 10/01/01: New Zealand is to investigate if its troops were exposed to depleted uranium weapons during the Gulf War and conflicts in Bosnia and Kosovo. Controversy over NATO's use of shells coated with depleted uranium erupted after at least seven Italian soldiers who served in the Balkans died of leukaemia. The chief of New Zealand Defence, Air Marshal Carey Adamson, says anecdotal evidence suggests New Zealand service men and women were not exposed to depleted uranium. But, he says, personnel locations will be double-checked. NATO officials maintain there's no proven link between the weaponsmunitions used in the Balkans and cancer among peacekeepers. (20:56:30 AEST) [*][I][*][I][*][I] This service includes material from Pacnews, Agence France-Presse (AFP) and Reuters ***************************************************************** 19 Harming Both Others and Self Tuesday, January 09, 2001, updated at 16:48(GMT+8) Opinion This article, written by Huang Qing, is published in the column "International The recent exposure in newspapers of the fact about and serious consequences caused by lean uranium bombs used in large quantities by the North Kosovo have shocked Europe and attracted world attention. Reports say that during the Kosovo War, the United States dropped a total of more than 31,000 lean uranium bombs on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, 90 percent of which on Kosovo. Earlier, during the Bosnia and Herzegovina War, the United States released over 10,000 lean uranium bombs on Bosnia and Herzegovina, the consequences caused by the radiation pollution of such bombs have become increasingly clear, among the local residents and soldiers participating in the NATO military actions, the proportion of people contracted leukemia and cancer has increased sharply. European Union has announced that it would conduct an "informal investigation" of the radiation pollution possibly caused by NATO's use of lean uranium bombs in the Balkan region, the UN Environment Program is also organizing evaluation of the jeopardy caused by lean uranium bombs. Various this type of weapon. Several problems here deserve careful pondering: First, as the producer and user of lean uranium bombs, the United States has not uttered a single word about this and adopted a very bad attitude. It does not publish the truth about the use of lean uranium bombs, but instead threatens that it will not stop using this weapon. While it conducted armed intervention in the Balkan region, the United States shouted the slogan of "humanitarianism" thunderously. While on the question about radiation pollution that affects human lives, the United States keeps on saying "No". Its morally dual character and hypocrisy are as clear as daylight. Second, European media's concern over this matter is concentrated mainly on the fate of the soldiers participating in the "peace-keeping action" in the Balkan region, but in fact, the greatest victim of lean uranium bombs is the Balkan region, particularly the broad masses of the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. "People are born equal", this should have been the universal norm of human rights in today's world, but in fact, the concern of Western media over "human rights" is shown in their allocation by an unequal and unfair method. Third, Why did the United States use the weapon that caused serious consequences in the Balkan region? The American themselves refuse to give explicit explanations. It seems there is no sufficient reason and necessity for using this weapon even when viewed from the logic of general military action. During the Kosovo War, some people censured the United States for regarding the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia as "the site for arms sales" and the "test ground of weapons". Today, the disturbance triggered by the lean uranium bomb and the US attitude toward this are a crystal clear proof. NATO, which used the lean uranium bombs, has today also been contracted the "phobia of lean uranium bomb". With the exception of the United States, many other countries have begun conducting physical check of soldiers then in action. This seems to have confirmed one old saying, "Harming both others and self". At present, only the United States is still holding on firmly despite world censure, it categorically denies the potential jeopardy of lean uranium bomb to human body, European countries have expressed their dissatisfaction over this. In fact, there is also much talk about the harm done to the bodies of American soldiers, but the United States refuses to face, investigate and publish the truth. Perhaps the US attitude will confirm another proverb, "Harm set, harm get." At present, only the United States is still holding on firmly despite world censure, it categorically denies the potential jeopardy of lean uranium bomb to human body, European countries have expressed their dissatisfaction over this. Copyright by People's Daily Online, all rights reserved ***************************************************************** 20 Li Peng arrives in India aiming to mend relations after nuclear rift HKiMail --- iNews Agence France-Presse BOMBAY: Li Peng, the second-highest ranking Chinese leader, arrived here yesterday on a nine-day visit to India that will cement the normalisation of ties after a rift caused by New Delhi's 1998 nuclear tests. Mr Li, who is chairman of the National People's Congress, or parliament, is the highest-ranking Chinese official to visit since bilateral ties frayed in the wake of the tests two years ago. His trip is expected to pave the way for a visit by Premier Zhu Rongji later this year. ``Mr Li is number two in the Chinese hierarchy and the very fact of his decision to undertake the India visit is highly significant, '' said analyst KK Katyal. ``Given to conveying messages through its actions, Beijing has clearly suggested through this step the end of the slump in bilateral relations. ``The visit will help India and China gauge each other's thinking on global issues,'' Mr Katyal said. Mr Li was scheduled to attend a banquet hosted by the governor of Maharashtra state last night and visit a museum and export processing facility the next day. He will arrive in New Delhi tomorrow. Sino-Indian relations have improved in the past year and there have been a flurry of top-level exchanges, covering issues from long-running border disputes to enhanced trade and closer political relations. The visit takes place against the backdrop of both the Asian neighbours agreeing to stronger ``confidence-building measures'' in the military field along the Line of Actual Control that serves as their common border. Mr Li is expected to hold talks with prominent Indian industrialists and trade forums. 10 January 2001 / 11:24 PM ***************************************************************** 21 THE COMPREHENSIVE EMBARGO IMPOSED ON IRAQ FOR ALMOST 10 YEARS HAS GREATLYDAMAGED ALL SECTORS OF IRAQ'S SOCIETY. THE FRONTIER POST HOME PAGE TO CONTACT US: E-mail: ©The Frontier Publications (Pvt) Ltd. Address: 32 Stadium Road Peshawar Cantt P.O. Box No. 1161 Pakistan Phones: +92-91 270501-04 Fax: +92-91 270505 This embargo is a fragrant violation of the basic human rights especially the right to live and to have a good health in convenient living standards. This brutal embargo is a violation of the international declaration of human rights, and the international covenant of economic, social and cultural rights as well as the human international laws. The international agencies working in Iraq has witnessed the inhuman impact of the embargo on all aspects of life, which causes shortages in food, medicine, deterioration of economic structure and the collapse of service sector. In it's report of July 1999, UNICEF uncovered the terrifying results of the embargo on the Iraqi people especially children and infants. The infant mortality rate, which was 74 cases for each 1000 living delivery during the period 1984-1989, becomes 108 cases during the years 1994-1999 Mortality rate among children under five doubled from 56 cases for each 1000 living birth to 131 cases for each 1000 during the last six year. UNICEF report indicates that the deterioration in health sector is due to shortages in food and medicine as well as in the increasing of transmitted diseases. The American aggressors had used internationally prohibited weapons during their hostilities in 1991, including Depleted Uranium against Iraq. There were about 300 tons of Depleted Uranium used in the south of Iraq, according to confessions of a British officials. That quantity caused abnormal (leukemia), carcinoma lung, cancer of digestive system, skin cancer, cosmetic deformities and other strange diseases. In addition to that, there was a great deal of damage in environment, which will continue for hundreds of years. The special investigation committees established by the American Pentagon and British Defence Ministry to examine the strange and serious illness suffered by thousands of officers, soldiers and their families who participated in the aggression against Iraq, is a clear evidence which confirms the crime against humanity committed by the US and the UK officials who should be brought to justice and be condemned and punished. Oil for food programme does not meet the minimum needs of Iraqi citizens for food and medicines especially when the quota of food for each person is not enough to prevent malnutrition. This quota is described by FAO as "not enough and unbalanced". In addition to that there are the continuous attempts by the US and the UK representatives in (661) committee to prevent implementation of the purchasing contracts signed with the Oil for Food Programme in order to increase the sufferings of Iraqi people. The US representative is following selective policy through suspension of purchasing contracts of food and medicine as well as amending some of them or prolonging the consultation over them or demanding unnecessary details. The number of the suspended purchasing contracts during January 2000 becomes 813 contracts of US$ 1.183 billion. Washington and London claims the right of unilateral interpretation of Security Council resolutions. Through this style they imposed, by force, the so-called No-Fly Zone in south and north of Iraq. These two illegal zones are one of the US schemes to divide Iraq on ethnic and sectarian basis and to violate its sovereignty and independence as well as intervention in its internal affairs. The US even followed weak means of conspiring publicly to change the patriotic regime of Iraq and replacing it with a puppet conspiring publicly to change the patriotic regime of Iraq and replacing it with a puppet government of America's agents in contradiction with the will of the people of Iraq and in violation of UN Charter, international law and the relevant Security Council resolutions. The US objective behind it's policies of prolonging embargo, imposing No-Fly-Zones and the daily bombardment is to divide Iraqi society, hurt it's unity and put it's will, resources and the future of it's generations under the siege of the US. This alone is a flagrant violation of human rights and a crime against international peace and security. The accusations in the field of human rights against Iraq are false, exaggerated and baseless. They came within a frame of political misleading propaganda to distort facts and to cover the violations being committed against the people of Iraq as a result of the continuous embargo and aggression which is leading to the rise of mortality in addition to the human sufferings in the social, economic, cultural and scientific fields as well as the deterioration of environment. This is to show the huge size of atrocities still being committed against the people of Iraq. The embargo imposed for political and interests considerations along with the military aggression represent a violation of the rights of the Iraqi people and also an obstacle in the way of promoting their rights. It is well known that human rights cannot be promoted and flourished without peace and stability. All friendly governments and human rights organisations should increase their efforts to end the embargo and stop the aggression against the people of Iraq. These efforts by themselves represent a victory for humanity, high values of human rights, people's dignity and their basic interests. Views Expressed and published here are not a property of The FrontierPost; however FP reserves the right to edit any comments. Messages/comments will be published here within 24 hours of posting. ©Copyright 2000 The Frontier Post ***************************************************************** 22 Nominee for DOE draws little response FOR DOE DRAWS LITTLE RESPONSE The nomination of Spencer Abraham for energy secretary didn't exactly draw ooohs and aaaahs in Oak Ridge, home of the Department of Energy's largest and most diverse field operation. There was mostly silence, interspersed with a few gratuitous comments along the lines of, "We look forward to working with the new secretary." Most of those with really strong opinions aren't talking publicly because they don't want to irritate Abraham or trash him until it becomes absolutely necessary. "It's hard to get too bent out of shape. He hasn't done anything yet," one long-time Oak Ridge observer noted. Suffice it to say, however, there is general disappointment that President-elect George W. Bush didn't pick someone with more of an energy background or some ties of local interest. It looks like the biggest reason for choosing Abraham was his political availability, having recently lost his seat in the U.S. Senate. The secretary-to-be hasn't gone through his confirmation grilling as of yet, but he did make a statement in favor of stepping up domestic production of oil and natural gas reserves. That may not bode well for the energy-efficiency and conservation research programs at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. There's not a lot in his background to suggest how Abraham will handle the difficult issues facing the U.S. nuclear weapons complex, which is so much a part of the federal agency he's about to inherit. His reputation as a hard worker will have to serve him well. Abraham's environmental record is suspect, maybe worse--at least that's the opinion of some activist groups--and one has to wonder if he'll push hard enough for the billions of dollars necessary to keep the cleanups at Oak Ridge and other nuclear sites on track. While it would be easy to challenge his technical expertise in any of the big energy programs, that's wasted effort. He doesn't need high test scores in physics or nuclear engineering to be a good manager or a good leader, so a reasonable analysis of his capabilities probably should be put on hold--at least until he's organized his department and put his delegates in key positions. Maybe he'll surprise us. That's happened before in Washington. Better yet, maybe he'll surprise us in a good way. * TOXIC INVENTORY: Following last month's fluorine scare at the K-25 plant involving a gas leak at an old storage facility, questions were raised about the stockpile of fluorine or related compounds at other Oak Ridge plants. In particular, DOE was asked how much hydrogen fluoride was in storage at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant. "There is no longer substantial quantities of fluorine or HF at the Y-12 plant," DOE spokesman Steven Wyatt said. "Small, laboratory- scale quantities, however, do exist." Wyatt acknowledged that hydrogen fluoride previously was used in Y-12's production processes, but he said that hazardous material was removed in the mid-1990s. * VROOOOM: Now I know how Dale Earnhardt feels. The Intimidator (No. 3 in your NASCAR program) has always been an outspoken critic of restrictor plates--those little plates that are attached to the carburetor to limit the airflow and reduce the horsepower. Restrictor-plate racing was instituted years ago at the super speedways -- Talladega and Daytona--to slow the speeds of stock cars and enhance the safety (although Dale and his buddies argue the latter point). Anyway, so what's that controversy got to do with me? Well, after a long, hot summer of road construction, Tennessee's transportation gods finally opened up the last leg of the Pellissippi Parkway--giving Oak Ridgers and Atomic City commuters what we've always dreamed about (four lanes, limited access and smooth pavement). One problem: We're supposed to drive at subdivision speeds on the new super speedway. They built Talladega North and didn't even have the decency to issue us restrictor plates to help keep our cars under 45 mph. Senior Writer Frank Munger covers the Department of Energy for the News-Sentinel. He can be reached at 865-482-9213 or at twig1@knoxnews.infi.net. This column is also available on the Web at www.knoxnews.com/editorsview/ munger/ Copyright c 1999-2000, The Knoxville News-Sentinel Co. All Rights ***************************************************************** 23 Ill Belgian Soldier Wants Answers Today: January 10, 2001 at 11:03:03 PST ASSOCIATED PRESS BOOM, Belgium (AP)--It all started about a year after he returned from Bosnia--muscle pains, shortness of breath and stomach ailments. Five years later, Cpl. Guido Fleurackers says he's still sick and wants to know why. "I have problems with sleeping, I have pain in my legs, my arms and in my muscles," said Fleurackers, a 20-year army veteran who served one tour in Bosnia and another in Croatia. "I'm sure it's related to my service in the Balkans." Fleurackers is one of a growing number of Balkan veterans who fear they are at risk from cancer and other ailments, possibly due to exposure to ammunition containing depleted uranium. Depleted uranium, a slightly radioactive heavy metal, is used in anti-armor munitions because of its penetrating power. U.S. forces fired weapons containing depleted uranium in Bosnia in 1994 and 1995, and in 1999, NATO fired such weapons during its bombing of Yugoslavia. Studies into the effects of depleted uranium have not revealed any link to cancer. But concerns among European nations have intensified since Italy began studying the illnesses of 30 soldiers, seven of whom died of cancer. Since then, similar cases have been reported in at least eight other European countries, including four leukemia cases among Balkan veterans in France and two in Denmark. In Belgium, five soldiers who served in the Balkans have died of cancer and four more are suffering from the disease. Now Fleurackers is part of a class action suit planned on behalf of 1,600 Belgian service members. The Belgian soldiers are not blaming their problems specifically on depleted uranium, but they claim the government endangered their health by sending them to U.N. and NATO- led peacekeeping missions in the former Yugoslavia. Fleurackers says his health deteriorated drastically after he returned in 1994 from Bosnia, where he served in an engineering unit. Within months, he says he noticed fatigue, muscle pains, shortness of breath and stomach problems. "My work began to suffer," Fleurackers said. "Most people around me can't understand what has happened. Some people think I'm not really sick." Fleurackers was transferred to a desk job and then took nine months of sick leave in 1997. He returned to duty, but seven months ago was back on sick leave. Now, he's awaiting results of tests to determine if he has cancer. Even if he does not, he's worried that he may be discharged from the army for medical reasons. Fleurackers maintains others are suffering from similar disorders but are afraid to talk about them for fear of losing their jobs. "A lot of people have bought houses, have cars, have a family, have kids, and they are scared to lose their salaries every month," he said. "This is reasonable. I'm also scared to lose my pay." NATO and the United States insist there is no evidence linking depleted uranium to cancer or other ailments among Balkan veterans. The European Union and NATO have promised to accelerate research to determine if there is a "Balkan Syndrome" and if so, what causes it. Still, many European soldiers and veterans are worried. At his home in Sardinia, former Italian peacekeeper Valery Melis looked through photos of his time in the Balkans and wondered if the reason for his illness lies there. He's 23 and suffering from Hodgkin's disease, a form of cancer. Melis served in Albania and Macedonia from March to June 1999. He never got closer to Kosovo than about 15 or 20 miles. But he still thinks he might have "inhaled" depleted uranium somehow. "At first I didn't make the connection," Melis, an army corporal, said. But as the debate over the health risks of depleted uranium heated up across the continent, "the first doubts came along." Then there is retired Capt. Frank Cop of Belgium, a Bosnia veteran who served 30 years before an undetermined illness forced him to retire. "I don't know if I came in contact with it," he said. "I did not receive any warnings. I did not have any protective gear." The Belgian government is at a loss to determine how to deal with people like Fleurackers. The Defense Ministry has been swamped with letters from parents and wives of soldiers serving in the Balkans, concerned about possible health risks. "We know they are frustrated," Defense Ministry spokesman Gerard Harveng said. "We want to give clarification to the families. We can understand their plight." For Fleurackers, there is little that can be done but await results of the various investigations. "I don't know what my future holds," he said. "I'm not afraid of a bullet. I'm not afraid of a grenade. But I am afraid of this. This is scary." ALL CONTENTS COPYRIGHT 2001 LAS VEGAS SUN, INC. ***************************************************************** 24 Italy's 'Balkan' Death Toll at 7 Today: January 10, 2001 at 11:20:04 PST ASSOCIATED PRESS ROME (AP)--Italy on Wednesday raised the death toll it links to possible exposure to depleted uranium ammunition in the Balkans from six to seven. Briefing the Italian Senate, Defense Minister Sergio Mattarella said investigations are under way into the illnesses of 30 Italian soldiers, including seven who have died of cancer. He offered no other information, and the Defense Ministry provided only a few details of the cases. One of the seven never served in the Balkans, officials said. Ministry spokesman Col. Paolo Bressan said he was unable to explain why he was included in the studies. According to Bressan, these are the deaths under investigation: -Cpl. Salvatore Carbonaro, 24, of Floridia, Sicily, served seven months in Bosnia in 1998 with the Garibaldi Brigade. He died of leukemia in November after an 18-month illness. His family blames benzene exposure, not depleted uranium, for his death. -Rinaldo Colombo, 31, of Carnago, was a military police officer who served in Bosnia in 1996 and 1997 and in Albania in 1997. He died of skin cancer in November 2000. -Cpl. Salvatore Vacca, 23, of Cagliari, Sardinia, was in Bosnia in 1998 and 1999 in the Sassari Regiment. He died on Sept. 9, 1999, of leukemia. -Sgt. Maj. Andrea Antonacci, from the Puglia region, was in Sarajevo from Aug. 20, 1998, to March 4, 1999. He died of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a type of cancer, on Dec. 13, 2000. -Luigi D'Alessio, a soldier who was in Bosnia with the Italian Red Cross, died of leukemia last year. No date of Balkan service or date of death was provided. -Capt. Giuseppe Benetti served in Bosnia as an army engineer. He died on Oct. 29, 1998, of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. No date of Balkan service was provided. -Giuseppe Pintus, of Cagliari, Sardinia, did not serve in the Balkans but did a tour of duty at a firing range in Teulada, Sardinia. That led the media to suggest he'd been exposed to depleted uranium, though Bressan said depleted uranium munitions were not used at Teulada. He died of leukemia in May 1994. Depleted uranium, a slightly radioactive heavy metal, is used in anti-armor munitions because of its high penetrating power. U.S. forces fired weapons containing depleted uranium in Bosnia in 1994 and 1995, and in 1999, NATO fired such weapons during its bombing of Yugoslavia. Numerous studies into the effects of depleted uranium have not revealed any connection between the metal and cancer. But concerns among European nations have intensified since the Italian cases came to light. ALL CONTENTS COPYRIGHT 2001 LAS VEGAS SUN, INC. ***************************************************************** 25 NATO Devises Uranium Action Plan Today: January 10, 2001 at 8:41:55 PST ASSOCIATED PRESS BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP)--NATO announced Wednesday that it will set up a group to exchange information on possible health risks from depleted uranium munitions because of public concern that they may lead to cancer and other illnesses. NATO Secretary-General Lord Robertson told reporters there is no scientific evidence that exposure to armor-piercing munitions containing depleted uranium poses a significant health risk. Nevertheless, he said NATO has set up an action plan because of European countries' fears about health risks to soldiers assigned to the Balkans, where depleted uranium munitions were used in combat. Robertson said the plan calls for full NATO cooperation with any investigations on depleted uranium's risks. It also includes consultation with countries that contribute peacekeepers to Bosnia and Kosovo and creation of a clearinghouse to exchange information on depleted uranium. Depleted uranium, a slightly radioactive heavy metal, is used in anti-armor munitions because of its high penetrating power. U.S. forces fired weapons containing depleted uranium in Bosnia in 1994 and 1995, and in 1999, NATO fired such weapons during its bombing of Yugoslavia. Numerous studies into the effects of depleted uranium have not revealed any connection between the metal and cancer. But concerns among European nations have intensified since Italy began studying the illnesses of 30 soldiers, seven of whom died of cancer, including five cases of leukemia. In France, four soldiers are being treated for leukemia. Several European countries have begun screening soldiers who served as peacekeepers in the Balkans. Many civilian aid agencies are doing the same. On Wednesday, Portuguese Science Minister Mariano Gago said Portuguese scientific experts have found no dangerous levels of radiation during tests in Kosovo over the past four days. Gago told Portuguese state radio RDP that readings taken around the central Kosovo town of Klina, where Portuguese peacekeepers are stationed, showed normal levels of background radiation. "The possibility of generalized contamination in the area is therefore out of the question," Gago said. One Portuguese peacekeeper has been diagnosed with cancer since returning from Kosovo. In Berlin, Defense Minister Rudolf Scharping also insisted there is no evidence to support growing concern that weapons containing depleted uranium pose a health risk. "The results of the tests on (German) soldiers deployed in Kosovo, and on soldiers never deployed there, show no differences," Scharping said. But he said Germany still wants a moratorium while more research is carried out. NATO turned down a request by Italy and Germany for such a moratorium Tuesday. Asked why NATO refused to consider a moratorium, Robertson said that since there are currently no hostilities in Europe, the weapons are not being used anyway. "What we have to do is act on the basis of our analysis of the facts, " he said. "I would not agree to the use of the munitions if I believed there were a hazard." One risk that NATO itself has acknowledged is the possibility of contamination from breathing dust from an exploded depleted uranium shell. But even then, Robertson said, one would have to be inside a destroyed vehicle to be affected. ALL CONTENTS COPYRIGHT 2001 LAS VEGAS SUN, INC. ***************************************************************** 26 Denmark, Sweden await EU, NATO meetings on leukemia issue A total of 16 countries are reported to be investigating the health of troops who participated in peace-keeping missions in the Balkans. Mto; Belgium; Bulgaria; Denmark; Family; Finland; Health; Investigation; NATO; Nordic; Norway; Portugal; Spain; Sweden; Ukraine; Weapons Story Filed: Tuesday, January 09, 2001 6:01 AM EST JAN 9, 2001, M2 Communications - A total of 16 countries are reported to be investigating the health of troops who participated in peace- keeping missions in the Balkans. Nine of these countries are NATO members. Spain, Belgium and Portugal have reported of soldiers who have died from leukemia after serving in the Balkans and these countries were among the first to start investigations of the situation. Bulgaria, Ukraine and the Czech Republic have also started investigations, while Finland is the only Nordic country that has started a systematic investigation, according to CNN Denmark. Meanwhile the Norwegian armed forces have offered health checks to all those personnel who served on foreign missions since 1990. Norway had previously said that it seemed unnecessary to carry out general health checks as there were no proven links between deaths and illnesses among Balkan peacekeepers and depleted uranium used in NATO weapons. Sigurd Frisvold, the armed forces chief, said that he was offering the checks because of reports of health problems and the worry that has been created among current and former personnel and their friends and family. Denmark and Sweden have reportedly decided to await the results of meetings in the European Union and NATO this week. Jan Trojborg, the Danish defence minister, has said that he does not want to launch a health investigation of the Danish troops until he knows that it is justified because he does not want to create unnecessary worry. The minister added that relevant experts will be asked to contribute to ensure that the matter is handled in the right way. It has been reported that two Danish soldiers who have served in the Balkans have been diagnosed with leukemia so far. ((Comments on this story may be sent to nbr.feedback@nordicbusinessreport.com)) Copyright c 1998-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD http://www.m2.com p; Portions of above Copyright c 1997-2001, Northern Light ***************************************************************** 27 Germany to Stop Deploying Depleted Uranium Ammunition BERLIN, January 9 (Xinhua) --Germany will become the first NATO nation to stop deploying depleted uranium ammunition, the Defense Ministry said Tuesday. Story Filed: Tuesday, January 09, 2001 12:23 PM EST BERLIN, January 9 (Xinhua) --Germany will become the first NATO nation to stop deploying depleted uranium ammunition, the Defense Ministry said Tuesday. The ministry is preparing for a moratorium until a scientific research can achieve any result, the DPA news agency quoted officials as saying. A NATO conference on depleted uranium ammunition's possible links with leukemia was held Tuesday in Brussels, at which Germany proposed an investigation among NATO soldiers deployed in the Balkan region. The Greens Party, a junior partner in the German coalition cabinet, called on the government to collect all radioactive ammunition deployed in the German armed forces to prevent further contamination. A moratorium is "far not enough," Renate Kuenast, chairwoman of the party said. The Free Democratic Party (FDP), an opposition party in the parliament, also urged the German armed forces Tuesday to ban the deployment of depleted uranium ammunition while taking part in future NATO actions. German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder demanded on Monday an " unreserved clarification" of NATO over the deployment of depleted uranium ammunition in the Balkans. And the Defense Minister Rudolf Scharping promised that any German soldier deployed in the Balkan region could get a free check for radioactive hurts "if he or she feels uncomfortable." Some 50,000 German soldiers are deployed in the Balkan region as part of NATO joint forces. Scharping has planned to hold a meeting on Wednesday with a group of scientific and medical experts to evaluate the impact of depleted uranium munitions, the Defense Ministry said. The ministry will also investigate NATO military training places in Germany to find out whether "troops of friendly countries have used depleted uranium ammunition in drills." Meanwhile, German scientists stressed there was little risk of leukemia through the deployment of depleted ammunition. Herwig Paretzke, director of Research Center of Environment and Health in Munich, told the Deutschlandfunk radio Wednesday, "I can rule out any relationship between depleted uranium ammunition and leukemia. " Copyright XINHUA NEWS AGENCY Copyright c 2001, Xinhua News Agency, all rights reserved. p; Portions of above Copyright c 1997-2001, Northern Light Technology Inc. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 28 NATO Will Keep Uranium Arms, Help Research January 10, 2001 10:57 am EST By Ian Geoghegan BRUSSELS (Reuters) - NATO insisted Wednesday there was only a minimal health risk from the alliance's use of tank-busting missiles coated with depleted uranium. Trying to damp down a controversy that has swept through the 19-nation alliance, prompted Russian accusations of Western arrogance and aroused Iraqi vitriol over the Gulf War, NATO pledged to do all it could to reassure troops and civilians. Alliance ambassadors earlier discussed the row which erupted after several Western peacekeepers who served in the Balkans, where depleted uranium ammunition was used, died of leukemia. Depleted uranium (DU) is used on missiles, shells and bullets because of its heavy armor penetration but it can release a fine, mildly radioactive dust on impact. NATO Secretary-General George Robertson said the alliance had "nothing to hide and everything to share." "We are confident there is little risk from DU munitions but we refuse to be complacent," he told a news conference. ROW REKINDLES IRAQI IRE The row has also resurfaced concerns over thousands of cancer deaths and deformed births in Iraq, where Western bombs used in the Gulf War 10 years ago were also tipped with depleted uranium. The official Iraqi News Agency (INA) said Wednesday that Iraq urged the United Nations and other world bodies to probe the use of DU arms and go public on their health effects. "These reports confirm the credibility of facts presented by Iraq over previous years on the use of these weapons by American and British forces in their 1991 aggression on Iraq and their disastrous effects on people and environment," INA quoted one Foreign Ministry source as saying. The source said Iraq reserved the right to compensation for the damage caused and wanted American and British officials to be put on trial for "war crimes and genocide." European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana, who was NATO chief during the 1999 Kosovo campaign, joined the chorus calling for an investigation into the possible health risks associated with DU munitions. "There must be absolute transparency so that all the facts are on the table," Solana told a meeting of Bavaria's conservative Christian Social Union in Wildbad Kreuth. DU WEAPONS TO STAY According to NATO diplomats, the three allies who used DU arms in the Balkans conflicts in the 1990s--Britain, France and the United States--rebuffed requests from Italy, Germany and Greece for DU weapons to be taken out of NATO's armory. "We must base our analysis on facts and not be swayed by perceptions, " Robertson said when asked if NATO planned to decommission DU ammunition. In Paris, French President Jacques Chirac vowed his country would deal with the so-called "Balkans Syndrome" with total openness. The alliance stressed that medical and scientific opinion was on its side. It has the backing of the World Health Organization and many scientists who argue there is no link between DU weapons and cancers. "The existing medical consensus is clear: the hazard from depleted uranium is both very limited and limited to very specific circumstances, " Robertson said. Earlier, Portuguese ministers visiting Kosovo said they were satisfied that initial tests into the effects of DU ammunition at over 50 locations had shown no abnormal radiation levels. "We are absolutely satisfied," Science Minister Mariano Gago said at a Portuguese peacekeepers' base in the town of Klina. But he stressed that results from analysis of samples taken from food, water and air were not yet available. NATO DOCTORS TO MEET Robertson said NATO planned "robust" action to try to calm the health concerns, which Secretary of State Madeleine Albright warned late Tuesday risked turning into "hysteria." NATO is to set up a dedicated committee involving allies, non-NATO nations and both military and civilian groups to further study the effects of DU arms. NATO medical chiefs will meet Monday to discuss the issue further. The alliance will also provide more information on DU weaponry and help international organizations, such as the U.N. Environment Program, in further field studies in Bosnia. Amid the escalating health concerns for soldiers and civilians, the Greek journalists' federation said it would screen its members who covered the wars in Kosovo and Bosnia for health problems. Russia criticized the West for ignoring its warnings about the hazards of using DU weapons in Kosovo and warned that their legacy endangered the people and environment of Yugoslavia as much as NATO's Balkan veterans. "We began to worry...in June 1999," said Lieutenant-General Boris Alekseyev, head of environmental safety for Russian armed forces. "But the danger we talked about did not get any reaction, either in our own country or in the West." ***************************************************************** 29 Europe to Investigate Uranium- Tipped Arms JANUARY 10, 2001 By MARLISE SIMONS [I]ARIS, Jan. 9 — With NATO beginning to react to health concerns about uranium-tipped ammunition, European governments today ordered their own investigation, by scientists of the nuclear supervisory body Euratom. The 15-nation European Union instructed the scientists to report within a month on whether unexplained illness and even deaths among peacekeepers in the Balkans could be linked to uranium-tipped weapons fired during NATO's air campaign. The Pentagon and NATO deny that links could exist between the American- made antitank weapons and the unexplained diseases among veterans. But reports of leukemia and other disease continue to surface. The French Defense Ministry said today that it had found a fifth soldier, a Balkans veteran, suffering from leukemia, but a spokesman said it was not possible to determine the cause. A French journalist, who said she had had a range of illnesses since covering the Persian Gulf and Balkans wars, has been called to testify before Parliament. The journalist, Marie-Claude Dubin, said she had had the kinds of troubles that thousand of American and British veterans have reported. In both wars, tons of fired ammunition contained depleted uranium, which is used to make the rounds harder and more effective. "I'm not saying that uranium was certainly the cause, but I am ill and I have the same symptoms as the veterans," Ms. Dubin told the daily Le Parisien. As the clamor grows, the British government today made an abrupt turnabout in its handling of the issue. Britain is one of the few European countries to employ depleted uranium weapons and until now it refused to test its soldiers, arguing, like the United States, that the weapons posed no health threats if handled properly. But this afternoon in the House of Commons, the armed forces minister, John Spellar, unexpectedly announced that the government was setting up a voluntary screening program for service personnel and civilians who served in the Balkans. "Some of the recent coverage will have caused some concerns among our people and we do recognize a need to reassure them," Mr. Spellar said. Meanwhile, the issue was raised at a meeting of diplomats at NATO headquarters in Brussels, with Italy demanding that a moratorium on such weapons be discussed when senior NATO officials meet on Wednesday. The European Union said it needed the scientific assessment because if contamination is persisting on the ground it may have to adjust its reconstruction program in Kosovo. The union spent some $350 million in Kosovo last year on reconstruction and relief projects and keeps several hundred staff members and contract workers there. It says it needs to know what protection is necessary for them. Beyond that, the Europeans need to figure out "if we should develop any new environment or health programs for the people in Kosovo," said Annika Ostergren, a European Union spokesman. The scientists who will make the assessment under the auspices of Euratom — the name stands for European Atomic Energy Community — are to gather data from military and government sources as well as universities, rather than doing independent research. American and British military reports have pronounced the ammunition safe. But some independent researchers say there are worries that even small amounts of depleted uranium can have lasting effects on health if they enter the body. Britain and France are among the few countries in Europe that stock depleted uranium ammunition, although they did not use it in Kosovo. Most other governments do not stock the ammunition, contending that not enough is known about its impact on soldiers handling or otherwide coming in contact with it. NATO disclosed last month that American warplanes fired 31,000 rounds of depleted-uranium shells in the 1999 campaign on targets mostly in Kosovo but also in Serbia and Montenegro. Some 10,000 rounds were fired in Bosnia during attacks in l994 and 1995. what you know in Abuzz, a new knowledge network from The New York ***************************************************************** 30 UK Offers Soldiers Uranium Screening January 09, 2001 ASSOCIATED PRESS LONDON (AP)--Britain will offer screening to veterans of the Kosovo and Bosnian wars for signs of illness, the government said Tuesday, joining its European allies in a scramble to allay concerns about depleted uranium in tank-busting weapons. However, Armed Forces Minister John Spellar said there was no medical evidence of a risk from depleted uranium ammunition, which he said would remain part of Britain's arsenal. Screening will not begin until experts have identified what they should be looking for and how, and the tests will be voluntary, Spellar said. "It will also be important to coordinate an approach with allies ... and to ensure that all data available across NATO is pooled as a basis for subsequent decisions," he said. The potential health hazards come from inhaling or swallowing the dust created when the ammunition hits its target, and could lead to cancer from radiation decades after exposure, or kidney damage from metal poisoning. Experts say it is unlikely that any cancer currently detected in Balkan veterans would be connected to depleted uranium because the disease would not have emerged so soon. Kidney damage would be expected earlier. Depleted uranium has not been widely studied and experts say they don't know exactly how much must be consumed to be harmful. The few studies that have been conducted, on veterans of the Gulf War-- where depleted uranium ammunition was used in much higher amounts -- have found no evidence of a connection to cancer or any other illness reported by troops. "These issues are not new and we must not unduly alarm service personnel and their families about the position," Spellar said. "That said, we do recognize that there are some concerns among our people and we recognize a need to reassure them." He dismissed calls for a ban on the weapons. "This ammunition provides a battle-winning military capability. Alternative materials are not as effective," Spellar told the House of Commons. Depleted uranium "will remain part of our arsenal for the foreseeable future." The announcement followed a wave of concern across Europe, sparked by Italy's decision last month to investigate illnesses among 30 of its soldiers who had served in the Balkans, including five who have died of leukemia. Since then, investigations or screening programs have been announced in a number of other European countries, with many civilian aid agencies also checking workers. Ireland and Denmark also announced screening plans on Tuesday. Retired U.S. Gen. Wesley Clark, who led the 1999 NATO campaign in Yugoslavia, told Greece's Mega Channel Files program Tuesday he was not convinced there is a link. "It's very important that when soldiers are taken ill, that all of the possible causes were examined, and those causes range from everything, from allergic reactions to particular dusts or soil contamination in the area, through food that people have eaten, into the cigarettes they're smoking," he said. "It could be a number of factors, and so I don't quite understand what's caused this public linkage with depleted uranium," Clark said. Some 300 tons or depleted uranium was fired by NATO forces in the Gulf War, compared to nine tons in Kosovo and three tons in Bosnia, Spellar said. NATO, meeting in Brussels, Belgium, took up the issue of depleted uranium Tuesday for the first time since the issue flared in recent weeks, but the allies quickly shot down an Italian plea for a moratorium on the weapons. While the alliance is not a scientific organization, one suggestion at the Political Committee meeting was that NATO could act as a clearinghouse for information on depleted uranium. Those studies, however, are the domain of member nations or outside organizations, officials said. Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma, visiting his country's peacekeepers in Kosovo, called Tuesday for a ban on depleted uranium weapons. Meanwhile, Norwegian peacekeepers refused to sign contracts for service in Yugoslavia, demanding information on the risk from depleted uranium, Norway's TV-2 network reported. A group of Belgian soldiers announced plans to sue their government because of health problems allegedly caused by service in the Balkans. In Stockholm, Sweden's military said soldiers who served in the Balkans will be informed about possible health risks from depleted uranium and will be invited to fill out a questionnaire about their health. ALL CONTENTS COPYRIGHT 2001 LAS VEGAS SUN, INC. ***************************************************************** 31 Opinion - Guest column: Human guinea pigs? How dare they? Oak Ridger Online --> Story last updated at 1:09 p.m. on Wednesday, January 10, 2001 While a technician at X-10 from 1977 to 1979, I was very concerned about the beta, gamma, and fast neutron exposures I was receiving, given I was a young female of child-bearing age. I was so concerned that I asked the health physicists in my building to show me the studies proving it was safe. They assured me it was and that I should trust them. Well, I didn't and I felt like a human guinea pig, which is why I quit. However, I have always wondered if I was justified in those feelings or if I was simply being paranoid, which is why I took the path of self-education on issues of worker health, retribution, and the environment. When I first learned of local human experimentation some years ago (i.e., pregnant women who were given radioactive iron), I was assured by knowledgeable people that the levels were extremely low and were nothing to be concerned about. The fact they were uninformed exposures was just a little detail that should be forgiven. However, while reading the recently released report by the Department of Energy Office of Oversight for Environment, Safety, and Health (i.e., ES&H report entitled "Independent Investigation of the East Tennessee Technology Park," October 2000), I discovered something that makes me want to revisit, and perhaps rethink, this issue. The following is from page 65 of Volume 1: "The metabolism and biochemical effects of uranium compounds were topics of research at the Gaseous Diffusion Plant between June 15 and 18, 1945, when the site studied the liver and kidney functions of ten soldiers who were exposed to UO2F2 while on duty in Oak Ridge. "Available records are unclear as to whether the exposures were intentional or unintentional, or where the exposures occurred. "The soldiers were given a mixture of creatinine, urea, sugar, lemon juice, and water that was ingested. Blood and urine samples were subsequently collected from the soldiers to evaluate liver and kidney function following the exposure to radioactive material. "The investigation team's discovery of this information was of particular concern due to the radioactive material intake necessary to affect liver or kidney function in the soldiers. "A July 16, 1945, memorandum outlined a second study that was conducted to compare the urinary uranium concentrations in employees with known exposure to radioactive materials before and after their work shifts in areas where periodic exposures were known to exist. "Eight individuals, occupationally exposed to varying concentrations of UO3 and UCl4, were studied by fluorescometric urinalysis for seven consecutive days. "Although it was clear that these groups of individuals were known to have ongoing (i.e., chronic) exposures, site management did not act to limit these individuals' internal exposures." Even in the early days it was known that these materials were likely to be hazardous. According to the ES&H report (p. 58), "before plant startup, plant management had concerns about whether they had enough information to fully inform workers about all health and safety precautions. It is my hope that the workers at these sites were not intentionally used to further that knowledge. However, I'm starting to believe my 19-year-old gut may have been pretty good after all. Maybe we were just human guinea pigs. Susan Kaplan is a resident of Solway. [*][I] All Contents cCopyright The Oak Ridger ***************************************************************** 32 KOUCHNER VISITS DEPLETED URANIUM SITE IN KOSOVO HEAD OF UN KOSOVO MISSION VISITS SITE HIT BY DEPLETED URANIUM AMMUNITION 9January - The head of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) today visited a site which was hit by ammunition containing depleted uranium during the 1999 Balkans conflict. At a destroyed bus station in Klina, Dr. Bernard Kouchner witnessed a demonstration by Italian troops of their techniques in seeking radiation left by depleted uranium. Specialists wearing white uniforms and masks deployed monitors on the ground and in the air amid the twisted shards of vehicles. "We took and are still taking this threat very seriously: on the one hand, we are checking the radioactivity with testing not only by the soldiers but also by the United Nations Environmental Programme [(UNEP)]," Dr. Kouchner told reporters on the scene, referring to the UN agency which collected samples of depleted uranium in Kosovo that are now being analyzed in European labs. "On the other hand, we have also demanded an investigation by the World Health Organization [(WHO)] into the health of the population," he added. In addition to asking WHO for a team of experts to assess the situation, Dr. Kouchner said he would invite specialized non-governmental organizations to Kosovo to study of the health risks of depleted uranium. "I'm suggesting that an independent body, such as Friends of the Earth, should come and freely make their own exploration and investigation, " he explained, noting that the idea had been endorsed by NATO Secretary General George Robertson. The UNMIK chief said he had proposed the establishment of a working group of Albanians and Serbs to liaise with WHO and public health institutions on the matter. The issue of depleted uranium was also discussed today in Kosovo's Interim Administrative Council, which Dr. Kouchner addressed for the last time as head of UNMIK before completing his assignment later this week. He took the occasion to urge members of that body to "reject intolerance and use your influence as political leaders to curb extremism." Meanwhile, UNEP spokesman Michael Williams told reporters in Geneva today that the agency hoped to send a mission to Serbia and Montenegro in April or May to examine sites hit by ammunition containing depleted uranium. NATO provided UNEP with a map of 112 such sites, of which nine were in Serbia and Montenegro and the rest in Kosovo and surrounding regions, he said. UN CHIEF IN KOSOVO SEEKS HEALTH EXPERTS' OPINION ON EFFECTS OF DEPLETED URANIUM 8January - Secretary-General Kofi Annan's chief envoy in Kosovo is seeking a team of health experts to assess the effects of depleted uranium resulting from the Balkans conflict of 1999, a United Nations spokesperson told reporters in Pristina today. Susan Manuel, a spokesperson for the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), said UNMIK Chief Dr. Bernard Kouchner had urgently appealed to the Director-General of the World Health Organization possible health consequences of the use of depleted uranium among the civilian population." Initial findings from WHO and the Kosovo Department of Health revealed "no increase in the incidence of leukemia among adults over the past four years," Ms. Manuel said, adding that the assessment would continue. Dr. Kouchner is also in touch with NATO Secretary-General George Robertson on how to coordinate their approach to the issue of depleted uranium. sites hit by depleted uranium during the conflict are now being analyzed in five European laboratories. The results of the tests will be ready in early March, when UNEP is to publish a full report of its findings. When asked about the issue at UN Headquarters in New York this morning, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan noted that the UNEP tests were ongoing. "Once we have concluded the tests, we will know precisely what environmental and health damage the depleted uranium weapons pose, if any," he said. Depleted uranium, a byproduct of nuclear power, is used for heavy tank armour, anti-tank munitions, missiles and projectiles. According to WHO, the health effects of the substance are "complex" due to its chemical, radiological and physical characteristics. The agency is currently involved in setting guidelines that would be applicable to depleted uranium, while conducting ongoing research on its impact on human health. ***************************************************************** 33 Screening for Irish troops ISSUE 2056 Wednesday 10 JANUARY 2001 - IRISH TIMES ˙[I][*]Uranium ammo fears grow after U-turn over tests THE screening of Irish troops who have served in the Balkans was announced in Dublin yesterday. An army medical team will arrive in Kosovo and Bosnia this week to measure radiation levels where the troops are stationed. Making the announcement, Michael Smith, the Irish defence minister, said the medical records of all Balkan veterans would be checked. Tests had already established normal radiation levels in the areas where they had served. Mr Smith said: "When the medical and ordnance team returns the type and scope of the screening programme can be identified." Speaking at a review of a military police company about to leave for Bosnia, Mr Smith said: "This is being done to provide reassurance for the personnel and their families and not because we have any reason to believe that there is a general medical problem." There are currently 100 Irish troops in Kosovo, and 50 in Sarajevo, Bosnia. About 700 have been on duty in the region. Mr Smith said: "There are no depleted uranium sites close to the Irish company and the work of our troops does not take them to these sites." Radiation readings conducted by an Irish ordnance officer where the soldiers are based in Kosovo found levels comparable to those in Ireland. The findings supported tests by the Finnish army also stationed there. ***************************************************************** 34 Uranium ammo fears grow after U-turn over tests ISSUE 2056 Wednesday 10 JANUARY 2001 BY MICHAEL SMITH, DEFENCE CORRESPONDENT AND BEN FENTON IN WASHINGTON [9 JAN '01] - MINISTRY OF DEFENCE GULF WAR RESOURCE CENTRE THE Government was forced into a humiliating climbdown yesterday as concern mounted over the effects of depleted uranium ammunition fired during the Gulf War and two conflicts in the Balkans. John Spellar, Armed Forces minister, told the House of Commons that opportunity to be screened. The MoD had previously refused to budge from its position that there was no risk to servicemen despite a But defence sources said that it was still unclear whether the tests would be offered on demand or would only be available if an MoD consultant considered the serviceman should be tested for depleted uranium. Mr Spellar said the MoD intended "to identify an additional appropriate screening programme for our service personnel and civilians who have served in the Balkans". Gulf war veterans who go through the MoD's medical assessment programme are only tested if a consultant deems it appropriate, regardless of their own concerns. Veterans' groups said the Government had not gone far enough. The National Gulf War Veterans and Families Association demanded that the tests be independent, available on demand and include Gulf war veterans. Shaun Rusling, NGVFA chairman, said: "We are dismayed by this. The Armed Forces minister is simply trying to play down a very serious issue." The Conservatives welcomed the Government climbdown but asked why the MoD had suddenly changed its mind when no new evidence was available. Mr Spellar said it was a response to press coverage of the scares across Europe in the wake of deaths from cancer among soldiers who had served in the Balkans. He stressed that all research suggested that there was no evidence linking depleted uranium to cancer. He told MPs: "Handled in accordance with regulations, depleted uranium shells present no hazard to our forces. We have long recognised however that on the battlefield its debris might present a hazard from chemical toxicity." Bruce George, chairman of the Commons Defence Select Committee, which has demanded that ministers appear before it to explain their position, said it was vitally important that research was carried out quickly. He said: "If it is true that there is a link between depleted uranium and cancer then people are going to die. I don't think they are going to have too much time. They are going to have to come up with some swift research." Despite the Government U-turn, Britain joined America at a meeting of alliance ambassadors yesterday in opposing an Italian call for a Nato moratorium on the use of depleted uranium ammunition. America warned its Nato allies 18 months ago of the risks from depleted uranium, the New York Times said yesterday. The "hazard awareness" report was sent to all Nato countries with troops in Kosovo, including Britain. It said spent ammunition and other contaminated materials should not be touched and that anyone in contact with depleted uranium rounds or the interiors of vehicles hit by them should wear masks and cover exposed skin. The warning, dated July 1, 1999, also added that troops involved in more extensive clearing-up operations ought to undergo health checks afterwards. The European Commission intervened in the growing dispute yesterday, launching its own inquiry into the health risks posed by depleted uranium ammunition in Kosovo and Bosnia. A panel of scientific experts is to report to Brussels within a month on the possible dangers faced by the civilian population in the Balkans, as well as hundreds of European Union staff and contract workers engaged in the economic reconstruction. of Balkan veterans in Balkans exposed to depleted uranium ***************************************************************** 35 Depleted uranium 'to keep its place in Britain's arsenal' Yesterday in Parliament ISSUE 2056 Wednesday 10 JANUARY 2001 BY MICHAEL KALLENBACH, PARLIAMENTARY CORRESPONDENT DEPLETED uranium will remain part of the British forces' arsenal in the foreseeable future, the Government said last night. During a special debate on the effects of DU, JOHN SPELLAR, the armed forces minister, said this was because when Britain goes to war, "we fight to win". He added: "Our troops need the best available equipment to enable them to do this. To deny them a legitimate capability would be quite wrong." At the same time he promised that fresh medical tests would be held but warned the public and former Servicemen not to become alarmed by media reports. "These issues are not new and we must not unduly alarm Service personnel or their families." Voluntary screening would be set up for Service personnel and civilians who served in the Balkans. The move comes after heavy pressure from British Gulf war and Balkans veterans who have complained of illnesses, which they claim are linked to DU contamination. The Government's decision to come to the Commons and explain its position was welcomed by a broad section of MPs from all parties. Of the risks posed to Gulf veterans, Mr Spellar said: "There has been no evidence, during the deployment, or subsequently, of kidney damage which would be the chief indication of heavy metal poisoning. There is currently no evidence, after 10 years, of a higher rate of cancer amongst Gulf veterans compared to a control group." Testing Gulf and Balkans veterans for uranium in America, Canada and Belgium had not shown them excreting higher background levels, unless they had embedded shrapnel. IAIN DUNCAN SMITH, the shadow defence secretary, said that had the Government come to the House earlier with details it would have avoided media speculation. He wanted to know why there had been a sudden change of heart by the Government. "What has changed in the past 24 hours? The Ministry of Defence ruled out health checks quite clearly - at least through a spokesman - and then we were being briefed that there would be health checks." BRUCE GEORGE (Lab, Walsall South), who is chairman of the defence select committee, sought assurances that politicians were in charge of policy and not civil servants. PAUL KEETCH ,the Lib Dem defence spokesman, wanted to know when the tests could begin and sought further reassurance for those in areas where DU missiles had been tested. "What testing sites will there be?" he asked. He also wanted to know whether the tests would be connected to the study that is already under way by the Royal Society into the so-called Gulf War Syndrome. He said: "It is vital that the Government works with its European allies and the UN to ensure the health and safety of the men and women of our Armed Forces, as well as that of NGOs and British police officers." SIR TEDDY TAYLOR (C, Rochford and Southend East) hoped that the Government would get health authorities in areas where DU munitions had been tested to publish statistics on evidence relating to the destruction of DU weapons. He added: "We welcome the statement." GERRY STEINBERG (Lab, City of Durham) described the agonising clinical condition that one of his constituents had developed after a stint in the Gulf, and he asked: "If depleted uranium was not the cause of that, then what was? If it wasn't depleted uranium, was it the toxic vaccines that were given to him as a matter of course?" NICHOLAS SOAMES (C, Mid Sussex) a former Armed Services minister, thanked the Government for standing by DU weapons which, he said, were designed "to inflict the most serious damage on the Queen's enemies". RONNIE CAMPBELL (Lab, Blyth Valley) wanted to know whether DU ammunition testing was safe and asked the minister why he had not tested them in his own constituency of Warley ***************************************************************** 36 Nato plays down DU health risk "NATO will be completely open and transparent about what information we have." - NATO Secretary-General George Robertson Nato's General Secretary Lord Robertson has said that it believes there is little risk from depleted uranium (DU) ammunition. Speaking at a news conference at Nato headquarters in Brussels Lord Robertson said: "We are confident that there is little risk from DU munitions but we refuse to be complacent." "The existing medical consensus is clear: the hazard from DU is both very limited and limited to very specific circumstances. Nato is doing everything it can to ensure that relevant information is made publicly available." Lord Robertson said the plan would include setting up a dedicated DU committee, producing more information on the effects of DU weapons, cooperating with other international organisations and acting as a 'clearing house' to coordinate research. Already Nato and Yugoslavia have agreed to share all available information about residues of depleted uranium used in alliance ammunition during the Balkan conflicts. Elsewhere European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana has called for an investigation into the possible effects of munitions containing depleted uranium used by Nato in the Balkans. "There must be absolute transparency so that all the facts are on the table," Solana, who was Nato Secretary General during the 1999 Kosovo war, said in a speech to a meeting of Bavaria's conservative Christian Social Union. "The members of the European Union and Nato must decide for themselves if they want to use these munitions. First the facts must be cleared up," he said, adding he was not personally worried about the use of such weapons. Back in Brussels, Nato Secretary-general George Robertson spoke to reporters after what he termed as "historic", though brief, talks with new Yugoslav Foreign Minister Goran Svilanovic. Robertson said that the alliance had "nothing to hide and everything to share" in trying to reassure troops and civilians there was no lasting health hazard from the slightly radioactive materials. Svilanovic is the first Yugoslav minister to visit Nato headquarters since the alliance's 78-day bombing campaign in 1999 to dislodge the forces of Yugoslavia's then president, Slobodan Milosevic, from the southern province of Kosovo. "Nato will be completely open and transparent about what information we have," Robertson said. ***************************************************************** 37 DEPLETED URANIUM: THE HEALTH FEARS "We do recognise that some of the recent coverage would have caused some concerns among our people and we recognise the need to reassure them." - John Spellar, Armed Forces Minister Numerous studies into the effects of depleted uranium, a heavy metal used in anti-armour munitions because of its high penetrating power, have not revealed any connection between the metal and cancer. As fears grow over the dangers of exposure to depleted uranium, ITN looks at why these munitions have come under renewed scrutiny. Anxiety spreads Nato took up the issue of depleted uranium (DU) on Tuesday for the first time since a new wave of fear that the tank-busting munitions made from uranium might cause cancer. But the allies quickly shot down an Italian plea for a moratorium on the weapons. However, shortly after the Ministry of Defence insisted there were no plans to test military personnel for possible health affects of DU, John Spellar, the Armed Forces Minister, announced that a voluntary testing programme would be introduced. Meanwhile, the European Union's executive arm asked a group of experts for a scientific opinion on whether "hundreds, if not thousands" of EU personnel and contract employees who have worked in the Balkans might face health risks from exposure to DU's radioactivity. Concerns among European nations have intensified since Italy began studying the illnesses of 30 Balkans veterans, six of whom died of cancer, while five developed leukaemia. In France, four soldiers are being treated for leukaemia. A number of nations and aid agencies have begun screening personnel who have served in the Balkans. Numerous studies into the effects of DU, a heavy metal used in anti- armour munitions because of its high penetrating power, have not revealed any connection between the metal and cancer. Italy made a long presentation to Nato's Political Committee about its concerns for Italian troops who have served as peacekeepers in Bosnia and Kosovo. But, according to sources familiar with the discussions at the meeting, several Nato members opposed any moratorium, some quite strongly. The Political Committee meeting was the first occasion for all of Nato's 19 members to discuss the matter since the latest wave of concern about depleted uranium emerged. All members agreed that there is a common concern and that Nato needs to act. While the alliance is not a scientific organisation, one of the ideas put forward is that it could act as a clearinghouse for information on depleted uranium. Actual studies, however, are the domain of member nations or outside organisations, officials said. The results of the Political Committee discussions were to be passed on to the North Atlantic Council, Nato's top policymaking body, which meets Wednesday. Nato rapid reaction? It was expected that the NAC may develop some recommendations. EU spokesman Gunnar Wiegand said the group of independent EU experts from the member states, which normally gives advice on radiation protection, should have a clearly defined opinion by early next month. Based on this opinion, the European Commission will decide how to adapt the existing aid programs in the region, specifically the EU program helping to reconstruct ravaged areas in Bosnia and Kosovo, Wiegand said. Despite the growing sense of urgency, however, European officials cautioned that determining any link, if there is one, between depleted uranium and any particular illness may take a long time. Troops stand their ground Meanwhile, Norwegian peacekeepers refused to sign contracts for service in Yugoslavia, demanding clarification of the risk from DU, the TV- 2 network reported. About 400 soldiers from the elite Telemark Battalion were to have signed contracts Wednesday for service to start in June. Last week, two Norwegian officers said they developed cancer after serving in Bosnia. "Most of those I talked to do not want to go to Kosovo," said Halvard Kristiansen, spokesman for the group. About 7500 Norwegian troops have served in the Balkans. Elsewhere, a group of Belgian soldiers announced plans Tuesday to sue the Belgian government because of health problems allegedly caused by service in the Balkans. The group said five Belgian veterans of peacekeeping missions in Croatia and Bosnia have died of cancer and four others have contracted the disease. In Stockholm, Sweden's military said soldiers who served in the Balkans will be informed about possible health risks from depleted uranium ammunition and will be invited to fill out a questionnaire about their health. In Germany, the US Army Europe denied a published report that American soldiers may have fired depleted uranium ammunition during training exercises in Germany. The Army said DU ammunition is stored in Germany but is not used in training missions on German soil. The statement followed a report Monday in Die Welt newspaper that German officers couldn't rule out that depleted uranium ammunition had been fired during training exercises in Germany. ***************************************************************** 38 Fury at uranium cancer denial BBC News | UK | Tuesday, 9 January, 2001, 22:09 GMT British soldiers are to be offered health checks Ex-soldiers have reacted angrily to the UK Government's denial of a link between uranium-tipped weapons and cancer. And a mother, who believes her son may have died from contact with depleted uranium weaponry, has called for compulsory regular screening for troops. Armed Forces Minister John Spellar told the Commons that depleted uranium (DU) would remain part of British forces' arsenal for the "foreseeable future" The European Union is to investigate suggestions of a connection between DU and cases of cancer among peacekeepers in the Balkans. Several European countries have already carried out medical tests on soldiers who served in the Kosovo conflict who may have been exposed to radiation from the ammunition. They are just trying to cover up themselves by saying there wasn't a problem when there so obviously was[I] Kevin Rudland Mr Spellar said there would be a voluntary screening programme for military personnel who had served in the Balkans and were worried about their health. Former army engineer Kevin Rudland, the first British ex-serviceman to say contact with DU dust in the Balkans had caused him to suffer a related illness, said he collapsed with disappointment while watching the minister's announcement. "I was just so shocked and it took me about an hour to come round. I am devastated," he went on. [I] Kevin Rudland: Collapsed "From what I have been told the tests they are proposing are not the right ones. "We need testing for depleted uranium not uranium. "There was nothing for the soldiers whatsoever. It was all said so arrogantly. "They are just trying to cover up themselves by saying there wasn't a problem when there so obviously was. "But I will keep on campaigning even though I am very down now. It has given me a big knock." COMPENSATION CALL Tony Flint, of the Gulf Veterans and Families Association, described Mr Spellar's statement as "not worth the paper it was printed on". "He hasn't said what that screening programme will contain. "The only type of screening that is acceptable to us and any other veteran will be for depleted uranium," said Mr Flint. [I] Tony Flint: "Load of rubbish" "From what he was saying, there's no GP that could look at a Gulf veteran that comes to him and have the qualifications to say 'you might be suffering from depleted uranium poisoning, let's send you off for tests'. "We have children who have been born with identical birth defects that the children in Iraq are suffering from. "Things need to be done very, very quickly, hopefully to save some lives. "We would like compensation because we haven't been able to work for years and earn a decent living. Our families are suffering because of this." And a woman is demanding answers about her son's death from leukaemia five months ago. My son may have died but at least others can be saved[I] Gail Norris Gail Norris, of Whitefield, Greater Manchester, believes her son Alan Joy's death may have been due to contact with depleted uranium (DU) ammunition during the time he served in the Balkans from 1996. She said: "My son may have died but at least others can be saved. "If my son had had regular screening he might still have been alive today." The 27-year-old, who was a physical training instructor with the Parachute Regiment, was diagnosed with cancer in September 1999. Compulsory screening sought She does not believe that the UK Government is going far enough with voluntary screening. She said: "I think there should be regular, compulsory screening every 12 months." "They can afford to test for drugs regularly so why can't they afford to screen for cancer." "If you go into a war situation you expect you might die because of a landmine or your enemy. "You don't expect that the risk of death is created by your own country. Depleted uranium (DU) is used in munitions to make bullets or missiles more dense so they can pierce armour. The material gives off relatively low levels of radiation, but can be dangerous if ingested, inhaled in dust or if it enters the body through cuts or wounds. ***************************************************************** 39 The military uses of DU BBC News | EUROPE | Tuesday, 9 January, 2001, 13:05 GMT AS CONCERN GROWS OVER THE EFFECTS ON NATO PEACEKEEPERS OF USING DEPLETED URANIUM (DU) AMMUNITION, BBC NEWS ONLINE'S TARIK KAFALA CONSIDERS THE MILITARY APPLICATIONS OF DU. The main military use of DU is in penetrating armour, but its penetrative qualities have also led to its use in missiles deployed against other targets such as barracks. It is a very heavy substance, 1.7 times denser than lead, and has substantial performance advantages over other materials used for the same purposes. DU USE Balkans operations 99: US Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft fired over 31,000 rounds of DU ammunition from their 30mm cannon Gulf War 91: British military fired 88 DU rounds. Allied forces fired approximately 320 tonnes of DU When munitions made with DU strike a solid object, like the side of a tank, they go straight through it and then erupt in a burning cloud of vapour. The high temperature fragments created as DU passes through armour can spread to strike everything inside a tank and set fire to its fuel and ammunition. DEFENSIVE USE DU's density and physical properties make it ideal for use as armour plate. The high density of DU also makes it useful as a counter-balance for large commercial aircraft, including the Boeing 747, and in yacht keels. DU is a by-product of the enrichment of natural uranium, either for weapons-making or for reactor fuel. The United States and British Armed Forces used depleted uranium munitions and armour for the first time during the Gulf War. ALTERNATIVES Britain, France, Russia and the US are the only commonly acknowledged users of DU munitions. The great majority of armies use tungsten alloys for the same purpose. The US Department of Defence has argued that the DU the most effective material for piercing armour, because of its high density and the metallic properties that allow it to "self-sharpen" as it penetrates armour. In contrast, US military officials say, anti-tank munitions made from other materials tend to mushroom and become blunt as they penetrate. The alternatives to DU do have a 20% lower penetrative performance, and are more expensive. Tungsten emits no radiation, but, its particles are poisonous. In This Section Bosnian Serb leader surrenders to court Nato moves to ease uranium fears German farming goes green Fugitive foils French police Headless journalist 'identified' Doctors assess Princess Margaret US aid worker kidnapped in Chechnya Moscow bans Salvation Army Shadow hangs over Turkish jails Bosnia to set up uranium commission Lockerbie trial: Prosecution closes Kosovans 'unaware' of DU dangers Pub philosophers analyse TV crisis Seven guilty over child porn ring Italy demands answers on DU Analysis: Plavsic's surrender Nokia sales prompt telecoms slump Eriksson plans scouting trip Microsoft and Lego link Belgrade plans truth commission Papon lawyers sue the French authorities European press review US aid worker kidnapped in Chechnya Czech TV demonstration called British opposition on depleted uranium Bosnian Serb leader goes on trial US search for aid-worker in Chechnya Lockerbie trial draws to a close ***************************************************************** 40 Nato seeks to calm DU fears BBC News | EUROPE | Wednesday, 10 January, 2001, 13:49 GMT NATO SEEKS TO CALM DU FEARS [I] Nato used DU munitions in its bombing of Yugoslavia Nato Secretary-General George Robertson has promised to give a "high priority" to investigations into claims that ammunition tipped with depleted uranium has caused cancer in former soldiers. Several countries, including Italy and Germany, want a moratorium on the weapons after a rash of leukaemia cases among former peacekeepers who served in the Balkans. We have nothing to hide. Nato will be completely open and transparent Nato Secretary-General Lord Robertson But the US and UK say there is no evidence of health risks due to the armour-piercing shells, which they argue are crucial to Nato's operational effectiveness. Nato Secretary-General Lord Robertson said the alliance would not conceal information about any possible side effects of the weapons. "We have nothing to hide but we have a lot to share," he told a press conference in Brussels. "We are confident that there is little risk from depleted uranium emissions, but we cannot afford to be complacent." And Lord Robertson said Nato would establish a committee to produce more information on the issue. His comments came after a meeting with new Yugoslav Foreign Minister Goran Svilanovic - the first Yugoslav minister to visit Nato headquarters since the alliance's 1999 bombing campaign against Yugoslav forces in Kosovo. At the meeting, Nato and Yugoslavia agreed to share all available information about depleted uranium residues in the Balkans. RUSSIAN CRITICISM A Russian politician said on Wednesday that he was "surprised that Nato countries are only now talking about the ecological damage wreaked by their aggression". Dmitry Rogozin, who heads the lower house of parliament's foreign affairs committee, said "reports and research were conducted long ago." Russian politicians and generals say initial screening has found no illness among its soldiers who served in the Balkans. [I] Portuguese soldiers examine soil for contamination in Kosovo A Portuguese minister, meanwhile, said an independent Portuguese investigation had turned up no signficant examples of increased radiation after studying 52 sites in Kosovo. US Defence Secretary William Cohen said on Tuesday that no link had been proved between depleted uranium and cases of cancer among former peacekeeping troops. The same day, the British Government joined Italy, Portugal and other Nato allies in offering additional medical checks to troops. And the European Union has launched its own investigation, which will include an assessment of whether spent DU shells pose any health risks for workers taking part in reconstruction programmes. EFFECTIVE WEAPONS US aircraft fired tens of thousands of DU rounds during Nato's 1995 bombing of Bosnian Serb targets and 1999 air war against Yugoslavia. [I] Nato targeted Yugoslav tanks with DU-tipped weapons The rounds are denser than standard ammunition, making them more effective against armour. Depleted uranium gives off relatively low levels of radiation, but can be dangerous if ingested, inhaled as dust or if it enters the body through cuts or wounds. As a heavy metal, it is also chemically poisonous in addition to being radioactively poisonous. Six Italian soldiers, five Belgians, two Dutch nationals, two Spaniards, a Portuguese and a Czech national have died after serving in the Balkans. Four French soldiers and five Belgians have also contracted leukaemia. ***************************************************************** 41 DU hits the euro media bigtime! European press review BBC News | EUROPE | Wednesday, 10 January, 2001, 08:37 GMT "Balkans syndrome" is still the main story in many European papers, but mad cow disease runs it a close second with ministers in trouble in Germany and Spain. Elsewhere, the Slovaks are tuning into every enjoyable minute of the Czech TV crisis and the ghost of Tiananmen Square has returned. DEPLETED "CREDIBILITY" SYNDROME With fears of so-called "Balkans syndrome" spreading across Europe, Austria's DER STANDARD says allegations that there is no scientific evidence to suggest that the use of depleted uranium ammunition can cause leukaemia are "like saying that BSE has got nothing to do with CJD". The paper notes that the number of Nato soldiers who served in the former Yugoslavia and are now falling ill with, or dying of, blood cancer is in stark contrast to official statements by US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and General Wesley Clark, who have ruled out any links between these deaths and illnesses and the use of nuclear weapons. "The US military and Nato now have a duty to prove that the nuclear ammunition used in the Balkans poses no danger to civilians as well as their own soldiers," it warns. The Spanish daily EL PAIS says Nato's "credibility is at stake" and that "it is important to restore it ahead of possible future military peace-keeping or crisis-handling actions". It warns that the alliance could "go down with its usual illness: secrecy" and urges it to take "the best medicine against alarmism: transparency and information". Germany's FRANKFURTER RUNDSCHAU says whether the US adopts Europe's more cautious position on the uranium issue will be a test of the Nato partnership. "The furore about the uranium munitions is an example of the conflict within the Nato Alliance", it says, warning that the dispute could come to a head with the Bush administration's planned missile defence system. "What would happen if the USA insists on the use of depleted uranium munitions and on stationing missile systems regarded almost unanimously by the European Nato partners as a medical or political threat?" In sarcastic form, the Hungarian daily Magyar Hirlap says the row over uranium-depleted weapons merely reflects humanity's knack for coming up with better and better "killing techniques". "It is a true sign of progress that in January 2001 we are no longer arguing about the dangers posed by the nuclear bomb 55 years ago but about those posed by depleted uranium bombs", one of its commentator sighs. "Not to the enemy, of course, but to our own soldiers". GERMANY'S BSE "CHERNOBYL"... Germany's DIE WELT believes the resignations of the German health and agriculture ministers over the BSE scandal were long overdue in view of their complacency about consumer concerns. It says that as a Green politician, Health Minister Andrea Fischer saw her own failure to tackle the issue as a particular disgrace. The financial HANDESLBLATT, however, has some sympathy for the health minister. It says it was highly significant that she admitted at her press conference that she had never been 100-per-cent certain that Germany was free of BSE. "This throws light on the whole essence of the BSE scandal. For years consumers in Germany were led to believe that they lived on an Island of the Blessed, while all round them in countries such as France, the Netherlands and Switzerland, cattle fell ill with BSE in their droves." The paper believes the dangers should have been spotted and dealt with much sooner and that the strong farm lobby had a lot to do with the failure to do so. The only way to restore confidence, the paper believes, is to set up a reformed Agriculture Ministry which sees itself as representing consumer interests. The SUEDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG says German Chancellor Schroeder has not emerged from the affair with any credit either. "Why did Schroeder stick with an agriculture minister who stubbornly insisted on an orthodox farming policy and could not, or would not, see that BSE would signal a turning point in agriculture policy just as Chernobyl did in energy policy?" the paper wonders. ...AND SPAIN'S BSE COOKING TIPS It looks like the next government scalp claimed by mad cow disease will belong to Spanish health minister, Celia Villalobos. Opposition and pro-government papers are all calling for her head after she advised Spanish housewives not to cook with beef bones. In an editorial headlined "Indignation over Villalobos", DIARIO 16 says it is time for Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar "to take up the affair personally and clearly establish what his cabinet's strategy is for tackling the disease and who the right people are to implement it - and it is clear that Celia Villalobos shouldn't be among them". "What consumers need and demand is reliable and exhaustive information about what it is happening and not housewives' tips that do not become a minister", the paper says. ABC says that "the minister is forgetting that serving in government requires prudence and deliberation, virtues that do not appear to be cultivated by a health minister with an impassioned talk-show guest tone." Noting that the German agriculture and health ministers have already quit over their handling of the problem, the paper notes that "her loquacity is spreading the panic...food market queue tips, like the ones Celia Villalobos whispered into a radio microphone, will not do". SLOVAKS TUNE IN TO CZECH TV CRISIS Clearly enjoying the serious crisis which has been rocking the Czech Republic's state-owned TV channel, or CT, since Christmas Day, the Slovak daily NOVY CAS writes that Czech MPs' apparent inability to put an end to the TV scandal is "the hardest slap in the face a Czech parliament has ever got". "Why do the Czechs actually have their parliament? Anyone following the Czech TV crisis must be inevitably asking this question," it says, alluding to the Czech MPs' decision to approve a resolution urging Jiri Hodac, the new CT head, to resign. The paper points out that the resolution has so far been ignored by both Hodac and the CT Council which appointed him. It warns that the new management's news bulletins, broadcast terrestrially, "are alarmingly reminiscent of communist-era broadcasts, full of half-truths and distortions of reality". The paper concludes by saying that the whole affair is a vicious circle and is not likely to die down in the near future. TIANANMEN GHOST STALKS CHINESE LEADERS "Silence was no longer an option" is how the French daily LE MONDE leads its report on the Chinese Government's belated attack on the publication in the US several days ago of secret documents which claim to describe in detail what happened within China's communist leadership during the violent suppression of pro-democracy demonstrators in Tiananmen Square in 1989. "The fact that the official reaction comes from the foreign ministry indicates that it is aimed exclusively at international opinion," the paper says in a dispatch from Beijing. "Chinese public opinion isn't supposed to have been informed about anything because the official media haven't said a word about it." On Monday, the paper's correspondent points out, the website of the US journal Foreign Affairs suddenly became impossible to access from China, and traffic on the Internet in China was particularly sluggish. "These attempts at muzzling the media show how worried the party leadership is to see ghosts resurface from a past that has been kept hidden," the paper adds. ***************************************************************** 42 Papers enter the uranium debate BBC News | UK | Wednesday, 10 January, 2001, 07:32 GMT PAPERS ENTER THE URANIUM DEBATE [I] The UK Government's decision to screen veterans of the conflicts in the Balkans for signs of contamination from depleted uranium weapon shells provokes widespread debate. Both THE INDEPENDENT and THE GUARDIAN agree the move represents an "embarrassing U-turn" for Labour. The Independent believes the decision has come "a decade too late". It says fears were raised after the Gulf War about the potentially harmful effects of depleted uranium in ammunition. 'REASONABLE' REACTION THE TIMES, though, sees the government's reaction to concerns over depleted uranium as "balanced and reasonable". It says the Ministry of Defence (MoD) cannot be accused of complacency towards the health of British servicemen. THE SUN'S military adviser, Major General Ken Perkins, disagrees sharply. Once again, he says, our "brave boys" are being let down as the MoD fails to guard their interests. TOMATO ANGER "Things can only get splatter" is the headline in The Sun, which is amused by Tony Blair's discomfort at being hit by an over-ripe tomato in Bristol. The Independent jokes that the offending missile - thrown by a protestor against the UK's policy of sanctions against Iraq - "wasn't sun-dried, wasn't Tuscan and certainly wasn't on the vine". The Times believes the attack represented a "prime ministerial rite of passage" for the man it calls "Teflon Tony". The paper says it was the first time that a piece of fresh produce hurled in anger had "scored a direct hit". ELECTION PREDICTIONS As both Labour and the Conservatives step up their pre-election campaigning, a number of papers are already considering the likely outcome. "The Tories Can Win" is the prediction in THE DAILY TELEGRAPH, which calls on the shadow cabinet to unite behind William Hague and wipe what it calls Tony Blair's "irritating smile of self-congratulation" off his face. The Independent is less optimistic about the Conservatives' chances of election success and says Mr Hague "is still a long way from wounding Mr Blair". Paul Routledge in The Mirror is even more blunt. "Mr Hague promises the earth," he says, "because he knows he's never going to inherit it." 'SINISTER ELEMENTS' The decision by the sentencing review commission in Northern Ireland not to release the loyalist paramilitary leader Johnny Adair from prison receives the backing of The Daily Telegraph. It says the government has removed another argument from the Provisionals' arsenal - that they cannot decommission weapons with men such as Adair on the loose. The IRISH NEWS, which reflects nationalist opinion in the province, also supports the commission's ruling. "Adair... was given a unique opportunity to rebuild his life as part of the Good Friday agreement," it says. Instead, though, he chose "to publicly associate himself with some of the most sinister and threatening elements in this society". BLOOD CLOT FEARS The Daily Telegraph reports that a study into so-called "travellers' thrombosis" suggests that more than 2,000 people die each year in the UK from blood clots caused by flying. It says at least one long-haul passenger a month dies from a clot within minutes of arriving at Heathrow Airport, but adds that doctors believe that figure is the tip of the iceberg. A consultant at the accident and emergency department closest to Heathrow tells the paper that flight-related clots are something that airlines can help to prevent. COLOURFUL CACOPHONY A number of papers contain vivid despatches from the city of Allahabad in northern India, where the Hindu festival of Kumbh Mela has just begun. The Times correspondent is dazzled by the cacophony of "elephants, horses, ascetics, hawkers and performers" at the event, which is likely to see the largest gathering of humanity ever. Peter Popham, writing in the Independent, is similarly overwhelmed by the scene. "It was like a huge fairground," he says, "or a sort of ad-lib religious Las Vegas." ***************************************************************** 43 UN holds back on uranium warnings Guardian | No radiation risk, says official, as fears spread in Kosovo over legacy of bombing NICHOLAS WOOD IN KLINA AND JONATHAN STEELE WEDNESDAY JANUARY 10, 2001 THE GUARDIAN The United Nations is resisting calls to protect children and other civilians in Kosovo from the potential health risks from depleted uranium left by British and American shells in contravention of its own expert advice. On a hastily arranged trip designed to play down growing alarm in Nato countries, Bernard Kouchner, who heads the UN administration in the war torn territory, went to western Kosovo yesterday where most of the Nato shells were fired. He told reporters there was no radiation and he saw no immediate necessity to cordon off sites thought to be contaminated by the heavy metal. His remarks flew in the face of recommendations from a panel of experts from the UN's own environment programme last autumn that all possible depleted uranium sites be sealed off from public access. On Monday the World Health Organisation also warned that depleted uranium was of potential danger to children in particular playing in contaminated areas. As Dr Kouchner toured the site of a Nato air strike in the town of Klina, Italian soldiers equipped with white overalls and Geiger counters surveyed the wreckage of a destroyed Yugoslav tank and two armoured personnel carriers. He said no radiation had been detected. "It might be better to close it because of all the tanks and all the holes, but I trust the soldiers. They are very precise and they did it several times." He added that the UN had not received any requests to close off the site off from the public. Nearby Valmir Ademaj, 11, told reporters he and his friends had played inside the destroyed military vehicles and nobody had warned them not to go there. Beqir Rracaj, 74, said many people had taken parts of the tanks as souvenirs. The potential danger from contamination by depleted uranium has been known to western governments for a long time. A month after Nato troops entered Kosovo Britain's government-funded national radiation protection board warned foreigners working in Kosovo, or visiting as journalists or aid staff, to keep clear of war-damaged Yugoslav vehicles. "If access to potentially contaminated areas is deemed essential, advice should be sought from the Ministry of Defence or the Foreign Office on any protective measures required," it said in a warning posted on its website. But Britain and other western countries did not call for areas to be fenced off. Most of the anxiety expressed in Nato countries has centred on the risk to their own citizens working as soldiers or police in Kosovo. Several cases of leukemia have prompted alarm. Britain and other countries are now starting a screening campaign for their nationals. The team from the UN environment programme, which visited 11 potential depleted uranium sites last autumn, is due to publish its findings in February. In the meantime, it said, "where there is an apparent risk of contamination, signs should be put up to forbid public access". Ironically, the Yugoslav government has taken more precautions since the war than Nato or the UN. It says it marked the eight sites in southern Serbia where up to 5,000 Nato shells landed. It has had no access since the war to the 100 sites in Kosovo where shells fell. Slobodan Milosevic's government said use of depleted uranium shells "adds a new dimension to the crime Nato perpetrated against the Yugoslav people". The new western-backed government of Vojislav Kostunica has not repudiated this harsh language. Zoran Stankovic of the Belgrade Military Academy hospital told a Belgrade newspaper this week that about 10% of uranium 238 turns on impact into toxic oxides, and 70% into aerosols, which are often more dangerous than radiation. He warned that serious lung, kidney and bone disorders caused by toxic uranium particles inhaled or otherwise introduced in the body - with contaminated food or drink - could be expected in Yugoslavia. The Serbian ecology minister, Dragan Veselinovic, said last week there was a danger of Nato bombs and radioactive ammunition "threatening to turn into live uranium and enter the food chain". Pleurat Sejdiu, joint head of Kosovo's health department, dismissed the concern as propaganda. "People trust the Nato experts not to harm the population," he said. Ibrahim Rugova, leader of Kosovo's biggest party, said yesterday that the depleted uranium scare in the Balkans was being misused by those who opposed Nato intervention in Kosovo in the hope that it would lead to withdrawal of the Nato-led peacekeeping force. Guardian Unlimited c Guardian Newspapers Limited 2001 ***************************************************************** 44 Nato pledges to investigate use of 'safe' weapons Guardian | SARA GAINES WEDNESDAY JANUARY 10, 2001 THE GUARDIAN Nato secretary general George Robertson said today there is no evidence of a link between the use of depleted uranium weapons and leukaemia but announced a wide-ranging action plan to reassure soldiers and civilians. But he said that Nato is to carry out further research and clean up 112 sites where missiles were dropped during bombing raids in the Balkans. He pointed to research in the Balkans which showed leukaemia rates were below average for the area last year. His comments came after the British government bowed to pressure to join European governments in screening troops for signs of contamination from depleted uranium used in US anti-tank shells. Concern follows a spate of leukaemia deaths among Balkan veterans in Italy, France, Portugal and Denmark, though scientists are divided on whether the incidence is unusually high. After a meeting of Nato leaders in Brussels this morning, Mr Robertson said Nato was committed to getting all the facts. "The brave, dedicated people who are serving as our peacekeepers in the Balkans will be reassured that their safety and their health is our priority," he said. "We have not and never will be complacent." Mr Robertson said Nato leaders were to ask medical experts to review the situation next week and report back immediately. Nato is also to set up a DU committee and act as a clearing house for information on the issue, so government programmes and research information could be shared. "We have nothing to hide and we have a lot to share," he said. "The existing medical consensus is clear: the hazard from depleted uranium is both very limited and limited to very specific circumstances. "This is not a new issue, we have addressed it in the past. We are naturally concerned at suggestions depleted uranium could be causing harm to troops who served in Bosnia or the people who live there." But he said screening of troops who had served in Bosnia showed no evidence of effects, adding: "Based on our evidence it is highly unlikely soldiers carried a high risk of developing leukaemia." RELATED STORIES THE ISSUE EXPLAINED USEFUL LINKS: Guardian Unlimited c Guardian Newspapers Limited 2001 ***************************************************************** 45 Gulf veterans left in cold Guardian | Balkans troops to be screened for uranium RICHARD NORTON-TAYLOR AND ANDREW OSBORN IN BRUSSELS WEDNESDAY JANUARY 10, 2001 THE GUARDIAN The government yesterday bowed to intense domestic and international pressure by agreeing to screen Balkans veterans for signs of contamination from depleted uranium used in US anti-tank shells. But the announcement infuriated Gulf war veterans, whose supporters labelled the refusal to offer the tests to troops in previous conflicts a "vicious injustice". In an embarrassing u-turn, foreshadowed in yesterday's Guardian, John Spellar, the armed forces minister, told MPs that British troops who had served in Kosovo and Bosnia, as well as civilians working there, would be offered what he called "an appropriate voluntary screening programme". He said Britain would step up its environmental monitoring of the Balkans and pool data collected by the UN and European allies, which have already introduced emergency screening for their troops. Until yesterday, the MoD had repeatedly spurned the need for any screening for DU. But Mr Spellar insisted there was no evidence linking DU shells to ill health. He did not offer the new tests to troops in the Gulf war even though far more of the controversial weapons were fired there than in the Balkans. Mr Spellar delivered a robust defence of DU shells, used in British tanks as well as US aircraft, insisting they provided a "battle-winning military capability". He said: "Because of its density and metallurgic properties, depleted uranium isideally suited for use as a kinetic energy penetrator in anti-armour munitions". At Nato headquarters in Brussels, Britain and the US joined forces to kill off an Italian proposal, backed by Germany, for the alliance's 19 member countries to stop using depleted uranium ammunition until further notice. Mr Spellar conceded that debris from DU shells might present a "hazard from chemical toxicity" and a "low-level radiological hazard". Those risks, he said, arose from dust created when the weapons hit targets, but as expended rounds or fragments the hazards of DU were "negligible". He said Gulf veterans - the cause of whose illnesses, he added, had not been discovered - had been offered screening for a "whole body load of uranium". But these tests were derided as inappropriate by Gulf war veterans and their medicaladvisers. Malcolm Hooper, emeritus professor of medicinal chemistry at Sunderland University, described the Ministry of Defence move as a "cynical betrayal" and "vicious injustice". The MoD, he said, was testing for high-level exposure to soluble material, rather than long-term, low-level, exposure to radiation inside the body. It was indulging in "Mickey Mouse science". Terry Gooding of the Gulf War Veterans Association said the MoD had never screened members for DU symptoms. Michael Burrows, senior coordinator of the association, said: "Mr Spellar said there is an insignificant danger posed by radiation from depleted uranium, but what about the dust and the effect it has on the lymphatic system?" He added: "I can't see that the voluntary screening will have any benefit whatsoever. The screening that he is talking about is for uranium, not depleted uranium." Ministers are expected to await the publication of a report on DU being prepared by the Royal Society, expected in the summer , before finalising details of the screening programme. Bruce George, chairman of the Commons defence committee, who had been threatening to mount his own inquiry into the affair, warned it was essential that the research was carried out as quickly as possible. "If it is true that there is a link between depleted uranium and leukaemia cancer, then people are going to die," he said. The government's announcement - pressed on the MoD by Downing Street - follows a spate of leukaemia cases among Balkan veterans in Italy, France, Portugal and Denmark, though scientists differ over whether the number is exceptional within the total groups. Professor Eric Wright, an expert on radiation-induced leukaemia at the University of Dundee, said: "The diagnosis of leukaemia in many of these people is very soon after the alleged exposure. Whilst you can never say never in science, this does seems extraordinarily unlikely to be causal." Norwegian peacekeepers yesterday refused to sign contracts for service in Kosovo, demanding a clarification of the risk from ammunition that included DU. Guardian Unlimited c Guardian Newspapers Limited 2001 ***************************************************************** 46 Armed forces minister's statement on depleted uranium John Spellar's address to the Commons TUESDAY JANUARY 9, 2001 THE GUARDIAN With permission Mr Speaker, I would like to make a statement on depleted uranium. During the last few days concern has been expressed in the media and in this House about possible exposure of United Kingdom forces to depleted uranium in the Balkans. This reflects a series of media reports that the health of peacekeepers in Bosnia or Kosovo may have been affected by their deployment. It is suggested that some UK service personnel may have become ill as a result of exposure to depleted uranium in the Balkans. This afternoon I will set out our position on depleted uranium, and list the steps we are taking and intend to take. Depleted uranium is a very dense heavy metal. It results from the uranium enrichment process, and because the majority of the more radioactive isotopes are removed in this process, depleted uranium is about 40% less radioactive than natural uranium. Because of its density and metallurgic properties, depleted uranium is ideally suited for use as a kinetic energy penetrator for use in anti-armour munitions. The UK has developed and deployed a 120mm armour piercing round for use in the Challenger Main Battle Tank. This ammunition was used in the Gulf war, where around 100 rounds were fired by us against Iraqi armour, as well as some rounds during training in Saudi Arabia. This ammunition provides a battle winning military capability. Alternative materials are not as effective. Therefore DU will remain part of our arsenal for the foreseeable future because when this country commits our forces to conflict we fight to win. Our troops need the best available equipment to enable them to do this. To deny them a legitimate capability would be quite wrong. Handled in accordance with the regulations, DU shells present no hazard to our forces. We have long recognised, however, that on the battlefield its debris might present a hazard from chemical toxicity, in the same way as any heavy metal such as lead, and a low level radiological hazard. The risk from chemical toxicity would arise from ingestion of the soluble depleted uranium oxides, and the radiological risk primarily from inhalation of the insoluble depleted uranium oxides. These risks arise from the dust created when DU strikes a hard target such as an armoured vehicle. In its massive form, as expended rounds or solid fragments it is a negligible hazard. In response to the health concerns of Gulf veterans, the Ministry of Defence has, both in 1993 and 1999 published details of these hazards, together with our estimates of the risk which they might have posed to troops in the Gulf. We believe those risks to have been low, which is borne out by the findings of our Medical Assessment Programme for Gulf Veterans. There has been no evidence, during the deployment, or subsequently, of kidney damage which would be the chief indication of heavy metal poisoning. Radiological damage would only become manifested as an increased rate of cancer after a long period of latency. Furthermore, there is currently no evidence after 10 years, of a higher rate of cancer amongst Gulf veterans compared to a control group. We currently offer tests to Gulf veterans who attend the medical assessment programme for whole body load of uranium, if there is a clinical indication that uranium might be linked to the illnesses which they manifest. Substantial amounts of research into the health risks of uranium have been conducted and published over many years. Recent work by reputable bodies has assessed this literature in the context of battlefield exposures to DU. The conclusions of all this work, including that by the Rand corporation, the US Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, and the US Institute of Medicine, is that there is no evidence linking DU to cancers or to the more general ill health being experienced by some Gulf veterans. As regards exposures, important work at the Baltimore veterans Affairs Clinic in the United States is monitoring Gulf veterans known to be at the highest risk of exposure due to "friendly fire" incidents. None of these troops, including those who retain DU shrapnel in their bodies have health problems related to DU. Testing Gulf and Balkans veterans for uranium in the US, Canada, and Belgium has failed to show any of them excreting higher than background levels unless they have embedded shrapnel. Depleted uranium has also been fired by Nato forces during operations in Bosnia in 1994 and 1995, and in Kosovo in 1999. Compared to around 300 tons fired in the Gulf, only 3 tons was fired in Bosnia, and around 9 tons in Kosovo, very little of it in what is now the British sector. Conscious of the potential risks which DU posed, we issued precautionary guidance to our forces in Kosovo about the need not to approach recently struck burned out armoured vehicles possibly hit by DU, which present the main hazard, and to wear suitable protective clothing if they had to work in the vicinity of these vehicles. The working environment of our forces in the Balkans is already closely monitored because of health and safety and environmental concerns about the theatre which extend well beyond the question of DU. There is to date no evidence of which the Ministry of Defence is aware of unusual ill health amongst our Balkan peacekeepers, or specifically any ill health that would suggest heavy metal poisoning. Indeed a thorough epidemiological study was done by King's College in the context of Gulf health, which examined a cohort of nearly 4,000 Bosnia peacekeepers. They found no difference in the level of symptoms between them and troops not deployed to the Gulf or Bosnia. Media reports have also focused on the test firing of DU at UK ranges. Apart from a small amount of contained firing at Foulness and Aldermaston, this has been concentrated in the ranges at Kirkcudbright on the Solway Firth, and at Eskmeals in Cumbria. It is fired at Kirkudbright into the sea, and at Eskmeals until 1995 into armour plate targets. Safety at the ranges, and in their environs has been a paramount concern. The DU firing programme is subject to regulation under the Ionising Radiation regulations 2000. The Environment Agency and the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency also have oversight of the firing programme. A detailed review of the environmental impact of firing DU at these ranges was undertaken by independent environmental consultants WS Atkins. The consultants concluded that the radiation doses to members of the public and the associated risks from DU released into the environment were extremely low. I have spelt out the background to depleted uranium and ours and other's existing research on the issue. These issues are not new, and we must not unduly alarm service personnel or their families about the position. That said, we do recognise that some of the recent coverage will have caused some concerns amongst our people, and we recognise a need to reassure them. We take very seriously our responsibility to the Service personnel and civilians given the demands which we make on them during operations. Our response therefore will be to identify an additional appropriate voluntary screening programme for our service personnel and civilians who have served in the Balkans. We will do this on the basis of the best available science. We will consult appropriate national bodies such as the UK National Screening Committee of the UK Department of Health. Another important source of external scientific advice will be the report currently under preparation by the Royal Society which is taking an independent look at depleted uranium. It also will be important to co-ordinate an approach with allies, many of whom are assessing the same reports as I make this statement. A crucial part of our approach will be to discuss with allies their data on risks to health in the Balkans, the health of peacekeepers in the Balkans, the responses which they plan, and to ensure that all data available across Nato is pooled as a basis for subsequent decisions. We are also conscious that the United Nations Environmental Programme have surveyed sites in Kosovo and we await the publication of their final report with interest. I should add that their interim statement refers to only slightly elevated levels of radiation at 8 of the sites they monitored. I am also announcing that the UK will enhance its existing environmental surveillance programme in the Balkans to ensure that no health threats to our forces, and indeed to the local civilian population, are overlooked. In the meantime, any individual who believes that their health may have been damaged by service in the Balkans should seek medical advice. If their doctor considers that there is evidence that depleted uranium might have contributed to ill health then tests for uranium levels will be carried out. I hope this statement puts the current debate in context and provides necessary reassurance to the House as well as our forces and their families and indicates the way ahead. We are providing battle winning equipment for our forces and also taking seriously our responsibility for their welfare. I am sure the House would agree they deserve no less. Guardian Unlimited c Guardian Newspapers Limited 2001 ***************************************************************** 47 Bosnia soldier 'reduced to nothing' JEEVAN VASAGAR WEDNESDAY JANUARY 10, 2001 THE GUARDIAN Kevin Rudland served with the Territorial Army for 18 years and came top in fitness tests. He used to enjoy hill-walking, abseiling and parachuting and ran three miles a day, but now he has difficulty walking 200 yards without having to stop for a rest. His life changed soon after he got back from a six-month tour of duty in Bosnia, where he served as a regular army engineer working for the international peacekeeping force. Stationed in the Bosnian town of Banja Luka between December 1995 and April 1996, his job involved repairing tanks. He was given no protective clothing and believes he was exposed to depleted uranium while servicing tank tracks and gun barrels. On his return home to the UK he set up his own business as an engineer but within weeks started to suffer ill effects, beginning with sudden and severe hair loss which left him bald by the winter. This was followed by post-traumatic stress disorder, rotting teeth, and osteoarthritis. Mr Rudland, 41, a father of three who lives near Hull, East Yorkshire, is angry that he was not told of the health risk from depleted uranium. He said the Ministry of Defence's announcement yesterday: that soldiers will be screened for cancer was "like a dream come true". He added: "I have been reduced to nothing by this illness. I have chronic fatigue and depression and all I want is for this to be recognised by the government." Mr Rudland has emerged as the first recognised British case of Balkan war syndrome. It was only within the past year that it had come to Mr Rudland's attention that his condition now might be connected with depleted uranium, the former Royal Engineer said. "This is a big problem that they've got and they need to look into it quickly. I may be the first in this country at the moment but I believe there are more that have not come forward or do not know yet. "People have already died in Italy. [Five Italian soldiers who served in the Balkans have died of leukaemia.] I don't know what my future holds or whether the symptoms will carry on. I am unemployable. "I think I am owed an explanation, for my benefit and for that of other servicemen and women." EUROPE'S RESPONSE žIrish soldiers who served in the Balkans are to be screened for signs of exposure to DU. A team of experts will leave Dublin for Kosovo and Bosnia this week to test 700 Irish troops who have served there since 1997. žUkrainian president Leonid Kuchma called for a moratorium on the use of DU ammunition when he inspected his country's peacekeepers in Kosovo yesterday. žFrance said yesterday a fifth soldier who served in the Balkans had leukaemia but insisted there was nothing to link the illness to DU. žItaly is to ask Nato to suspend use of DU ammunition until it is sure it is not linked to leukaemia. žEU medical and scientific experts are to report next month on possible health risks of DU. žNorwegian soldiers due to join peacekeeping forces in Kosovo this week demanded clarification of the risks from spent DU-tipped shells before leaving for a tour of duty. Guardian Unlimited c Guardian Newspapers Limited 2001 ***************************************************************** 48 NATO TO STUDY EFFECTS OF DEPLETED URANIUM The Times Nato is to set up a committee to study the possible health consequences of depleted uranium for soldiers who served in parts of the Balkans, Lord Robertson, the Nato Secretary General, said today. "We will do everything to make sure that the relevant information is known," he said. Some of Nato's European members are investigating a series of cancer cases, some fatal, among former Balkan peacekeepers and other personnel. Investigations centre on whether there is any link to depleted uranium (DU) munitions used in tank attacks. Lord Robertson described calls for an inquiry into the United States's use of DU in Bosnia in 1995 and Kosovo in 1999 as "legitimate demands", but said that he was confident that there was little risk in ammunition used by Nato forces. "I wouldn't have agreed to these ammunitions when I was minister bsp; that they would involve any health hazard. It is nbsp; valuable on the battlefield," Lord Robertson said. He said Nato's North Atlantic Council, the alliance's highest decision- making body, made up of the permanent ambassadors in Brussels, had agreed to a request from Italy to provide maps of where DU ammunition had been used. Copyright 2001 TIMES NEWSPAPERS LTD. This service is ***************************************************************** 49 URANIUM CHECKS 'ARE INADEQUATE' by Robert Fox British Gulf War veterans are demanding a more comprehensive investigation into the effects of depleted uranium rounds, and have dismissed the Government's offer of voluntary screening for Balkan veterans as inadequate. British troops have been offered voluntary screening for uranium Nato is under pressure from several countries for a full-scale study of all troops from the alliance serving in the Balkans, though this could take years. But, as the Armed Forces Minister Tony Spellar pointed out, neither Britain nor America is prepared to drop DU weapons. Mr Spellar said it could help save British soldiers' lives. Italy, Germany, Holland and Portugal are pressing for a full-scale probe into the weaponry. Several national parliaments have asked for the weapons to be banned. Two supporters of Chancellor Schröder' s coalition in Germany have asked for their armed forces to stop deploying DU munitions. Italy says eight of its soldiers serving in the Balkans over the past five years contracted leukaemia and seven have died. The French and the Portuguese have reported four cases each. [I][*]EMAIL THIS ARTICLE TO A FRIEND c Associated Newspapers Ltd., 10 January 2001 ***************************************************************** 50 Europe orders own tests on dangers of uranium-tipped shells smh.com.au - Date: 11/01/2001 Paris: With NATO beginning to react to health concerns about uranium- tipped ammunition, European governments have ordered their own investigation. The 15-nation European Union on Tuesday instructed scientists from the nuclear supervisory body Euratom to report within a month on whether unexplained illness and even deaths among peacekeepers in the Balkans could be linked to uranium-tipped weapons fired during NATO's air campaign. The Pentagon and NATO deny links could exist between US-made antitank weapons and the unexplained diseases among veterans. But reports of leukaemia and other diseases continue to surface. The French Defence Ministry said on Tuesday that it had found a fifth soldier, a Balkans veteran, suffering from leukaemia. Marie-Claude Dubin, a French journalist who says she has suffered a range of illnesses since covering the Persian Gulf and Balkans wars, has been called to give evidence before parliament. At least seven Italian soldiers who served in the Balkans have died of leukaemia and many other veterans have fallen ill with a range of symptoms from cancer to fatigue and hair loss. Britain had refused to test its soldiers, arguing, like the US, that the weapons posed no health threats if handled properly. But, under pressure, the Government on Tuesday announced an abrupt turnaround, setting up a voluntary screening program for service personnel and civilians who served in the Balkans. The issue was to be discussed at a meeting of diplomats at NATO's Brussels headquarters yesterday. Italy - backed by Germany and several other European nations - has demanded a ban on further deployment of the armour-piercing shells until medical tests determine whether radioactive dust they leave behind can cause cancer and other ailments. The moratorium request is opposed by Britain and the US. NATO says there is no proven link between the shells and cancer among Western peacekeepers, but agrees further studies should be conducted. The EU is calling for scientific assessment, as if there is contamination it may have to adjust its reconstruction projects in Kosovo, where it keeps several hundred staff members and contract workers. Scientists who will make the assessment for Euratom will gather data from military and government sources and universities, rather than do independent research. ˙Australian will conduct a survey to identify any personnel exposed ˙to depleted uranium in the Balkans. a Defence Department source ˙said yesterday. Up to 200 Australian personnel served in the former ˙Yugoslavia during the NATO bombing campaign. New Zealand has announced it will conduct a similar survey. THE NEW YORK TIMES AND AGENCIES from Radioactivity take samples of radioactive materials near the lake of Radoniq in Kosovo. Photo: AFP This material is subject to copyright and any unauthorised use, copying or mirroring is prohibited. ***************************************************************** 51 NATO won't end use of uranium shells AP file French soldiers likely used uranium shells in Kosovo. By Steven Komarow, USA TODAY BRUSSELS - Tanks and warplanes of the NATO alliance will remain armed with shells containing depleted-radiation uranium, despite Italy's plea Tuesday to ban them as too dangerous for those who handle them. But at a meeting here today, top representatives from the 19 NATO nations are expected to back a plan to reassure the public that the health of troops will be carefully monitored and perhaps new scientific studies undertaken on the controversial weapons, officials said. Depleted uranium was first used in the Persian Gulf War a decade ago because its extreme density allows it to penetrate enemy armor. Uranium is poisonous and should not be ingested. However, despite numerous Pentagon studies prompted by Gulf War Syndrome, no link to illness has been proved. Now, despite official doubt, military leaders are taking a fresh look because of a series of unexplained illnesses, including cancer, among allied troops serving in Kosovo. Belgium, France, Italy and Portugal are among the nations that say some of their peacekeepers who served in the Serbian province fell ill at a rate they considered suspicious. "NATO would not use weapons that would harm its own soldiers," NATO spokesman Mark Laity said. About 31,000 depleted uranium rounds were fired by the U.S. Air Force's A-10 "Warthog" jets, which attacked Serbian army columns that had moved into the separatist province of Kosovo. Most of the spent shells are still on the ground. A team from the World Health Organization that tested contaminated sites in Kosovo concluded Monday that the radiation emitted by the shells was slight and a health risk unlikely. It also noted that no unusual health problems have emerged among people who live there. But the controversy has mushroomed as officials scramble to address the issue: [I]Portugal recently sent a team of experts to conduct an independent survey of the area where its troops serve. [I]Italy, which has recorded six cancer cases among its Kosovo veterans, asked for NATO to suspend all use of the weapons until it is proved they don't cause cancer or other illnesses. [I]Germany called for a thorough investigation and Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder questioned the use of weapons with depleted uranium. The U.S. Army denied Tuesday a published report that it used depleted uranium in training exercises in Germany, although it stores the shells there. [I]Britain, while agreeing with the United States that there was no known risk, said it would begin a screening program for its veterans. [I]Russia, a non-NATO country that opposed the war but sent peacekeepers afterward, said it would step up monitoring of its troops. Russia said it had so far not recorded any unusual health problems. [I]A group of soldiers announced plans Tuesday to sue the Belgian government because of health problems allegedly caused by service in the Balkans. [I]About 400 Norwegian peacekeepers refused to sign contracts for service in Yugoslavia, demanding clarification of the risk from depleted uranium, the TV-2 network said. Romania said it would test almost 1,500 soldiers who served in the Balkans. Privately, NATO officials complain that depleted uranium has become an issue because of propaganda from opponents of the Kosovo intervention, including Russia. False alarms were spread on the Internet and in the press, they say, casting doubt on scientific evidence that the weapons don't pose a hazard. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, an ardent supporter of the Kosovo intervention, said Tuesday that she hoped the issue would be handled calmly. "As far as I have been told there is no scientific evidence that would link" depleted uranium to the health problems, she said. "I think what is very important is for the facts to be made known, and not to have hysteria and emotion take over." ***************************************************************** 52 NATO, EU focus on depleted uranium BY - ASSOCIATED PRESS NATO quickly shot down an Italian plea yesterday for a moratorium on tank-busting weapons that contain depleted uranium - weapons some European nations fear may cause cancer. Italy made a long presentation to NATO's Political Committee about its concerns for Italian troops who have served as peacekeepers in Bosnia and Kosovo, where weapons using depleted uranium have been fired. But several NATO members opposed any moratorium, some quite strongly, according to sources familiar with the discussions at the meeting. Yesterday's Political Committee meeting was the first occasion for all of NATO's 19 members to discuss the matter since the latest wave of concern about depleted uranium emerged. Depleted uranium, a slightly radioactive heavy metal, is used in anti-armor munitions because of its high penetrating power. US forces fired weapons containing depleted uranium in Bosnia in 1994 and 1995; and in 1999, fired such weapons during NATO's bombing of Yugoslavia. Numerous studies into the effects of depleted uranium have not revealed any connection between the metal and cancer. But concerns among European nations have intensified since Italy began studying the illnesses of 30 Balkans veterans, six of whom died of cancer. In France, four soldiers are being treated for leukemia. A number of nations and aid agencies have begun screening personnel who served in the Balkans. Across town at the European Union, the EU's executive arm asked a group of experts for a scientific opinion on whether EU personnel who have worked in the Balkans might face health risks from exposure to depleted uranium. An EU spokesman said the panel should have a clearly defined opinion by early next month. Based on the findings, the EU executive arm will decide how to adapt its aid programs in the region. In Kosovo, the depleted-uranium scare was becoming a political issue. Ibrahim Rugova, a top ethnic-Albanian leader, said it is being misused by those who opposed NATO intervention in Kosovo in hopes it will lead to the withdrawal of the NATO-led peacekeeping force. Mr. Rugova named no countries, but appeared to be alluding to Russia, a vehement critic of the 1999 NATO bombing campaign. ***************************************************************** 53 BRITAIN JOINS SKEPTICS ON SAFETY OF MUNITIONS BY KEVIN CULLEN, GLOBE STAFF, 1/10/2001 [I]ONDON - As pressure mounted across Europe for NATO and the Pentagon to investigate possible health hazards from depleted uranium ammunition, Britain said yesterday it will begin screening its soldiers who were exposed to the armor-piercing shells in Balkan conflicts. The announcement by Armed Forces Minister John Spellar culminated a week in which a growing number of countries in the 19-nation NATO alliance rebuffed assurances from the military. Several said they would investigate claims that soldiers who served in the Gulf and Balkan wars where depleted uranium was used had developed cancer and other illnesses, and Germany and Italy said they would seek to ban the use of the shells. By yesterday, what amounts to a minor mutiny within NATO nations had spread across Europe, with a dozen countries questioning the safety of the tank-busting ammunition. The defiance of NATO and the Pentagon erupted first in countries that were least supportive of the last year's NATO campaign in Kosovo, particularly Italy and Greece, but has spread rapidly. Britain, the United States' staunchest ally and among the most hawkish in confronting former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic in the Balkans, had for a decade accepted without reservation assurances from Washington and NATO headquarters that the armor-piercing shells posed no health risk. Its decision to join the skeptics further isolated the Pentagon and the NATO leadership. Addressing the House of Commons, Spellar said that depleted uranium shells would remain part of the British arsenal and that the risks of exposure were minimal, but that the government would begin a voluntary testing program to allay fears. ''We do recognize that some of the recent coverage would have caused some concerns among our people and we recognize a need to reassure them,'' Spellar said, adding that it was important to develop a ''coordinated approach'' to the issue. So far, however, there is no coordinated approach, only shared skepticism in the face of assurances from the Pentagon, NATO, and various medical authorities that it is virtually impossible for soldiers to develop cancers, especially leukemia, from routine exposure to the shells or the dust they leave behind after exploding. The European Union and NATO met separately on the controversy yesterday in Brussels, while the North Atlantic Council, NATO's policy making board, is scheduled to discuss the issue today. NATO spokesman Lee McClenny said general secretary George Robertson, who was Britain's defense minister during the Kosovo war, is expected to make a statement on the issue today, and the council could order NATO's chief medical officers, who are meeting Monday in Brussels, to study the issue. European foreign ministers are scheduled to debate it when they meet Jan. 22 in Brussels. Britain's action was just a day after Germany's Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder demanded an investigation into the use of depleted uranium shells by American forces in the Kosovo war. The German defense ministry said it would review the cases of any of its soldiers who developed leukemia. ''I do not think it is right to use such ammunition,'' said Schroeder. Questions over the use of depleted uranium, a slightly radioactive heavy metal, date back to the Gulf War, and the controversy has been bubbling anew since the shells were used in the Balkans. It resurfaced dramatically last month when the Italian government announced an investigation into the illnesses of 30 of its soldiers who had served in the Balkans, six of whom later died. There have been similar claims that soldiers from France, Belgium, and Portugal who were exposed to depleted uranium shells in the Balkans later developed cancer, most often leukemia. Pentagon and NATO officials, backed by medical authorities, say the risk posed by direct exposure to radiation from the shells is minimal, but they acknowledge the effects of breathing toxic dust left behind could be more serious. At the Pentagon last week, spokesman Kenneth Bacon said the US military has studied soldiers who were hit by shrapnel from uranium-depleted shells in the Gulf War and has detected no ill effects from the material. Iraqi authorities have repeatedly accused the US-led coalition of inflicting an environmental disaster on Iraq's southern provinces during the Gulf War by using depleted uranium shells. Earlier this year, a cancer conference organized by the Iraqi Health Ministry said the number of cancer cases registered in Iraq rose to 6,158 in 1997 from 4,341 in 1991. Uranium-tipped shells are especially effective in destroying tanks because their density allows them to pierce armor. US forces, who alone among NATO troops used the shells during the Kosovo fighting, fired about 31,000 uranium-depleted shells during the 78-day war that ended in June 1999. Some 10,000 rounds were fired in Bosnia during 1994 and 1995, and more than 100,000 were fired in the Gulf War. McClenny said NATO's view remained unchanged despite the decision by Britain and other countries to test their soldiers. ''Our view is that depleted uranium can be used safely,'' said McClenny, speaking from Brussels. ''There's no link between depleted uranium and the illnesses that have been reported.'' On Monday, the World Health Organization backed NATO's claims, saying it doubted that depleted uranium was behind the cases of leukemia that killed the soldiers. But Michael Repacholi, a specialist for the WHO, said children playing in what were once war zones in the Balkans were at greater risk from the shells ''because children playing in contaminated areas tend to pick up pieces of dirt or they put their toys in their mouth, they could absorb more.'' McClenny said NATO issued cautions to troops serving in Kosovo, such as instructing them to avoid Yugoslav armored vehicles that had been destroyed by the shells. While most of the concern has been voiced about soldiers stationed in the Balkans, there are tens of thousands of civilians and workers for non-governmental organizations who were also exposed to the shells and their aftermath. James Lyon, director of the Bosnia and Serbia projects for the International Crisis Group, who has spent the last few years in the Balkans, said yesterday, ''The Pentagon needs to come clean on this.'' ''No one has done an authoratative study on what happens when the depleted uranium hits the target. Let's get it out in the open,'' said Lyon, speaking from Belgrade. Lyon also said the Pentagon and NATO need to examine ''a lot of other issues besides depleted uranium.'' ''Kosovo is an ecological disaster,'' he said, saying mines and coal used to generate electricity have exposed civilians and soldiers alike to toxic substances and radiation, a situation exacerbated by NATO bombing. He said there is concern in Belgrade about reports of heightened radiation levels. ''This is a wake-up call for the Pentagon and NATO,'' he said. ''There are all sorts of questions about the health risks posed because of actions in the Balkans, and if they want to remain credible they've got to do more than just say everything's fine.'' Material from Reuters news service was used in this report. This story ran on page A01 of the Boston Globe on 1/10/2001. ***************************************************************** 54 Journalist says she suffers 'Gulf syndrome' - January 9, 2001 CNN.com - Controversy broke out following the death of six Italian peacekeepers PARIS, France (Reuters)--A French journalist who covered the Gulf and Bosnian wars said in an interview on Tuesday she was suffering from the same symptoms as soldiers complaining of the so-called 'Gulf syndrome.' Marie-Claude Dubin told the daily Le Parisien she suffered from intestinal, neurological and muscular problems since covering those conflicts and suspected that weapons tipped with depleted uranium could be the cause. She is due to testify before a French parliamentary committee investigating the Gulf syndrome, the mysterious illnesses ranging from flu to fatigue and asthma that thousands of U.S. and British veterans of the war have reported. "I'm not saying that uranium was certainly the cause, but I am ill and I have the same symptoms as the veterans," she said. "There are studies that prove that depleted uranium is dangerous because of the toxic dust it emits." Controversy over NATO's use in the Balkans of tank-busting shells tipped with uranium broke out after six Italian soldiers who had served as peacekeepers in the region died of leukaemia. Health experts remain doubtful about links to blood cancer among soldiers but NATO and the European Union are holding separate meetings to address the issue. Dubin accused both the U.S. and the French military of wanting to hide what she said was the fact that these weapons presented a health hazard to the troops that used them. "Going to Iraq, I knew I could be exposed to enemy chemical weapons and I signed a waiver. But I did not know I was exposed to allied weapons containing depleted uranium. "I was very surprised to hear in the past few days that weapons containing depleted uranium were used in Bosnia because I went there as well during the conflict in 1994 and 1995. "Despite all this, I'm lucky because I'm still alive to talk about it." Dubin said she did not know of other civilians hit by the same symptoms but suspected that others, for example employees of arms firms, might All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. RELATED c 2001 CABLE NEWS NETWORK. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 55 Ukraine calls for ban on depleted-uranium weapons KPnews.com--News about Ukraine THE ASSOCIATED KYIV, Jan. 9 (AP) - President Leonid Kuchma, visiting his country's peacekeepers in Kosovo, called Tuesday for a total ban on arms containing depleted uranium. “These weapons should be abandoned the way anti- personnel mines were,” Kuchma said in remarks cited by the Interfax news agency. European countries are investigating concerns that munitions containing the radioactive and used during NATO's 1999 bombing campaign in Kosovo have led to cases of serious illnesses, including cancer, among their troops. United Nations and Russian officials have called for investigations of reports that cancer among veteran Balkan peacekeepers could have been caused by NATO weapons. NATO took up the issue for the first time Tuesday but dismissed calls for a moratorium on the weapons. Kuchma said Ukraine, site of the world's worst nuclear accident at Chernobyl in 1986, has encountered similar health issues. He cited last year's outbreak of a mysterious illness in several southern villages, which some have blamed on spilled Soviet rocket fuel. “The world will make certain conclusions from that problem. From my point of view, these (weapons) should not be used at all,” he said. Kuchma met with Ukrainian peacekeeping troops stationed in Kosovo in a Polish- Ukrainian battalion; 337 Ukrainian servicemen and 40 policemen are in Kosovo. c2000 SputnikMedia.net nbsp;www.korrespondent.net p; ;ś nbsp; ; [ ***************************************************************** 56 Russia's troops free of Balkans syndrome 20:00 AEDT WEDNESDAY 10 JANUARY 2001 AAP-- No Russian troops serving in Kosovo have been diagnosed with symptoms possibly linked to NATO's use of depleted uranium weapons in the Balkans, Interfax cited a top Russian military official saying today. Russia announced last week that it would carry out medical tests on its 3,600 Russian soldiers serving with the NATO-led peacekeeping force in Kosovo following the suspicious deaths of several European soldiers who served in Bosnia and Kosovo. However, Lieutenant General Nikolai Staskov said today that preliminary tests had given the Russian peacekeepers a clean bill of health, the news agency reported. "So far, no facts clearly indicating that our servicemen are unwell have been discovered. In our first examinations, doctors analysed the peacekeepers' complaints and interviewed them," said Staskov, deputy commander of Russia's airborne troops. He said the first stage of medical tests had been completed, while a second and more thorough series of examinations was expected to last until January 20. Staskov also announced that radiation safety experts had started working in the sector of Kosovo controlled by the Russian peacekeeping contingent. "One more group of experts to be sent to Kosovo will deal with radiation issues and the environmental situation in the Russian sector as a whole," he added. Battlefield munitions are often tipped with depleted uranium (DU), an extremely dense substance which allows them to penetrate tank armour. But some scientists fear that servicemen exposed to radioactive dust they emit on impact could contract leukaemia and other cancers. There has also been concern about the safety of people living near the battlefield. The current scare over the possible health risks from DU shells started in Italy, where five soldiers who served as peacekeepers in the Balkans have died from leukaemia. A further 18 Italian ex-servicemen are reported to be suffering from the so-called "Balkan Syndrome," which is being linked to DU exposure. Italy, Portugal, Norway, Germany, Belgium and Britain have all either set up their own screening programmes or called on NATO to open an investigation into the health risks. cAAP 2001 ***************************************************************** 57 Ivanov calls for NATO investigation The Russia Journal | online [Wednesday 10th January, 2001] MOSCOW--Russia said on Monday the United Nations and the World Health Organisation should help check claims that NATO weapons using depleted uranium have caused illness among peacekeepers. Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov raised the uranium issue–dubbed "Balkans syndrome''–over suspicions the radioactive material has caused cancer among peacekeepers. He spoke after meeting the new head of the UN administration for Kosovo, Hans Haekkerup. "The main thing is to have independent, objective checks at the level of experts of the United Nations and other specialist bodies, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the World Health Organisation,'' Ivanov told reporters. He said such checks should determine the "real level of risk'' from the depleted uranium. Russia has some 3,000 peacekeepers in Kosovo and around 1,000 in Bosnia. He said Russia was worried about the health of its servicemen but reiterated official statements of last week that Moscow had so far found no evidence its troops were ill due to uranium. Ivanov met Haekkerup as the Dane prepares to take over from Frenchman Bernard Kouchner on January 15 as head of the transitional post-war UN administration in Kosovo. He said the discussions were a chance for Russia to express some of its concerns about the way Kosovo was being run but pledged Moscow's continued support for the mission. "We are very much interested in the success of this mission. It will determine not only the settlement of the situation in Kosovo itself but also the stabilisation of the Balkans in general,'' Ivanov had ***************************************************************** 58 NATO Under Fire for Use of Uranium Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2001. Combined Reports BRUSSELS, Belgium — NATO took up the issue of depleted uranium Tuesday for the first time since a new wave of fear that the tank-busting munitions made from that material might cause cancer. Across town at the European Union, the EU’s executive arm said it was setting up a working group of member state medical and scientific experts to report early next month on whether "hundreds, if not thousands" of EU personnel and contract employees who have worked in the Balkans might face health risks from exposure to depleted uranium’s slight radioactivity. Concerns among European nations, including Russia, have intensified since Italy began studying the illnesses of 30 Balkans veterans, six of whom died of cancer, including five cases of leukemia. In France, four soldiers are being treated for leukemia. A number of nations and aid agencies have begun screening personnel who have served in the Balkans. Numerous studies into the effects of depleted uranium, a heavy metal used in anti-armor munitions because of its high penetrating power, have not revealed any connection between the metal and cancer. Italy made a long presentation Tuesday to NATO’s Political Committee about its concerns for Italian troops who have served as peacekeepers in Bosnia and Kosovo. But, according to sources familiar with the discussions at the meeting, several NATO members opposed any moratorium, some quite strongly. NATO spokesman Mark Laity played down talk of a rift at Tuesday’s talks, saying NATO partners had a "difference of emphasis" over the issue, which had increased public pressure in some countries. He insisted NATO was cooperating with member states and maintained there was no link between depleted uranium radiation and cancer. "NATO would not use weapons that would harm its own soldiers," Laity told Sky Television. U.S. attack jets fired 31,000 rounds of depleted uranium ammunition against Serb targets during NATO’s 1999 campaign to drive the Yugoslav army out of Kosovo. Some 10,000 rounds were also fired in Bosnia in 1994- 95. The controversy echoes the long-running dispute that followed the West’s use of depleted uranium munitions in the Gulf War, which resulted in thousands of Iraqi civilian deaths and claims of "Gulf War Syndrome" among soldiers. The Political Committee meeting was the first occasion for all of NATO’s 19 members to discuss the matter since the latest wave of concern about depleted uranium emerged. All members agreed that there is a common concern and that NATO needs to act. The results of the Political Committee discussions were to be passed on to the North Atlantic Council, NATO’s top policy-making body, which meets Wednesday. In Moscow, defense officials insisted an international inquiry was the only way to check radiation claims. "The current unclear situation will continue until the time that those gentlemen who used these weapons present full information about the technology of how they are produced and the extent they were used in Kosovo," Lieutenant General Boris Alexeyev, head of the Russian army’s environment security department, was quoted by Interfax as saying. The Defense Ministry said it has begun testing Russian peacekeeping troops in Kosovo for signs of sickness possibly caused by depleted uranium ammunition and will send a team of experts to the region soon. Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov spoke out against the ammunition and cited the possible health hazard as another reason why NATO’s campaign was morally wrong. He was quoted by Interfax as saying NATO’s use of the uranium bullets was "nothing but a crime. What is more it is a crime not only against Europe and humanity, but also against their own soldiers." Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma called for a moratorium on the use of depleted uranium ammunition as he inspected his country’s peacekeepers in Kosovo on Tuesday. He said initial testing showed no Ukrainian servicemen were at risk from any radiation. Meanwhile, about 400 Norwegian peacekeepers refused to sign contracts for service in Yugoslavia, demanding clarification of the risk from depleted uranium, the TV-2 network reported. Last week, two Norwegian officers said they developed cancer after serving in Bosnia. Elsewhere, a group of Belgian soldiers announced plans Tuesday to sue the Belgian government because of health problems allegedly caused by service in the Balkans. Western defense experts said it was time to clear the air and urged NATO to agree on research into possible health risks. "I think NATO should lead from the front, " said British military analyst Paul Beaver of Jane’s Weekly. "There is no doubt in my mind — there has to be an alliance-wide epidemiological survey," he said. "This is not just military and medical, this is political." (AP, Reuters) ***************************************************************** 59 Russia accuses West over uranium - CNN.com - January 10, 2001 KFOR troops measure radiation levels in Klina in western Kosovo MOSCOW, Russia--Russia has accused the West of ignoring its warnings about the hazards of using depleted uranium weapons in Kosovo. Politicians and generals said the Kremlin had long ago foreseen the dangers the weapons posed to humans and the environment although preliminary tests had found no illness among Russian troops. The criticism came on Wednesday as NATO ambassadors agreed to set up an inquiry into the effects of depleted uranium (DU) ammunition on troops serving in the Balkans. But Dmitry Rogozin, head of the Russian parliament's foreign affairs committee, said the West should have heeded Kremlin warnings long ago. "We are surprised that NATO countries are only now talking about the ecological damage wreaked by their aggression," Rogozin said. Russia fiercely opposed the 1999 NATO air campaign against Yugoslavia. "All these reports and research were conducted long ago. Volumes of documents about the chemical pollution of the environment and the effect on people living in that zone have been presented," Rogozin said. The head of environmental safety for Russian armed forces, Lieutenant- General Boris Alekseyev, said concern was first raised in June 1999. "But the danger we talked about did not get any reaction, either in our own country or in the West," the daily Kommersant quoted Alekseyev as saying. NATO Secretary-General George Robertson maintained that there was no proven link between DU and cancer in soldiers, but said NATO would "never be complacent." "The existing medical consensus is clear: the hazard from depleted uranium is both very limited and limited to very specific circumstances. NATO is doing everything it can to ensure that relevant information is made publicly available." Meanwhile, NATO and Yugoslavia agreed on Wednesday to share all available information concerning depleted uranium used during the Balkan conflicts. NATO Secretary-General George Robertson, who held talks in Brussels with new Yugoslav Foreign Minister Goran Svilanovic, said the alliance had "nothing to hide and everything to share" in trying to reassure troops and civilians there was no lasting health hazard from the slightly radioactive materials. Svilanovic, said Yugoslavia and NATO needed an open discussion on the consequences of depleted uranium munitions and to guarantee for the local population that they were safe. Grim surprises Several European states have stepped up health checks on veterans and set up national inquiries into the potential risks of exposure to radioactive dust. Senior NATO medical experts will meet on Monday to review the situation and report immediately. "NATO is committed to getting the facts on the table. The surgeons- general will meet in Brussels and their findings will be presented to the public," NATO's Supreme Allied Commander in Europe General Joseph W. Ralston said. The Greek journalists' federation also said it would screen members who covered the wars in Kosovo and Bosnia. "We have been asked by the journalists' insurance plan to collect the names of journalists, cameramen and technicians who have worked in Bosnia and Kosovo so they immediately can undergo medical checks for radiation," George Savidis of the Panhellenic Federation of Journalists' Unions told Reuters. But Rogozin said the effects of the NATO bombardment of Kosovo would haunt the Balkans for years to come and probably hold more grim surprises for the West and the Yugoslav people. "It is highly likely that there are hidden facts not only about the damage done by depleted uranium... I have been in Pancevo, not far from Belgrade, where a big chemical works was totally destroyed by American aviation," Rogozin said. He said tonnes of mercury entered the water table, and that it was "probable" that there would be other damage "not just to soldiers to this report. c 2001 CABLE NEWS NETWORK. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 60 DU weapons are dangerous to use, Russian nuclear ministry ITAR/TASS NEWS AGENCY Story Filed: Tuesday, January 09, 2001 12:14 PM EST MOSCOW, January 9 (Itar-Tass) - The depleted uranium used by the NATO troops in the Balkans in 1999 does not intensify the radioactive background by itself. Yet it may be harmful for human health if DU aerosol or dust is inhaled, a representative of the Russian nuclear ministry told Itar-Tass on Tuesday. Depleted uranium differs from natural uranium by a smaller content of uranium-235, the only isotope that leads to a chain nuclear reaction and, therefore, is used by nuclear power plants and nuclear weaponry. Depleted uranium is very heavy and solid. It is used in shells to increase their penetrating power. In explosions the temperatures rise and depleted uranium turns into aerosol, which may be inhaled by human-beings. The ministry source said that consequences of the DU use must be assessed by an international commission of independent experts, possibly, specialists of the IAEA and the WHO. The ministry also hopes that Russian experts will also help to assess the aftermath. They have warned about the danger of using DU weaponry. (c) 1996-2001 ITAR-TASS. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 61 Part of Russian KFOR contingent examined for radiation diseases Around 20 percent of the personnel of the Russian military contingent in Kosovo have been examined for radiation-related disease, chief of the Ecological security department of the Russian armed forces Major-General Boris Alexeyev said on Tuesday. "No symptoms of such diseases or presence of radioactive substances had been established, " Alexeyev told journalists in Moscow. ITAR/TASS NEWS AGENCY Story Filed: Tuesday, January 09, 2001 9:00 AM EST MOSCOW, January 9 (Itar-Tass) - Around 20 percent of the personnel of the Russian military contingent in Kosovo have been examined for radiation-related disease, chief of the Ecological security department of the Russian armed forces Major-General Boris Alexeyev said on Tuesday. "No symptoms of such diseases or presence of radioactive substances had been established," Alexeyev told journalists in Moscow. Radiation and chemical defence units of the Russian military contingent in Kosovo have made more than 650 checks of the radiation level in the area where tactical groups of Russian paratroopers are deployed, he said. No change in the radiation level has been reported there, Alexeyev said. The inspections will be continued, and in the near future another group of experts of the Russian Defence Ministry will be sent to Kosovo, he said. Alexeyev pointed out that the ammunition used by NATO during the aggression against Yugoslavia in spring, 1999 are made in Great Britain on the US license. In a separate statement, chief of the "Leader" center for conducting rescue operations involving particular risks under the Russian Ministry for Emergencies Situations, Major-General Oleg Volik told Tass that the condition of sappers of the Russian Emergencies Ministry who took part in removing mines in Kosovo was satisfactory. Members of the Russian Ministry for Emergency situations who took part in operations in this area are undergoing a medical examination now, but no complaints about poor health had been made for the time being, Volik said. He pointed out that during the operation sappers of the Russian Emergencies Ministry did not deal with the ammunition whose radioactivity exceeded the permissible norm, or any poisonous substances which might cause serious diseases. However, we cannot say for sure that the ammunition which contained depleted uranium have not affected the health of Russian sappers until the medical examination is over, Volik said. In the period since June until December, 2000, a total of twenty- two sappers of the Leader Center searched 36 mine fields on the overall territory of over 155,000 square meters and rendered safe 2,480 mines. In 1999, a group of sappers of the Russian Ministry for Emergency Situations was involved in operations for removal of mines in Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina where over 2,000 mines and ammunition pieces were rendered safe. ere/gor (c) 1996-2001 ITAR-TASS. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 62 Soviet Union Did not Have Depleted Uranium Weapons Russia Today - MOSCOW, Jan 10, 2001--(Agence France Presse) The Russian defense ministry denied Tuesday that the Soviet army had ever possessed depleted uranium weapons after claims the controversial ammunition may have contaminated former Red Army bases in East Germany. Bernhard Gertz, chairman of the German Army Federation which represents soldiers' interests, said former Soviet troops stationed in Germany had stockpiled such ammunition and questioned whether their bases in what was East Germany might be contaminated. "We deny this information," a defense ministry spokesman told AFP, adding that the Soviet Red Army had never acquired depleted uranium munitions. The munitions are under investigation for possibly causing cancer in some NATO troops stationed in the Balkans. ((C) 2001 AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE) ***************************************************************** 63 Kazakhstan to Increase Uranium Production Russia Today - uranium production 30 percent year-on-year in 2000, Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister and Energy Minister Vladimir Shkolnik said. Kazakhstan produced 1,588 tons of uranium, up 16.3 percent from 1998. According to a development program for the Kazakh uranium industry, it is planned to continuously increase production until 2005. Shkolnik also announced that in 2001 Kazakhstan will invest about 3.5 billion rubles ($24.3 million) in developing the uranium industry. It is planned to invest these funds in beryllium production, particularly in the production of copper-beryllium alloy and beryllium bronze at the Ulba Metallurgy Plant, the largest producer of fuel for nuclear power plants in the CIS. This plant is part of Kazatomprom. Shkolnik also announced that it is planned to partially reconstruct tantalum production at the Ulba Plant. In addition, the Kazakh government hopes that joint ventures set up this year by Kazatomprom, Canadian Cameco and French Cogema will begin producing uranium ore in the south of the republic in the next year and a half - two years. As reported earlier, in 2000 Kazatomprom invested about $36 million in developing uranium, tantalum and beryllium production. This year the concern began to produce niobium pentoxide and ferro-niobium pentoxide and produced its first beryllium ingots. Kazatomprom plans to reach capacity beryllium production at Ulba Metallurgy Plant in the second - third quarter in 2001. In addition, by the end of next year it is planned to set up niobium ingot production at the plant. Of $11 billion in foreign direct investment in the Kazakh economy since 1994, the energy and mining-metallurgy industries have received $8.6 billion. [*][I] [*][I]   c 1995-2001 European Internet Network Inc. ***************************************************************** 64 Iraq Demands U.S., British Compensations for Depleted Uranium Iraq on Wednesday demanded compensations from the United States and Britain for the damages caused by their use of depleted uranium shells in their air attacks against Iraq. XINHUA NEWS AGENCY Story Filed: Wednesday, January 10, 2001 8:31 AM EST BAGHDAD (Jan. 10) XINHUA - Iraq on Wednesday demanded compensations from the United States and Britain for the damages caused by their use of depleted uranium shells in their air attacks against Iraq. In a statement carried by the official Iraqi News Agency, an Iraqi Foreign Ministry spokesman said Iraq has the right to demand compensations because the depleted uranium has caused harm to the health of Iraqi people and contaminated the environment. The spokesman called on the United Nations and other world organizations to study the impact of the depleted uranium shells in Iraq, so that the world can get acquainted with "the crimes and genocide committed by the U.S. and Britain against humanity." The Iraqi authorities have repeatedly condemned the U.S.-led Western allies for dropping hundreds of tons of depleted uranium shells in the south and other parts of Iraq and causing an environmental disaster. Iraq has blamed the depleted uranium for the sharp increase of cancer patients since the 1991 Gulf War, in which the U.S.-led multinational alliance drove Iraqi occupation troops out of Kuwait. Addressing a cancer conference last March, Abul-Hadi al-Khalili, deputy head of the Iraqi Cancer Board, said Iraq's cancer cases rose from 4,341 in 1991 to 6,158 in 1997. According to Khalili, there are more cancer patients, especially leukemia or blood cancer patients, in southern Iraq because most of the depleted uranium shells were dropped there during the Gulf War. Iraq filed a formal complaint to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan in 1998, reserving the right to demand compensations from the U.S. and Britain for the use of depleted uranium shells during the Gulf War. Copyright XINHUA NEWS AGENCY ***************************************************************** NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: *****************************************************************