| U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft fired
approximately 10,000 30mm DU rounds (3.3 tons of DU) at 12 sites in Bosnia-Herzegovina in
1994-1995. In 1999, they fired nearly 31,000 DU rounds (10.2 tons of DU) at 85 sites in
Kosovo. Since then, many nations that deployed personnel to the Balkans Theater tested the
areas their troops occupied for DU contamination, and/or medically tested their Balkans
veterans in order to assess health risks. In addition, several international organizations
researched DU or tested the Balkans environment to determine levels of contamination and
evaluate all routes of exposure. None of the investigations and assessments has found
widespread DU contamination, elevated uranium in the urine of veterans, or a significant
health risk to deployed forces or to the public. For more information read "Depleted Uranium
Environmental and Medical Surveillance in the Balkans", which provides a summary
of reports from countries and international organizations performing environmental
assessments and medical surveys on Balkan veterans. As new scientifically based reports
are released, they will be linked to our website.
Alleged Health Effects of DU Use in the Balkans
In late 2000 and early 2001, various news reports, mostly European, reported allegations of an increase in leukemia cases related to exposure to DU while serving in the Balkans. Subsequent independent investigations by the World Health Organization, European Commission, European Parliament, United Nations Environment Programme, United Kingdom Royal Society, and the Health Council of the Netherlands have all have discounted any association between depleted uranium and leukemia or other medical problems among Balkans veterans.
The United Kingdom Royal Society has released two reports. The first, The Health Hazards of Depleted Uranium, Part I focuses on what is known from epidemiological studies and concentrates on the radiation risks associated with depleted uranium. The Society's second report, Part II, addresses the risks from uranium's chemical toxicity and potential environmental issues, including risks to civilian populations near where depleted uranium munitions have been used in combat.
The United Nations Environmental Programme has conducted three field investigations of sites targeted by Air Force A-10s firing depleted uranium munitions in the Balkans. Depleted Uranium in Kosovo, Post-Conflict Environmental Assessment, is an assessment of eleven sites surveyed in November 2000. Depleted Uranium in Serbia and Montenegro, Post-Conflict Environmental Assessment in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, is a follow-up report of five sites surveyed in Serbia, one site surveyed in Montenegro, and a targeted vehicle surveyed in late 2001. The final survey, Depleted Uranium in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Post-Conflict Environmental Assessment, was conducted in October 2002, and evaluated 14 sites in Bosnia and Herzegovina. A fifteenth site was inaccessible due the heavy presence of mines.
Both the European Parliament and the European Commission have released their own reports on depleted uranium. In addition, the Serbian Agency for Environmental Protection has stated that "radiation and toxicity at Serbia's locations targeted by NATO ordnance containing depleted uranium in 1999 pose no direct threat for the environment or human health."
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services states, "No human cancer of any type has ever been seen as a result of exposure to natural or depleted uranium."
The World Health Organization has concluded, "Scientific and medical studies have not established a link between DU exposure and the onset of cancers, congenital abnormalities, or serious toxic chemical effects on organs. No convincing evidence is available to indicate any health impacts on the Kosovo population from using DU munitions."
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