2002 Depleted Uranium News Stories

UNEP to assess depleted uranium sites in Bosnia and Herzegovina

October 15, 2002 (Nairobi) - A team of experts from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is preparing to visit 12 sites in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) that may have been targeted by ordnance containing depleted uranium (DU) during the 1994-95 Bosnian conflict. (Full Story)

UN agency releases new guidelines on depleted uranium's effects on health

April 26, 2002 (UN News Service) - The World Health Organization (WHO) today published a desk reference on depleted uranium (DU) containing guidelines on how to deal appropriately with the substance's impact on human health. (Full Story)

DU Update (Audio)

April 8, 2002 (Air Force Radio News) - Air Force resumes training using depleted uranium munitions (Listen - RealAudio)

Nellis to resume depleted uranium munitions testing

April 5, 2002 (US Air Force) - The Air Force announced today it will resume limited use of depleted uranium munitions on the Nevada Test and Training Range. Software upgrades and ballistic testing of the ammunition for the A/OA-10, 30mm cannon are scheduled to begin in 2002. (Full Story)

UNEP confirms low-level DU contamination

March 27, 2002 (Geneva/Nairobi) - A new study of six sites in Serbia and Montenegro that were struck by depleted uranium (DU) munitions during the 1999 Kosovo conflict confirms the presence at five sites of widespread, but low-level, DU contamination, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) announced today. (Full Story)

Depleted uranium might damage kidneys of some soldiers

March 12, 2002 (The Royal Society) - A small number of soldiers and civilians might suffer kidney damage from depleted uranium if substantial amounts are breathed in, or swallowed in contaminated soil and water, according to a Royal Society report published today. (Full Story)

UNEP samples from depleted uranium sites in Kosovo now being
analysed in five laboratories

January 5, 2002 (Geneva) - Rigorous analyses of depleted uranium (DU) samples collected by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) during its 5 - 17 November 2000 field assessment mission to Kosovo are now underway in five European laboratories in an effort to determine whether the use of DU during the Balkans conflict may pose any risks to human health or the environment. (Full Story)