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DEPLETED uranium contamination from anti-tank shells is not widespread in
Kosovo, a United Nations report says. But drinking water in the area could be
affected by radioactive pollution in the future as the uranium dissolves, it
warns.

The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) asked an international team of scientists
to study the risks posed by DU in Kosovo. They say that radioactive uranium
could eventually contaminate drinking water at levels higher than the safety
limits set by the World Health Organization. They recommend monitoring the water
and cleaning up the uranium.

During the conflict in 1999, American aircraft fired over 30,000 shells
containing 9 tonnes of DU at 112 sites. The material is very dense and helps the
shells penetrate armour. Because of fears that this might endanger the health of
local people, 14 scientists from the US and Europe have been examining 11 of the
sites for UNEP.

Their report, published last week, concludes that there is 鈥渘o widespread
contamination鈥� by DU and hence no significant risk to health. But it points out
that the water from wells in heavily shelled areas could be polluted in years to
come as uranium dissolves and leaches into the groundwater.

The report says a thousand DU shells buried in the ground could increase
uranium levels in water by 100 times. This would push them over the WHO鈥檚
recommended safety limit of 2 micrograms per litre. Shells fired by A-10
鈥渢ankbuster鈥� planes used in the conflict, which fire up to 150 rounds in a
single attack, can penetrate 7 metres into soft soil.

Pekka Haavisto, chairman of UNEP鈥檚 DU assessment team, says it is still
unclear whether radioactive contamination from the shells will make the
groundwater unsafe. 鈥淎dditional work has to be done to reduce these
uncertainties and to monitor the quality of the water,鈥� he says.

But the UNEP report does recommend cleaning up all the sites in Kosovo that
are contaminated with DU. 鈥淒U can still pose risks,鈥� cautions UNEP executive
director, Klaus T枚pfer. 鈥淥ur report highlights a series of precautionary
measures that should be taken to ensure that the areas struck by DU ammunition
remain risk-free.鈥�

The scientists also confirmed that the seven DU shells they found in Kosovo
last November contained traces of plutonium. Although the amounts were too small
to add any significant radioactivity, this did suggest that the shells had been
fashioned from uranium burnt in nuclear reactors. The 19 members of NATO, which
coordinated the military action in Kosovo, are discussing whether a DU clean-up
is necessary and, if so, how it would be conducted and funded.