Spain Soldiers Checked for Radiation

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@earthlink.net>]

Spain Soldiers Checked for Radiation

MADRID, Spain (AP) - European NATO allies have begun checking whether 
their soldiers may have been exposed to dangerous levels of radiation 
from depleted uranium ammunition used by U.S. warplanes in Kosovo 
last year. Spain said Tuesday that initial tests were proving 
negative. 

The Spanish defense ministry confirmed it would examine all 32,000 
soldiers who have served in the Balkan region since 1992. A ministry 
spokesman said none of the first 5,000 soldiers screened for exposure 
in recent months had tested positive. 

Portugal's Defense Ministry said Tuesday that it would send a team of 
experts to Kosovo to check radiation levels on spent rounds, but did 
not foresee screening its 330 troops there. 

Spain has just over 2,000 troops stationed in the Balkans, half of 
them in Kosovo. 

Fears arose after NATO acknowledged early this year that U.S. 
warplanes operating in Kosovo fired armor-piercing rounds containing 
depleted uranium during the alliance's 78-day bombing campaign in 
1999. 

Italian Defense Minister Sergio Mattarella said last week that Italy 
was investigating cancer cases among its soldiers from Kosovo and 
Bosnia to see if there is a link with the ammunition. 

A U.N. team that went to Kosovo in November is doing a similar study 
and is expected to report its findings in February. 

Twelve Italian soldiers who served in the Balkans have developed 
cancer. In addition, three peacekeepers who served in Bosnia died of 
leukemia last year. Four soldiers involved in aircraft maintenance 
have also died of cancer. 

Pentagon spokesman Jim Turner said Tuesday there have been no 
problems with leukemia or other illnesses among U.S. troops who 
served in the Balkans. He said soldiers receive regular health 
checkups after returning from overseas. 

Spain's Defense Ministry medical chief, Col. Luis Villalonga, said 
the health tests were designed to calm any fears among the troops. He 
said last week that Spanish army studies coincided with others by 
allied forces that showed ``there has been no radioactive 
pollution.'' 

He said one case of a Spanish soldier dying of leukemia on returning 
home was unrelated. He said the soldier had been based in Macedonia, 
which was not directly involved in the war. 

The Dutch Defense Ministry said it would keep abreast of Spanish and 
Italian inquiries via NATO. A spokesman said the ministry was looking 
into a National Soldiers' Union report about a peacekeeper with 
leukemia who served in Bosnia. 

Earlier this year, the Yugoslav government reported that the region 
hit by uranium rounds in Kosovo stretched across a southwestern belt 
of the province. Most affected were areas surrounding towns such as 
Prizren, Urosevac, Djakovica, Decani and the Djurakovac village - 
areas where Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Greek and U.S. troops have 
been posted. 

In its report, Yugoslavia claimed some 50,000 rounds had been fired, 
while NATO admitted to 31,000 rounds. 

Iraq long has blamed an increase in rates of leukemia and other 
cancers, as well as neurological and muscular diseases, on the use of 
depleted uranium bombs during the Persian Gulf War. Official 
statistics show that the number of Iraqi children with cancer rose to 
130,000 in 1997 from 32 in 1990. 

Depleted uranium, which has low levels of radioactivity, is used in 
artillery shells because it is extremely dense and can pierce armor. 
On impact, the shells create an airborne dust. 

Some experts believe uranium rounds are environmentally harmful, 
especially if people and animals inhale the dust that forms when the 
shells disintegrate. The U.S. Defense Department has defended the use 
of the uranium, saying the rounds contained no more health risk than 
conventional weapons.

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Sandy Perle					Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100   				    	
Director, Technical				Extension 2306 				     	
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Service		Fax:(714) 668-3149 	                   		    
ICN Pharmaceuticals, Inc.			E-Mail: sandyfl@earthlink.net 				                           
ICN Plaza, 3300 Hyland Avenue  		E-Mail: sperle@icnpharm.com          	          
Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Personal Website: http://sandyfl.nukeworker.net
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Website: http://www.dosimetry.com

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