Italian Defense Ministry Throws Doubt on Uranium Weapons

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

Italian Defense Ministry Throws Doubt on Uranium Weapons Fears
  
Rome, Jan. 4 (Bloomberg) -- The Italian defense ministry said there's 
no apparent link between depleted uranium munitions and the deaths of 
six Italian soldiers who served in the Balkans, Italy's La Stampa 
newspaper reported. 

A 24-year-old Sicilian soldier, who served twice as a food- service 
worker in Bosnia in 1998, died of leukemia in November. Fears were 
voiced that such deaths were linked to weapons made from spent 
nuclear fuel. 

Italian Defense Minister Sergio Mattarella set up a commission in 
December to investigate the possible relationship between soldiers' 
deaths and use of missiles containing depleted uranium by North 
Atlantic Treaty Organization forces during the war in Bosnia. The 
panel's findings are expected on Jan. 9. 

``At the moment, there is no link between these deaths, nor any 
evidence that these deaths are linked to the use of projectiles 
enriched with depleted uranium, nor with other possible causes linked 
to the Balkans war,'' Marco Minniti, Italy's under secretary for 
defense, told La Stampa. 

Turkey first investigated the effects of the ammunition in March 2000 
and said its 1,000 troops serving in the Balkans haven't been 
affected by it, according to Turkish general staff, Agence France-
Presse reported. 

``All measurements have so far turned out clean. None of the 
(Turkish) experts dealing with munitions destruction or other 
personnel have been exposed to radiation,'' the statement said. 

Sixty thousand Italian soldiers served in the Balkans, 8,000 of whom 
are still there. About 16,000 civilians have participated in 
humanitarian missions in the region. 

While NATO has said there's no evidence that the depleted uranium 
munitions pose a health hazard to its troops, it agreed to examine 
use of such munitions after being pressed to do so by several 
alliance members. Today, France and the European Commission, the 
European Union's executive arm, joined calls for more information. 

France's Defense Minister, Alain Richard, said four French troops who 
have served in the Balkans are suffering from leukemia. ``We are 
calling on our American partners to be open on the subject,'' Agence 
France-Presse quoted him as saying. 

``Current research indicates it would be virtually impossible for a 
person to inhale enough depleted uranium particles for it to be a 
health risk,'' a spokesman at NATO's military headquarters in Mons, 
Belgium, said. 

The Portuguese Defense Ministry ordered medical tests for its 900 
soldiers who were or are deployed in Kosovo, after deaths of Belgian 
and Italian servicemen who served in the Balkans, newspaper reports 
said last week. 

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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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