German Ministry Rules Out Uranium Link to Ill Soldier

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

German Ministry Rules Out Uranium Link to Ill Soldier
  
Berlin, Jan. 8 (Bloomberg) -- The German Defense Ministry rejected 
assertions by a former soldier and leukemia victim that he became 
sick through exposure to uranium during military service in Bosnia. 

Christian Buethe, a 24-year-old former non-commissioned officer, was 
diagnosed with leukemia in January 1998. The ministry said his 
illness wasn't caused by military service in Mostar, Bosnia, from 
August to November 1997 because the incubation period for leukemia 
caused by uranium poisoning is much longer. 

If the proportion of people afflicted by leukemia in the general 
population were reflected in the 60,000 German troops who served in 
the Balkans, there would be 10 incidents, the ministry said. The 
single case of the illness so far -- Buethe's -- ``definitely 
wasn't'' linked to exposure to uranium dust, said Jochen Cholin, a 
spokesman for the Defense Ministry. 

Still, with six cases of leukemia reported among Italian troops 
formerly stationed in Kosovo, pressure is mounting on Defense 
Minister Rudolf Scharping and his NATO counterparts to examine the 
medical risks of exposure to ammunition that releases uranium dust 
and decide on its future use. 

The World Health Organization is conducting its own probe into the 
allegations. 

``From current evidence, it's unlikely that cases of leukemia 
resulted from exposure to uranium,'' WHO spokeswoman Melinda Henry 
said from Geneva. ``In Kosovo, we've seen no increase to date in 
cases of leukemia.'' 

Yet Henry cautioned that it may take several years to detect any 
health effects from the radiation exposure. 

A risk to health results from inhaling so-called depleted uranium 
dust, dispersed after shells tipped with the radioactive material 
explode, Cholin said. During the Kosovo conflict in 1999, U.S. pilots 
flying A10 Thunderbolts fired about 30,000 of the special shells in 
100 missions, although NATO allies weren't warned in advance of those 
missions' targets, he said. 

Depleted uranium hardens the shells so they can penetrate tank armor. 


No cases of leukemia has so far occurred among 108 German soldiers 
working in Kosovo in ammunition disposal teams, said Wolfgang Fett, 
another defense ministry spokesman. 

NATO defense ministers will meet Tuesday to discuss coordinating 
research into risks linked to firing the shells. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------
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

************************************************************************
The RADSAFE Frequently Asked Questions list, archives and subscription
information can be accessed at http://www.ehs.uiuc.edu/~rad/radsafe.html