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Depleted Uranium

Middle East 2003

 

UK use of DU munitions in Iraq?

  • 1.9 tonnes of DU were expended by British Challenger tanks during the recent conflict in Iraq (approximately twice as much as in the 1990-91 Gulf Conflict).

Were our troops protected from DU on the battlefield?

  • The MOD issues specific safety instructions to all personnel who may come into contact with DU in operational situations. The safety instructions for Iraq have been publicly available on the MOD’s website www.MOD.uk/issues/depleted_uranium/gulf_safety_instructions.htm since February 2003.

  • Radiation dose meters were issued to those who spent time in tanks loaded with DU munitions.

 

How will MOD reassure troops who are worried about DU exposure?

 

  • The MOD’s policy for biological monitoring on current and future operations has been publicly available since January 2003 on the MOD’s web site at: www.MOD.uk/issues/depleted_uranium/du_biomonitoring.htm. The policy is that a test for total uranium in the urine followed by a test for uranium isotopes, if the initial test for total uranium gives anomalous results, is implemented for all military personnel and MOD civilians on operations where DU was used. If personnel are known to have been exposed to DU or there is a high probability that they have been so exposed, the isotope test is offered straight away. This will determine whether the uranium is depleted.
  • An information card (F MED 1018) was introduced on 26 March 2003 to remind those returning from theatre of their eligibility for the biological monitoring test. It is not a "warning card". It is issued to all service personnel as part of a standard post-deployment administrative procedure.
  • So far nearly 300 individuals have been tested, and of those only a small number have been found to be excreting DU in their urine. These are personnel who were involved in blue-on-blue incidents and have embedded shrapnel. It should be noted that there is no reliable scientific or medical evidence linking DU in urine to ill-health.

 

DU Environmental issues in Iraq

  • The Coalition Provision Authority (CPA) which is the temporary means of governance in Iraq is working hard to promote the welfare of the Iraqi people through the effective administration of the territory, in particular, working towards the restoration of conditions of security and stability in which the Iraqi people can freely determine their own political future. It also has responsibilities for environmental issues, which include DU.
  • The MOD is removing surface-lying DU fragments from the battlefield as they are discovered; and has warned Iraqi locals through information leaflets and signs that they should not go near or touch any debris they find on the battlefield.
  • The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) will assess DU levels in the environment as part of its post-conflict environmental survey of Iraq when the security situation allows. In support of the UNEP survey, MOD has provided UNEP with coordinates of UK DU target locations and has offered to provide advice on carrying out risk assessments on DU within urban areas and on long-term monitoring of DU in the environment, including water.
  • All military vehicles thought to have been struck by DU munitions within the southern sector of Iraq under British military control have been clearly marked and are pending further examination when the security situation allows. In June 2003, MOD scientists completed a preliminary technical assessment of some of these vehicles. So far, the findings indicate very low levels of DU on and in the vicinity of these vehicles. MOD is sharing information on these vehicles with UNEP and the Royal Society. UNEP has welcomed MOD’s data and agreed that future surveys should be coordinated with MOD to avoid duplication and obtain maximum scientific benefit. The Department for International Development (DfID) has agreed to part-fund the UNEP assessment of post-conflict environmental issues in Iraq.

 

Didn't use of DU in the 1990-91 Gulf Conflict lead to cancers and birth defects in Iraq?

  • Media reports of DU-induced cancers and birth defects in Iraq have not been substantiated with credible scientific evidence. Many other factors need to be considered as possible causes, for example, some scientists have blamed the former Iraqi Government's use of chemical weapons on its own citizens. 
  • The Royal Society's report on "The Health Hazards of Depleted Uranium Munitions" Part II states that "Modelling of the amounts of DU resuspended from soil in the years following a conflict indicates that the estimated inhalation intakes will not lead to any increase in the incidence of lung cancer or any other cancers among children or adults. Nor are they likely to lead to any significant effects on kidney function."
  • With regard to reports of foetal deaths and malformations in children born after conflicts, the Royal Society's aforementioned reports conclude that "These reports are of obvious concern but are very difficult to interpret as reliable data on the rates of foetal death and malformation prior to and following these conflicts are not available." Also, "the World Health Organisation (WHO) has initiated studies to ascertain whether reproductive health in Iraq has declined since the Gulf War. If there have been increased rates of foetal death and malformation it will again be difficult to know whether this is due to DU as the population of Iraq has been subjected to multiple toxic exposures". Furthermore, "It should also be remembered that malnutrition can increase the incidence of malformations (eg the link between neural tube defects and folic acid deficiency is firmly established)."


Have scientists looked at a link between DU and birth defects?

  • With regard to a link between exposure to DU and birth defects, no studies have looked specifically at this relationship. There is no scientific or medical evidence from US studies of an excess of birth defects in Gulf veterans compared with appropriately-selected control groups.

 

Will studies address the state of public health in Iraq?

  • The WHO is seeking funding for its proposals to conduct scientific studies to determine if there is any association between DU exposure and reported increases of leukaemia in young people and in birth defects. Further efforts will also be made to identify the populations most likely to have been exposed to DU in the two conflicts, and to set up if feasible, long term monitoring of the health status of these populations. The proposed research will be carried out in collaboration with the UNEP, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and where appropriate with other UN agencies and international experts who could assist with the assessment of people’s exposure to various environmental risk factors and DU. Cancer studies would be conducted by the International Agency for Research against Cancer (IARC) in Lyon, France (a WHO specialized agency investigating cancer). Birth abnormalities would be investigated by the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm.

 

Will there be an inquiry into reasons for Conflict in Iraq (2003)?
  • The Government has considered the need for an inquiry into aspects of the situation in Iraq. In fact the Foreign Affairs Committee, the Intelligence and Security Committee and the Hutton Inquiry have all looked at aspects of the war in Iraq as will the Butler Inquiry. However the Prime Minister has made clear that ultimately it is for elected politicians to make a judgment on the basis of the best information available. In March 2003 the House of Commons agreed that Saddam Hussein was in material breach of UNSCR 1411 which gave him one last chance to disarm in order to avoid serious consequences.

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Last Updated: 20 May 04