Inhaled particles of depleted uranium dust are suspected of causing disease. With one Portuguese and two Dutch veterans of the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia also dead, and four French and five Belgian soldiers also diagnosed with cancer, the European Union on Thursday announced it would begin an inquiry. At least five countries are testing soldiers, and Italy has asked NATO to stop using the 30mm projectiles. NATO and U.S. officials say no serious study has ever linked the radioactive material to cancer, although they invite more research. Since 1993, Melissa McDiarmid, a University of Maryland professor of medicine, has cared for 63 gulf war veterans exposed to depleted uranium, including 15 soldiers still imbedded with uranium fragments.
None has cancer.
The Italian press has not mentioned McDiarmid's work and each day trumpets new cases. As many as 15 other soldiers are reported to be suffering from cancer. With parliamentary elections around the corner, many politicians and veterans groups have blasted NATO, the United States, and their own government for failing to protect soldiers. To ease Italian concerns, NATO will pull records of every sortie flown with depleted uranium missiles. NATO has acknowledged that fighter jets fired 31,000 rounds in Kosovo during the 1999 war and 10,800 rounds in Bosnia during 1994 and 1995, principally at Serbian tank positions around Sarajevo.