NATO countries Italy and Germany have called for a ban on the use of DU weapons. But what should shock us is not that DU shells, designed to kill, are not 'safe', as Germany and Italy demand. More outrageous is that, while the people of Kosovo and Iraq have to live permanently with DU, it is only when NATO soldiers complain that anybody sees it as a problem. DU is the leftovers after uranium is enriched for use in nuclear fuel or bombs. The effects of radiation from uranium on human health are well known from many studies, most notably on uranium miners.
Uranium poses very little risk so long as it is outside the body.
It is more dangerous when inhaled as dust. The DU shells which vaporise on impact are effective at creating such dust. The chemical toxicity of uranium is also well known, though somewhat less well understood. On balance, however, it seems unlikely that DU has caused many of the problems complained of by veterans. Their exposures appear to have been relatively modest.