Depleted Uranium

17 April 2001

To:	All UN Personnel who have served or are serving in conflict areas where Depleted Uranium (DU) may have been used and for the information of all UN staff.
From:	Rafiah Salim, Assistant-Secretary-General for Human Resources Management

 

 

Further to my note of 17 January 2001, I would like to inform you that the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have issued recently their mission reports relating to depleted uranium in Kosovo.

It is very heartening to note that the WHO mission found no convincing evidence to indicate any health impact to the Kosovo population associated with the use of depleted uranium. Also, scientific and medical studies have not established a link between exposure to depleted uranium and the onset of cancers or birth defects. According to the UNEP report, the samples collected in Kosovo showed only low levels of radioactivity and no immediate cause for concern regarding toxicity. However, precaution is still warranted as major scientific uncertainties persist over the long-term environmental impacts of DU, especially regarding groundwater. 

For more information, I would encourage you to refer to the reports, which are posted on the UNEP and WHO websites, <http://www.unep.ch/balkans> and <http://www.who.dk>, respectively.

In addition to the two reports, a monograph on depleted uranium will be issued shortly by WHO. We intend to review the monograph and the missions reports urgently and to take immediate and necessary action should it be required.