Britain Test Fires Depleted Uranium Into Sea
By REUTERS
Filed at 1:25 p.m. ET
EDINBURGH, Scotland (Reuters) - Britain began test firing depleted uranium shells at a range off the coast of Scotland Tuesday for the first time since the munitions were linked to a possible risk of cancer.
The Ministry of Defense said troops tested a new batch of the armor-piercing munitions at the Dundrennan range, sparking anger among residents along the shores of the estuary, the Solway Firth.
Controversy over the use of the tank-busting depleted uranium weapons by NATO in the Balkans in 1999 erupted after reports from Italy that six soldiers had died of leukemia.
Britain, along with NATO and the United States, insists there is no proof that the munitions pose any health risk.
``Even if it was the most inert substance known to man, I don't think you should be dumping them in our rivers,'' said local member of parliament Alasdair Morgan from the opposition Scottish National Party.
The ministry said there was no health risk involved with the tests, which had been planned for months and were expected to last for two days.
``Safety in all these matters is a very high priority,'' a defense spokesman said. ``We are going to be checking accuracy of a new batch of penetrators by firing them at soft canvas targets. There will be no particle dispersion.''
Health fears center around inhaling the dust thrown up when the heavy shells slam into a ground target -- most often a tank.
However, local people also are concerned about possible contamination of the sea near where they live, and want the tests stopped while questions remain about public health.
Thousands of uranium-tipped shells already have been fired into the Solway Firth over the last two decades, although the Ministry of Defense said this week's tests would involve only around a dozen rounds.
The spokesman said the shells were the only ammunition the British forces had for penetrating modern heavy armor effectively and so had to be thoroughly tested.
The Campaign Against Depleted Uranium Weapons said it was stunned at Britain's decision after the European Parliament approved calls in January for a moratorium on the shells' use until the controversy had been cleared up.
``We believe in the precautionary principle. It seems the height of folly to still be test-firing them,'' a spokeswoman said.
Meanwhile, the Belgian Defense Ministry said Tuesday evening they would stop test-firing all of its Milan anti-tank shells, after Britain had informed Belgium of the presence of more than two grams of Thorium, a radioactive heavy metal, in the shell.