|
|
past feature
|
|
|
Testing the
Troops
Military
personnel of the Gulf and Kosovo conflicts
are to have urine tests for radation
exposure by mass spectrometry.
The tests are part of a study of cancer,
kidney damage and other potential health
problems caused by depleted uranium
exposure from armour-piercing shells. The
U.K. government will publish results at
the end of 2002
Depleted uranium munitions were first
fired in the Gulf war of 1991, releasing
339 tons of the toxic metal into the
environment. Although one survey said that
around 17 per cent of UK soldiers believed
they had Gulf war syndrome, it has been
difficult to disentangle the health
effects of uranium from those of
vaccinations, chemical warfare antidotes,
insecticides, rodenticides, solvents,
lubricants and smoke from burning oil
wells.
Scientists believe with mass spectrometry
that it should still be possible to tell
whether a soldier who fought in the Gulf
inhaled as little as 25 milligrams of
uranium. This level is linked with a small
increased risk of lung cancer but no toxic
effects on organs.
Professor Brian Spratt, chairman of a
Royal Society working group, called for
soldiers in future wars to be tested for
the heavy metal. Their kidney function
should also be assessed and they should be
warned of the long-term risks to children
who live where munitions were once
used.
|
|
|
|