(RISQ Reviews, 27 December 2003)
Article: http://www.risq.org/article232.html
Dutch troops find depleted uranium ammunition in Iraq
27 December 2003
Finding points to more DU material in the area
Dutch troops stationed in the province of Al Muthanna in Southern
Iraq have found a 30 mm round of depleted uranium (DU) ammunition. This
has been announced by the Ministry of Defence today. According to RISQ
Associate Maarten
H.J. van den Berg, the finding points to the presence of more DU material
in the area.
The shell was found on the 10th of December in a so-called demolition
pit in the town of As Samawah. According to a spokesperson of the Dutch
Ministry of Defence, the health of those involved in the finding were
not put at risk as the round was not destroyed and no DU dust released.
Given
the reported calibre, the shell is probably of US origin. According to
Mr. van den Berg, 30 mm DU ammunition has only been used in Iraq by American
Apache helicopters and A-10 Warthog jets of the US Air Force.
As a RISQ
Report on
the issue published earlier this year confirmed, 30 mm DU ordnance has
been fired in airstrikes over As Samawah -- in 1998 and, more recently,
during operation Iraqi Freedom. Consequently, it is more than likely
that there are more sources of DU to be found in the area, Mr. Van den
Berg concludes.
Dutch army personnel unions have raised concern about the incident. Last
week we talked to officials of the Ministry of Defence but they did not
mention the incident, says Mr. J. Kleian, chairman of the Christian Association
of Military Personnel?(ACOM). His colleague of the?Union for Defence Personnel?(VBM),
pointing at prior agreements with the Ministry on information-sharing,
stated that this is not something that should have been kept from the
public.
In July, the Minister of Defence assured MPs that "no DU-ammunition was
used recently in Al-Muthanna". However, as said RISQ Report led MPs to
raise questions, the Minister admitted that the assurance derived from
unverified information. Citing the US government as saying that "it is
still in the process of preparing an assessment of DU-firing locations
in Iraq", the Dutch government's current standpoint is that "it will await
the results of [this] investigation".
Sources: ANP, RISQ | www.risq.org (updated
on 29 12 2003)
