Vol. 529 No. 1
320 Mr. Wall asked the Minister for Defence the information his Department has with regard to newspaper reports of threats to Defence personnel in Kosovo due to the danger of contamination from depleted uranium; if he has satisfied himself that there is no danger; the protection that is given to any personnel to carry out tests on an ongoing basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1335/01]
There has been much speculation in the media in recent weeks concerning the use of munitions containing depleted uranium – DU – in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1994-95) and in Kosovo (1999). Irish personnel were deployed with SFOR in Bosnia and Herzegovina in May 1997, two years after the cessation of hostilities, and with KFOR in Kosovo in August 1999, two months after the end of NATO's bombing campaign. The operations assigned to these units did not require Defence Forces personnel to go into any vehicles struck by DU rounds or to handle any war debris. The transport company with KFOR is deployed in an area well removed from the area where most of the DU ammunition was used. Ongoing surveys carried out since the beginning of both missions, throughout the areas of operations, have shown only normal background levels of radiation. In addition, the Defence Forces took specific measures to confirm the safety of Irish troops in Kosovo. Last year a Defence Forces Ordnance Corps officer measured the levels of radiation in the area of deployment of the Irish transport company. The measurements, including those taken from the mud flaps of vehicles following various transportation tasks to diverse locations in Kosovo, indicated similar background levels of radiation as obtain in Ireland. These measurements were confirmed by measurements taken by other nationalities who operate in the same area as Irish troops.
In the light of current concerns, the Defence Forces sent an investigative team, comprising an Ordnance Corps officer and a medical officer, to Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo earlier this month. The team again took readings of radiation levels and consulted extensively with medical and technical experts from other KFOR troop contributing countries. Their findings confirm earlier assessments of normal levels of background radiation. Continuous testing of food and water has shown them to be safe. Radiation levels in camps occupied by Irish troops were again tested and found to be safe. The medical officers who have visited Irish troops have not encountered any instances of unusual ill health. On the basis of all the evidence available to them, the Defence Forces military authorities have assessed the threat to the health of Irish troops in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Kosovo as negligible. The Defence Forces will continue to monitor the situation in the Balkans.
