[The risks of out of area missions: depleted uranium]

Abstract

Depleted uranium (DU), a waste product of uranium enrichment, has several civilian and military applications. It was used as armor-piercing ammunition in international conflicts and was claimed to contribute to health problems, known as the Gulf War Syndrome and recently as the Balkan Syndrome. Leukaemia/Limphoma cases among UN soldiers in the Balkans have been related hypothetically to exposure to DU. The investigations published in the scientific literature give no support for this hypothesis. However future follow-up is necessary for evaluation of long-term risk.