• Military

• WMD Menu                           

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

UK to review DU munitions

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

London, Nov 15, IRNA -- The British government has ordered a belated review over the controversial use of depleted uranium (DU) weapons following a campaign by MPs.

The review, required under the Geneva Convention, comes as CHARM3, the UK's only remaining operational DU round, is no longer manufactured and its propellant charges are due to expire in 2013, leaving the UK the options to re-license, replace or scrap.

“Given the concerns that have been expressed over DU, I have directed that a legal review should be carried out to establish the position clearly,” said Armed Forces Minister Nick Harvey.

More than two dozen MPs from all parties have supported an Early Day Motion to parliament, urging the UK government to seize the opportunity to cease using DU in its kinetic energy ammunition.

The motion warns of the potential risk to health, largely associated with cancers and genetic deformities caused to babies, as well as the toxic legacy of damage to the environment from the radioactivity waste.

The British army fired shells containing some 2.3 tonnes of DU during the 1990-91 war to liberate Kuwait and following the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Harvey previously claimed that DU munitions fired from tanks were permissible on humanitarian and environmental grounds under the Geneva conventions but was forced to apologise after admitting that a review was never carried out.

Additional protocol 1 of the Geneva conventions requires that all weapons are subject to a legal review to assess whether they are 'capable of being used discriminately', or cause 'widespread and severe damage to the natural environment'.

DU is a chemically toxic and radioactive heavy metal produced as waste by the nuclear power industry that is included in weapons as in tank shell because it is an extremely hard material capable of piercing armour.

A recent joint UK-Iraqi epidemiological study has identified that the US used new Enriched Uranium weapons systems and not DU munitions as previously suspected during the 2004 battle for Fallujah, which has left a legacy of congenital anomaly and cancers.

2220**345**1420
Islamic Republic News Agency/IRNA NewsCode: 30664681