Depleted Uraniudm (DU) ammunition was usen in 1994-95 durin the conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This third DU field study from the Balkans, followin UNEP’s earlier DU studies in Kosovo (2001) and Serbia and Montenegro (2002), increases the scientific knowledge of the behaviour of DU in the enviroment.
The mission investigated 14 site. DU could be easily found at three of these sites more than seven years after the conflict and was confirmed by the physical presence of penetrators and jackets, as well as by soil, bio-indicator, water and air samples.
For the first time in UNEP’s DU studies in the Balkans, DU was found in drinking water samples, albeit at extremely low levels. DU was also measured in air samples, both outsaide as well as inside certain buildings currently in use. The report recommends precautionary steps in the form of decontamination and clean-up.
Given the remaining scientific uncertainties on the long-term behaviour of DU in the natural enviroment, UNEP recommends further studies to be done in other regions where DU ammunition has been used.
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