Assessing the risk from the depleted uranium weapons used in Operation Allied Force

Abstract

The conflict in Yugoslavia has been a source of great concern due to the radiological and toxic hazard posed by the alleged presence of depleted uranium in NATO weapons. In the present study some worst-case scenaria are assumed in order to assess the risk for Yugoslavia and its neighboring countries . The risk is proved to be negligible for the neighboring countries while for Yugoslavia itself evidence is given that any increase in total long-term cancer mortality will be so low that it will remain undetected. Local radioactive hotspots such as DU weapons fragments and abandoned battle tanks, fortified or contaminated with DU, constitute a post-war hazard which is not studied in this article.