German soldiers seek compensation for exposure to depleted uranium in Kosovo
Some 220 German soldiers have claimed damages. Since 1999, more than 359 Italian soldiers died and more than 4,000 others got ill from exposure to depleted uranium while serving in Kosovo
Former German soldiers have applied for damages for exposure to depleted uranium that (NATO) used during the wars in the Balkans and Iraq. A faction of the Alternative for Germany party in the Bundestag also asked for the opinion of the German government.
T-online writes that about 220 soldiers have claimed damages for their exposure to uranium, reviving once again discussions about the extent to which this type of ammunition is harmful to human health, Banja Luka daily Nezavisne reports.
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"Studies by the World Health Organization and the International Atomic Energy Organization deny that there are any particular risks, while the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War organization points out that there are uncertainties in published studies, and call for a preventive ban on the use of this ammunition until long-term exposure effects have been reliably determined," the website writes.
In its response on August 12, the German government stressed that all these claims have been rejected over the past years because, as it was pointed out, it has not been proven that German soldiers suffered any health consequences from being in contact with this primarily anti-tank ammunition fired from warplanes.
"The results of a study of the impact of depleted uranium show that there is almost no risk of radiation at the sites of use of this ammunition, while toxicological risks can arise only in extraordinary circumstances, which have not yet emerged anywhere so far," emphasized in a statement published on the website of the Germany government.
The Austrian army also published a study on the effect of depleted uranium on its website.
"It can be concluded that only direct inhalation of substances in war zones can pose a certain danger to human health," they stressed.
As they say, harm can occur due to chemical, non-radioactive characteristics of this material, and only if it is introduced into the organism in large quantities through some solution.
"The civilian population, members of humanitarian organizations and peacekeepers hardly breathed in this material in such quantities. However, long-term direct contact with depleted uranium, such as pieces of ammunition, should be avoided," they said.
THE ITALIAN CASE
On the other hand, soldiers' exposure to depleted uranium is nothing new in Italy, whose soldiers have been fighting a court battle for years to obtain government compensation for their involvement in the NATO campaign in Kosovo.
Only more than nine years after the NATO bombing of Serbia (in 1999) and public protests, appeals to the courts and the results published by a commission of inquiry, the initial 30 million in compensation money was awarded to the victims of depleted uranium.
According to some data, more than 359 soldiers died from the consequence of exposure to depleted uranium from 1999 until 2018, while more than 4,000 others developed diseases - among them a large number had been deployed in Kosovo.
(Telegraf.rs/Tanjug)