Today marks the passage into force of Belgium’s 2007 decision to ban the use of uranium in all conventional weapons and armour after a series of unanimous parliamentary votes and a ban on all government investments in the manufacturers of the weapons.

Belgium’s decision to take a lead on uranium weapons came after parliamentarians concluded that a growing body of evidence linking uranium with potential health problems supported a precautionary approach to their use.1 Belgium’s decision has been praised by European military unions who are concerned about the impact the weapons may have on their members. Belgium was also the first country in the world to ban anti-personnel land mines and cluster bombs which, like uranium weapons, have also been classified as inhumane and indiscriminate by the United Nations and legal experts.

Depleted uranium is a by-product of the enrichment of uranium for nuclear fuel and weapons. It is used in a range of armour-piercing weapons and tank armour for its high density and combustibility. Use of the chemically toxic and radioactive substance has long been viewed as controversial following reports of increased cancers and birth defects in areas where it has been used.

In response to growing international concern over the impact that these weapons have on civilians and service personnel, leading UK NGOs and faith groups have now joined forces to demand that the government abides by a Europe-wide call for a moratorium on their use and testing. The groups have also called on the UK government to work towards a global treaty banning the weapons, just as it did for the Oslo Process on cluster munitions.

The UK Uranium Weapons Network is supported by: the Campaign Against the Arms Trade, Campaign Against Depleted Uranium, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Environmental Justice Foundation, Medact, the Muslim Council of Britain, the Northern Friends Peace Board, Pax Christi, People & Planet, Quaker Peace & Social Witness and the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom.

“As we have learnt more about the potential dangers posed by these munitions, governments worldwide have begun to sit up and take notice,” said a spokesperson for the UK Uranium Weapons Network. “However the UK government’s response has thus far been lamentable. They stick dogmatically to outdated science, refuse to countenance discussions over the legality of their stock of weapons and show no concern towards civilians exposed to DU contamination as a result of their activities. As a result they are growing increasingly isolated among the international community.”

The increasing uncertainty over their potential to damage health has seen the issue of uranium weapons rise swiftly up the international disarmament agenda in recent years. Two United Nations General Assembly resolutions have highlighted potential health concerns while a 2008 European Parliament resolution requesting an immediate moratorium on their use was supported by 94% of MEPs.2,3

At home, the Ministry of Defence’s continued use of the Dundrennan Range in Dumfries and Galloway for testing its toxic CHARM3 tank ammunition has drawn condemnation from the Scottish government; and in February this year the Cooperative Bank elected to bar all investments in uranium weapon manufacturers in response to customer concerns.4,5

The UK government continues to deny any links between uranium weapons and ill health and in December 2008, along with the US, France and Israel, sought to block a resolution calling for World Health Organisation (WHO), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to update their positions on the weapons in light of new data on the threat that they represent.6 The resolution was supported by 141 states, including many of the UK’s EU allies such as Germany, Italy and Finland. Even NATO has accepted the need to reassess the use of depleted uranium and will abide by the decision of the WHO when it publishes a fresh assessment on the latest research next year.7

However, campaigners and scientists remain concerned over whether the WHO will give an independent and scientifically balanced view on the issue. The organisation’s previous statement on depleted uranium in 2003 was roundly criticised for excluding peer-reviewed data showing that uranium is genotoxic – that it can damage DNA, causing mutations that may cause cancer. The papers had been included in the report’s first draft but were apparently later removed at the behest of the WHO’s management.8

Ends

References:
1. Belgium bans uranium weapons and armour:  http://www.bandepleteduranium.org/en/a/118.html
2. 141 States support resolution calling for UN agencies to update their positions in light of health concerns:  http://www.bandepleteduranium.org/en/a/224.html
3. European Parliament passes far reaching DU resolution in landslide vote:  http://www.bandepleteduranium.org/en/a/181.html
4. MSPs and NGOs condemn renewed weapons tests at Dundrennan:  http://www.bandepleteduranium.org/en/a/172.html
5. UK Cooperative Bank ceases investments in uranium weapon manufacturers:  http://www.bandepleteduranium.org/en/a/241.html
6. 141 states support second uranium weapons resolution in UN General Assembly vote
 http://www.bandepleteduranium.org/en/a/224.html
7. NATO prepared to take a fresh look at uranium weapons:  http://www.bandepleteduranium.org/en/a/268.html
8. BBC: Senior scientist with the United Nations has told the BBC that studies showing that it was carcinogenic were suppressed from a seminal World Health Organisation report.
 http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/reports/international/uranium_20061101.shtml


Notes for Editors

Uranium weapons
Uranium weapons release large volumes of fine particles into the environment when they are used. Uranium is a radioactive and chemically toxic heavy metal. It has a similar density to gold. This has made it an attractive choice for producers of armour-piercing weapons known as Kinetic Energy penetrators. The penetrator is a long dart of solid depleted uranium; it is neither a tip, nor a coating and weighs up to 4kg. Kinetic Energy Penetrators use their kinetic energy to pierce armour instead of a chemical explosive. Uranium's other key property is that it is pyrophoric. Pyrophoric materials oxidise rapidly when exposed to oxygen, this means finely ground uranium powder burns when exposed to air.

It is this last property that is responsible for the generation of fine, radioactive and chemically toxic particles. Once released on battlefields and testing ranges, these particles can then be ingested or inhaled by civilians and service personnel alike. Rounds that miss their targets may also corrode in the soil and contaminate groundwater.

What's the problem?
Uranium is a radioactive and chemically toxic heavy metal. Uranium's toxicity has been known of for decades but recent concern over the use of uranium weapons has added enormously to our knowledge. Dozens of recently published peer-reviewed papers have indicated that uranium can damage health through new and unexpected pathways.

Reports from hospitals in Iraq have linked uranium weapon contamination with a rise in the incidence of cancers often associated with environmental contaminants and radiation, such as leukaemia, lymphoma and breast cancer. Furthermore the age at which Iraqis have developed cancer has been decreasing.

Dozens of veterans have tested positive for uranium exposure and have been seen to be exhibiting a range of symptoms. In Italy, the state has agreed to a 30m Euro compensation package for service personnel suffering from Balkan Syndrome, this was thought to be connected with uranium exposure. The decision was made all the more notable after an expert panel concluded that the burden of proof in these cases should be reversed and the military made to prove that sick personnel had not been exposed.

Although states that use uranium weapons have been unwilling to undertake surveys of contaminated populations, we now have sufficient data to request that governments take a precautionary approach and introduce a moratorium on the use of these weapons. A precautionary approach is also supported by the fact that uranium dust is almost impossible to remove from the environment once released.

For an extensive list of recently published peer-reviewed papers please visit:  http://www.bandepleteduranium.org/en/docs/58.pdf

Who has used them and who has them?
It is thought that the US and UK are the only states to have used uranium weapons in active conflict, although questions remain over France’s use of uranium weapons in the Gulf War and Russia’s in Chechnya. They were first used on a large scale by US and UK forces in the 1991 Gulf War, by NATO in the Balkans in the late 1990s and again by US and UK forces in the 2003 Iraq War. It is suspected that they may have also been used in Afghanistan since 2001. Uranium weapons are in use by at least 17, and as many as 20 countries. Some states have developed them independently while others have bought US and Soviet-made munitions. The opacity of the arms trade has meant that this data is far from complete.

States thought to have uranium weapons include: UK, US, France, Russia, Belarus, Greece, Turkey, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Egypt, Kuwait, Pakistan, Thailand, China, India, Belarus and Taiwan.

What do we want?
A uranium weapons treaty that will synthesise the impressive human rights and victim assistance text of the Cluster Munition Convention with environmental law and the Precautionary Principle – this would be a first for disarmament law and would have a huge impact on the wider issue of the use of toxic substances in warfare.

A Uranium Weapons Convention would ban the use of uranium in all conventional weapons and armour, release money for environmental remediation and medical care and order the destruction of stockpiles.

UK Network Statement
The UK Uranium Weapons Network is part of ICBUW, the International Coalition to Ban Uranium Weapons. ICBUW is a global coalition of more than 120 NGOs in 29 countries. It campaigns for a ban on the use, transport, manufacture, stockpiling, sale and export of all conventional uranium weapons and is modelled on the successful campaigns to ban land mines and cluster bombs. For more information see www.bandepleteduranium.org

The UK Uranium Weapons Network believes that:

• the use of inhumane and indiscriminate weapons such as landmines, cluster bombs and uranium weapons must be challenged by civil society;
• the protection of civilians and the environment must be paramount in armed conflict;
• the chemically toxic and radioactive particles released by uranium weapons have the potential to damage the health of both military personnel and civilians;
• the growing body of animal and cellular studies linking uranium exposure with damage to human health supports a precautionary approach to the use of uranium weapons;
• while so little research has been undertaken into the effects of uranium weapons on exposed civilian populations it is scientifically irresponsible to claim that they are safe.

In recognition of this, the UK Uranium Weapons Network:

• Calls for the UK to accept an EU-wide moratorium on the use of uranium weapons in line with the European Parliament’s 2008 resolution ‘Depleted uranium weapons and their effect on human health and the environment - towards a global ban on the use of such weapons’ by removing its CHARM3 tank ammunition from service.
• Calls on the UK to stop the testing of uranium weapons.
• Calls on the UK government to support a global ban on the use, transport, manufacture, stockpiling, sale and export of all conventional uranium weapons and armour and to work multilaterally towards a comprehensive uranium weapon convention.

For more information please visit www.bandepleteduranium.org