HC Deb 19 July 1999 vol 335 c433W
Helen Jackson

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of whether the UNHCR in Kosovo have the expertise to deal with the dangers of depleted uranium from US armaments used in the recent Balkan conflict. [90362]

Mr. George Robertson

I have been asked to reply.

The UNHCR is the lead agency responsible for the return of refugees to Kosovo. We have passed to them a copy of the March 1999 paper "Testing For The Presence of Depleted Uranium in Veterans of the Gulf Conflict" which contains information which may be useful to them. We stand ready to provide them with whatever advice they judge necessary to help them complete their tasks. I should stress however that health risks from depleted uranium have been assessed as low.