§ Mr. LawsTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has conducted in the last 10 years into illnesses caused by exposure to depleted uranium; what assessment has been made of the risks to health from exposure to depleted uranium used in munitions and military equipment; and if he will make a statement. [22314]
§ Ms Blears[holding answer 13 December 2001]The Department is advised on matters of radiation risk by the National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB). NRPB has not carried out any research specifically into illnesses caused by exposure to depleted uranium. However, NRPB has carried out research that is relevant to the assessment of the risks to health from such exposures. In particular NRPB has carried out extensive research into the distribution of uranium between body organs, its retention and excretion, following inhalation of a wide range of uranium compounds. It has also developed computer models that enable the concentration of uranium in the various organs and resulting radiation doses to be calculated. Depleted uranium is mildly radioactive, and NRPB's research programme on the effects of ionising radiation in general is therefore relevant to assessment of the radiological risks from exposure to depleted uranium.
NRPB staff have also contributed to studies of the risks to health from exposure to depleted uranium carried out by working groups set up by the European Commission, the Royal Society, and the World Health Organisation. Reports from each have been published during 2001.
The Department also knows of four academic groups which have been active in reviewing the risks from depleted uranium; they are the Royal Society Depleted Uranium Working Group, the British Geological Survey, the University of Bristol Department of Earth Sciences and the Southampton Oceanic Centre.