Italiano / English / Srpskohrvatski
=== Italiano ===
[NOTA:
La Repubblica Serba di Bosnia fu bombardata a piu' riprese, ed in
particolare nel settembre 1995, dalla NATO, che pote' cosi' imporre la
propria presenza su quel territorio (accordi di Dayton, novembre
1995). Si tratto' della prima azione di guerra su territorio europeo
dalla fine della Seconda Guerra Mondiale, e della "prova generale"
della aggressione contro la Repubblica Federale di Jugoslavia
(primavera 1999), anche essa effettuata con l'impiego di proiettili
all'uranio impoverito (U238).
Ricordiamo che all'epoca (1995) la "sinistra" italiana, influenzata
dalla disinformazione dei media su gravi episodi di guerra e loro
false attribuzioni, in massima parte tacque oppure appoggio' ed
incoraggio' i bombardamenti della NATO: si veda ad esempio
l'intervista a Rossana Rossanda pubblicata su "Il Manifesto" il
ferragosto 1995, ed i numerosi interventi di Adriano Sofri, tra i
quali il film-documentario di propaganda serbo-fobica "I cani di
Sarajevo" - dove "cani" erano gli abitanti serbi di Sarajevo,
colpevoli di non voler diventare "minoranza etnica" nella
Bosnia-Erzegovina governata dall'islamista Alija Izetbegovic.
(A cura di Italo Slavo)]
BOSNIA: ONU, ESPERTI TROVANO TRACCE URANIO IMPOVERITO
(ANSA) - SARAJEVO, 11 NOV - Gli esperti del Programma per l'ambiente
delle Nazioni unite (Unep) hanno trovato tracce di uranio impoverito
in tre siti militari in Bosnia, nei pressi di Sarajevo.
Lo ha reso noto il capo della missione dell'Unep Pekka Haavisto,
citato dall'agenzia di stampa Fena, presentando oggi a Sarajevo i
risultati preliminari di una ricerca fatta dal 12 al 24 ottobre,
quando sono stati prelevati circa 200 campioni del suolo, dell'acqua,
dell'aria, in 15 localita' bosniache.
Tracce di uranio impoverito sono state trovate nella caserma
dell'esercito serbo bosniaco di Han Pijesak, 60 chilometri circa a est
da Sarajevo, e in una fabbrica di Hadzici, alla periferia sud-ovest
della capitale bosniaca, nei capannone per la riparazione dei carri
armati e nel deposito di munizioni.
Il rapporto definitivo sara' presentato nel marzo prossimo, ma gli
esperti dell'Onu hanno raccomandato alle autorita' locali di
bonificare con urgenza gli interni della fabbrica di Hadzici e la
caserma di Han Pijesak.
Alla ricerca hanno partecipato anche rappresentanti
dell'Organizzazione mondiale di sanita' che hanno visitato strutture
sanitarie per raccogliere informazioni su malattie che potrebbero
essere causate dall'uranio impoverito.
Frammenti di proiettili all'uranio impoverito sono stati trovati nel
gennaio del 2001 nella 'Remontni zavod' di Hadzici, che prima della
guerra era il piu' grande centro dell'ex esercito jugoslavo per la
manutenzione di armi e mezzi militari. Controllata dai serbi durante
la guerra (1992-95), fu bombardata dalla Nato il 30 agosto 1995.
(ANSA). COR*VD 11/11/2002 17:06
http://www.ansa.it/balcani/fattidelgiorno/
20021111170691581/20021111170691581.shtml
BOSNIA: IMPENNATA CASI DI LEUCEMIA NEI BAMBINI
(ANSA) - SARAJEVO, 12 NOV - ''Nel territorio della Federazione Bh
(entita' croato musulmana) si registra quest'anno un notevole aumento
di casi di leucemia nei bambini, ma per il momento e' difficile dire
se questo si possa collegare con la presenza di tracce di uranio
impoverito''. Lo ha dichiarato oggi il capo della divisione oncologia
della Clinica pediatrica di Sarajevo, prof. Edo Hasanbegovic. Secondo
quanto riporta l'agenzia di stampa Fena, il professor Hasanbegovic ha
precisato che secondo i dati della clinica sarajevese nei cinque anni
precedenti si sono registrati 13 nuovi casi di leucemia e dall'inizio
dell'anno fino ad oggi i casi sono 24. Ieri gli esperti del Programma
per l'ambiente delle Nazioni unite hanno reso noto i dati preliminari
di un'analisi di campioni prelevati in ottobre in 15 localita' intorno
a Sarajevo e nell'est della Bosnia, dove la Nato ha bombardato le
postazioni serbe nell'agosto del 1995. In tre siti militari sono state
trovate tracce di uranio impoverito, nella caserma serbo bosniaca di
Han Pijesak, 60 chilometri a est da Sarajevo, e in due siti nella
fabbrica di hadzici, sobborgo della capitale bosniaca, dove frammenti
di proiettili all'uranio impoverito sono stati trovati ancora nel
gennaio dell'anno scorso. I bambini ammalati di leucemia, ha, pero',
sottolineato Hasanbegovic, provvengono da tutte le parti della
Federazione. I casi piu' gravi vengono dalla zona di Velika Kladusa e
Buzim, nel nord-ovest del paese, vicino al confine con la Croazia.
''Bisognerebbe analizzare il suolo e l'acqua in quella zona - ha detto
medico -, c'e' anche una miniera di manganese''. Il rapporto
definitivo degli esperti dell'Onu sara' presentato nel marzo prossimo.
Secondo il capo della missione Pekka Haavisto, sette anni fa la Nato
ha lanciato, nei dintorni di Sarajevo e di Foca, 2000 proiettili, vale
a dire 600 chilogrammi di uranio impoverito.
(ANSA) COR*VD 12/11/2002 18:54
http://www.ansa.it/balcani/bosnia/20021112185432384104.html
=== English ===
http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?object
ID=2E04BFCA-5B02-4AB4-AB6D812B566B5214
Radioactivity Detected in Bosnia Where NATO Used
Depleted Uranium Shells
VOA [Voice of America] News
November 11, 2002
United Nations environmental experts have said they
have detected radioactivity in three areas of Bosnia
where NATO forces used depleted uranium shells during
an air strike in 1995.
U.N. Environment Program officials Monday warned
against deploying forces in those areas for fear of a
possible health risk coming from the radioactive
material.
The head of the U.N. team, Pekka Haavisto, said the
three places of concern were an ammunition storage
site near Sarajevo, a nearby tank repair factory and a
military barracks in Han Pijesak in eastern Bosnia.
The areas were hit by NATO air strikes using depleted
uranium armor-piercing rounds in 1995 as part of an
effort to curb attacks by Serbs in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Investigators had probed 14 sites over the past month.
NATO authorities last year launched a probe into the
possible link between the use of depleted uranium
ammunition in the Balkans and increased cancer rates
among peacekeepers who had served in the area. But a
committee reported that medical research so far had
not proved any link between the weapons and the health
problems.
Some information for this report provided by AP and
AFP.
===
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-2162737,00.html
The Guardian
From the Associated Press
Bosnian Radiation Blamed on NATO
Monday November 11, 2002 8:40 PM
SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) - U.N. experts said
Monday they found three radioactive hotspots in Bosnia
resulting from ammunition containing depleted uranium
used during NATO airstrikes in 1995.
The tests found radiation at two sites in the Sarajevo
suburb of Hadzici and one in Han Pijesak, in the
Bosnian Serb republic, according to preliminary
results released by the United Nations Environmental
Program.
During its 1995 bombings of Serb positions around
Sarajevo, NATO used munitions containing depleted
uranium, a slightly radioactive heavy metal that is
used to pierce armor. The Bosnian government said some
10,800 rounds with the material were fired in its
territory.
Once lodged in the soil, the munitions can pollute the
environment and create an up to 100-fold increase in
uranium levels in groundwater, according to the U.N.
Environmental Program.
``We are concerned about the situation at the Hadzici
tank repair facility and the Han Pijesak barracks,´´
said Pekka Haavisto, the chairman of the U.N. agency´s
task force.
In Sarajevo, the U.N. team detected depleted
uranium-related materials and dust inside buildings
that are now used by private businesses. At the site
in the Bosnian Serb republic, the contaminated area is
used as a storage facility by army troops.
The areas where radiation is detected should not be
used until the sites are decontaminated, Haavisto
said.
The international experts were invited by the Bosnian
government to investigate concerns that depleted
uranium could harm residents and international
peacekeepers.
The U.N. team advised the Bosnian government to start
decontaminating the three sites and educating people
about potential hazards.
Apart from this team, a medical sub-team composed of
experts from the World Health Organization and the
U.S. Army, visited several hospitals in Bosnia,
collecting medical data and statistics. A full report
was to be published by UNEP in March 2003.
===
http://www.enn.com/direct/display-release.asp?id=7785
Environmental News Network
UNEP Identifies DU Risks in Bosnia-Herzegovina
From: United Nations Environment Programme
Monday, November 11, 2002
SARAJEVO -
A team of experts fielded by the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP) has investigated 15 sites
in Bosnia and Herzegovina targeted with weapons
containing depleted uranium (DU) during the mid-1990s.
The UNEP team used highly sensitive instruments to
measure surface radioactivity at 14 sites. These
measurements revealed the presence of radioactive "hot
spots" and pieces of DU weapons at three sites - the
Hadzici tank repair facility, the Hadzici ammunition
storage area and the Han Pijesak barracks.
"Following a request by the Council of Ministers of
Bosnia-Herzegovina, UNEP is carrying out this
scientific assessment", said Klaus Toepfer, Executive
Director of UNEP. "Seven years after the conflict, DU
still remains an environmental concern and, therefore,
it is vital that we have the scientific facts, based
upon which we can give clear recommendations how to
minimize any risk."
"We are concerned about the situation at the Hadzici
tank repair facility and the Han Pijesak barracks",
said Pekka Haavisto, Chairman of UNEP DU projects.
"The UNEP team detected DU-related materials and DU
dust inside buildings that are currently used by local
businesses or, in the case of Han Pijesak, by troops
as storage facilities."
"Before using any DU-targeted building there should
always be proper clean-up. When people are working in
buildings that have not been decontaminated,
unnecessary risks are being taken, and, therefore, we
will discuss with the Bosnia and Herzegovina
authorities the need for decontamination inside the
buildings currently in use as a first precautionary
step. Such a job should be carried out by experts",
said Mr. Haavisto.
The UNEP team found that the general public is not
aware of what DU ammunition looks like and the dangers
it can pose. UNEP will discuss with the national civil
protection authorities the possibility of offering
de-mining personnel, other local authorities involved
in DU work, and interested members of the public with
an easy-to-read flyer on the issue of DU ammunition in
the environment.
The two recommended precautionary measures of
decontaminating the targeted buildings and educating
the public are consistent with those proposed in
UNEP's earlier DU studies in Serbia & Montenegro and
Kosovo.
In addition to the 14 sites that were examined the
team could not to enter one site due to safety
concerns over nearby mines.
The 17-member UNEP team included experts from UNEP,
the Swedish Radiation Protection Authority (SSI),
Spiez Laboratory (Switzerland), Italy's Environmental
Protection Agency and Technical Services (APAT, former
ANPA), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),
the World Health Organization (WHO), the Greek Atomic
Energy Commission, the US Army Center for Health
Promotion and Preventive Medicine (USACHPPM), the
Nuclear Safety Institute of the Russian Academy of
Sciences, and the University of Bristol (UK).
The Bosnia and Herzegovina Ministry for European
Integration hosted the UNEP team. Local scientists
also joined the team on different occasions. The team
received local support from the United Nations Mission
to Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNMIBH), the Bosnia and
Herzegovina Mine Action Center (MAC) and NATO/SFOR.
The team took almost 200 environmental samples,
including 47 surface soil samples, three full soil
profiles, three penetrators, one full DU bullet, four
smear samples, 24 air samples, 42 water samples, 19
lichen samples, and three bark, two moss, one mushroom
and two vegetable samples.
The samples collected will be analysed for
radioactivity and toxicity at three internationally
recognized laboratories - Spiez Laboratory
(Switzerland), APAT (Italy) and Bristol University
(UK).
A medical sub-team composed of the experts from WHO
and the US Army Center (USACHPPM) visited three
hospitals and examined medical data and statistics in
the Bosnia and Herzegovina Federation and in the
Republika Srpska. The sub-team stayed in close contact
with both Ministries of Health (Srpska and Federation)
and received their full support.
In parallel to the medical sub-team, the IAEA expert
assessed the overall situation on radioactive sources
in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This included regulations
on handling, radioactive sources in use and storage of
radioactive wastes.
The UNEP DU assessment is funded by the Governments of
Italy and Switzerland. The final results will be
published in a UNEP report in March 2003.
For more information, please contact: Mr. Pekka
Haavisto, Chairman of UNEP DU Projects,
+41-79-477-0877, pekka.haavisto@..., Eric Falt,
UNEP Spokesperson in Nairobi, +254-20-623292, or
Michael Williams, UNEP Information Officer in Geneva,
at +41-22-917-8242, +41-79-409-1528 (cell),
michael.williams@.... See also
http://postconflict.unep.ch
For more information, contact:
Jim Sniffen
Information Officer
United Nations Environment Programme
1-212-963-8210
sniffenj@...
Web site: http://www.unep.org
===
Bloomberg News
November 11, 2002
UN Detects Radiation at Sites of NATO Shelling in
Bosnian War
By Paul Tighe
-The North Atlantic Treaty Organization fired about
10,000 rounds of depleted uranium shells on Bosnia
during the conflict.
Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Nov. 12 (Bloomberg) --
United Nations inspectors found three sites in
Bosnia-Herzegovina where radiation levels are high as
a result of NATO using ammunition containing depleted
uranium in 1995, the Associated Press said.
The UN Environment Program team found two sites in
Hadzici, a suburb of Sarajevo, and one in Bosnia's
Serb area where radiation levels cause concern, AP
cited Pekka Haavisto, chairman of the assessment team,
as saying yesterday. The area in Sarajevo is now used
by private businesses and the Bosnian Serb site is an
army storage plant, AP said.
Depleted uranium, a by-product of enriched uranium, is
used in anti-tank weapons because its high density
gives it armor- piercing capabilities. NATO carried
out air strikes in Bosnia- Herzegovina in 1994 and
1995 in retaliation for Bosnian Serb shelling of
cities.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization fired about
10,000 rounds of depleted uranium shells on Bosnia
during the conflict. The UN team is assessing whether
the use of such shells poses a threat to health in
Bosnia, the Environment Program said on its Web site.
Bosnia is split between two autonomous regions, a Serb
republic, known as Republika Srpska, and the
Muslim-Croat Federation.
(AP, 11-12)
http://quote.bloomberg.com/fgcgi.cgi?ptitle=Top%20World
%20News&s1=blk&tp=ad_topright_topworld&T=markets_box.ht
&s2=ad_right1_windex&bt=ad_position1_windex&box=ad_box_
all&tag=worldnews&middle=ad_frame2_windex&s=APdBxoBUvVU4gRGV0
===
http://english.pravda.ru/main/2002/11/13/39419.html
00:12 2002-11-13
Depleted Uranium: UN Confirms Radioactivity in Bosnia
The United Nations Environment Program task force inspecting
Bosnia-Herzegovina have claimed that DU can create an increase of
uranium concentration 100 times natural that of levels in groundwater.
Three sites have been declared as radioactive and have been cordoned
off.
The government of Bosnia-Herzegovina has claimed that 10,800 rounds of
DU ordnance were fired into its territory by NATO aircraft during the
Bosnian War in 1995. This weaponry is coated with Depleted Uranium to
give shells a greater penetration into their target. Despite numerous
claims by NATO that this weaponry is safe, there have been a growing
number of scientific reports which would suggest that this is not the
case. Inhalation of DU dust has been stated to be the cause of raised
levels of cancer in areas where DU has been deployed, namely in
Southern Iraq, Bosnia, Kosovo and southern Yugoslavia. In Iraq, up to
500,000 children have died in the area targeted by DU during the Gulf
War of cancer-related illnesses.
Pekka Haavisto, the Chairman of the UNEP team in Bosnia, declared that
"We are concerned about the situation at the Hadzici tank repair
facility and the Han Pijesak barracks". He added that the areas where
radiation has been detected should be abandoned until they are
decontaminated.
The team has admitted that there are potential hazards to people who
come into contact with DU.
Meanwhile, World Health Organisation experts have been visiting
hospitals in Bosnia, performing tests on patients who claim to have
been contaminated by DU. The UNEP team has warned that troops should
not be deployed in the areas contaminated.
The more NATO denies that DU is dangerous, the more evidence is
overturned which states the contrary. In deploying DU, NATO blatantly
disregarded the terms of the Geneva Convention, which states that
weapons that leave a lasting on the battlefield must not be deployed.
NATO is guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity and, were the
world order based upon justice, its leaders would be liable to stand
trial at the International Criminal Court at The Hague.
This, however, will never happen because the United States of America
considers that its citizens are above international justice, leaving
this country a free reign to go globe-trotting on a gung-ho mission of
arrogance and abject disrespect for international norms of behaviour.
Timothy BANCROFT-HINCHEY
PRAVDA.Ru
===
http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=11555
Stars And Stripes
November 14, 2002
U.N. team discovers three radioactive sites in Bosnia
By Ivana Avramovic, Stars and Stripes
TUZLA, Bosnia and Herzegovina - United Nations
Environment Program experts said Monday they have
discovered three radioactive sites in Bosnia.
?Seven years after the conflict, [depleted uranium]
still remains an environmental concern, and therefore
it is vital that we have the scientific facts, based
upon which we can give clear recommendations how to
minimize any risk,? said Klaus Töpfer, executive
director of environmental program.
The 17-member team took almost 200 environmental
samples from 15 locations around the country.
The World Health Organization and the U.S. Army Center
for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine also
examined medical data and statistics from three
hospitals in the Federation, the Muslim-Croat
controlled part of the country, and the Republika
Srpska, the Serb-dominated part.
Bosnian scientists joined the U.N. team on several
occasions, according to organizers.
The team found radioactive ?hot spots? and pieces of
depleted uranium weapons in the tank-repair facility
and ammunition storage area in Hadzici, a city just
outside Sarajevo, and in the Han Pijesak military
barracks, about 50 miles northeast of Sarajevo.
The U.S. military has said that depleted uranium
rounds do not pose a radiation risk.
Depleted uranium rounds, surrounded in a swirl of
controversy, are very effective in piercing armor.
Some NATO planes, which included U.S. aircraft, used
the rounds during raids in Bosnia and Kosovo. All 15
sites recently investigated were NATO targets at the
time.
According to an Associated Press report, the Bosnian
government said some 10,800 rounds containing the
depleted uranium were fired in its territory.
?We are concerned about the situation at the Hadzici
tank repair facility and the Han Pijesak barracks,?
said Pekka Haavisto, chairman of U.N. environmental
projects involving depleted uranium.
?The UNEP team detected DU-related materials and DU
dust inside buildings that are currently used by local
businesses or, in the case of Han Pijesak, by troops
as storage facilities.?
Haavisto recommended that the sites be decontaminated
by experts.
After speculation in 2000 that about 30 Italian
peacekeeping Balkan veterans died of cancer - five of
them of leukemia - because of depleted uranium
exposure, fear spread among local population who lived
in NATO-bombed areas at the time.
Many attributed their illnesses to that exposure.
The U.N. team recommended that an easy-to-read flier
be made to educate the general public of what the
ammunition looks like and the dangers it can pose.
UNEP could not investigate one of the 15 sites because
of the danger of mines in the area.
The samples collected will be analyzed in laboratories
in United Kingdom, Switzerland and Italy.
The team is expected to publish a report on its
findings in March of 2003.
=== Srpskohrvatski ===
--- In Questo indirizzo email è protetto dagli spambots. È necessario abilitare JavaScript per vederlo., "Miroslav Antic" wrote:
Radioaktivna i okolina Sarajeva
BANJALUKA (Srna) - ©ef tima za istra¾ivanje posledica dejstva
osiroma¹enog uranijuma u BiH Peka Havisto rekao je da je Sfor potvrdio
da pored 15 lokacija koje je posetio Tim UN za oèuvanje ¾ivotne
sredine, u okolini Sarajeva postoji jo¹ osam lokacija koje su gaðane
municijom sa osiroma¹enim uranijumom, za koje nema preciznih
koordinata.
Havisto je u intervjuu "Glasu srpskom" podsetio da je na tri od 15
lokacija koje su ispitivane pronaðen osiroma¹eni uranijum - u kasarni
u Han Pijesku, te u Remontnom zavodu i skladi¹tu municije u Had¾iæima.
http://www.glas-javnosti.co.yu/danas/srpski/vest-dana.shtml
<http://www.tiker.co.yu/index.htm>
=== Italiano ===
[NOTA:
La Repubblica Serba di Bosnia fu bombardata a piu' riprese, ed in
particolare nel settembre 1995, dalla NATO, che pote' cosi' imporre la
propria presenza su quel territorio (accordi di Dayton, novembre
1995). Si tratto' della prima azione di guerra su territorio europeo
dalla fine della Seconda Guerra Mondiale, e della "prova generale"
della aggressione contro la Repubblica Federale di Jugoslavia
(primavera 1999), anche essa effettuata con l'impiego di proiettili
all'uranio impoverito (U238).
Ricordiamo che all'epoca (1995) la "sinistra" italiana, influenzata
dalla disinformazione dei media su gravi episodi di guerra e loro
false attribuzioni, in massima parte tacque oppure appoggio' ed
incoraggio' i bombardamenti della NATO: si veda ad esempio
l'intervista a Rossana Rossanda pubblicata su "Il Manifesto" il
ferragosto 1995, ed i numerosi interventi di Adriano Sofri, tra i
quali il film-documentario di propaganda serbo-fobica "I cani di
Sarajevo" - dove "cani" erano gli abitanti serbi di Sarajevo,
colpevoli di non voler diventare "minoranza etnica" nella
Bosnia-Erzegovina governata dall'islamista Alija Izetbegovic.
(A cura di Italo Slavo)]
BOSNIA: ONU, ESPERTI TROVANO TRACCE URANIO IMPOVERITO
(ANSA) - SARAJEVO, 11 NOV - Gli esperti del Programma per l'ambiente
delle Nazioni unite (Unep) hanno trovato tracce di uranio impoverito
in tre siti militari in Bosnia, nei pressi di Sarajevo.
Lo ha reso noto il capo della missione dell'Unep Pekka Haavisto,
citato dall'agenzia di stampa Fena, presentando oggi a Sarajevo i
risultati preliminari di una ricerca fatta dal 12 al 24 ottobre,
quando sono stati prelevati circa 200 campioni del suolo, dell'acqua,
dell'aria, in 15 localita' bosniache.
Tracce di uranio impoverito sono state trovate nella caserma
dell'esercito serbo bosniaco di Han Pijesak, 60 chilometri circa a est
da Sarajevo, e in una fabbrica di Hadzici, alla periferia sud-ovest
della capitale bosniaca, nei capannone per la riparazione dei carri
armati e nel deposito di munizioni.
Il rapporto definitivo sara' presentato nel marzo prossimo, ma gli
esperti dell'Onu hanno raccomandato alle autorita' locali di
bonificare con urgenza gli interni della fabbrica di Hadzici e la
caserma di Han Pijesak.
Alla ricerca hanno partecipato anche rappresentanti
dell'Organizzazione mondiale di sanita' che hanno visitato strutture
sanitarie per raccogliere informazioni su malattie che potrebbero
essere causate dall'uranio impoverito.
Frammenti di proiettili all'uranio impoverito sono stati trovati nel
gennaio del 2001 nella 'Remontni zavod' di Hadzici, che prima della
guerra era il piu' grande centro dell'ex esercito jugoslavo per la
manutenzione di armi e mezzi militari. Controllata dai serbi durante
la guerra (1992-95), fu bombardata dalla Nato il 30 agosto 1995.
(ANSA). COR*VD 11/11/2002 17:06
http://www.ansa.it/balcani/fattidelgiorno/
20021111170691581/20021111170691581.shtml
BOSNIA: IMPENNATA CASI DI LEUCEMIA NEI BAMBINI
(ANSA) - SARAJEVO, 12 NOV - ''Nel territorio della Federazione Bh
(entita' croato musulmana) si registra quest'anno un notevole aumento
di casi di leucemia nei bambini, ma per il momento e' difficile dire
se questo si possa collegare con la presenza di tracce di uranio
impoverito''. Lo ha dichiarato oggi il capo della divisione oncologia
della Clinica pediatrica di Sarajevo, prof. Edo Hasanbegovic. Secondo
quanto riporta l'agenzia di stampa Fena, il professor Hasanbegovic ha
precisato che secondo i dati della clinica sarajevese nei cinque anni
precedenti si sono registrati 13 nuovi casi di leucemia e dall'inizio
dell'anno fino ad oggi i casi sono 24. Ieri gli esperti del Programma
per l'ambiente delle Nazioni unite hanno reso noto i dati preliminari
di un'analisi di campioni prelevati in ottobre in 15 localita' intorno
a Sarajevo e nell'est della Bosnia, dove la Nato ha bombardato le
postazioni serbe nell'agosto del 1995. In tre siti militari sono state
trovate tracce di uranio impoverito, nella caserma serbo bosniaca di
Han Pijesak, 60 chilometri a est da Sarajevo, e in due siti nella
fabbrica di hadzici, sobborgo della capitale bosniaca, dove frammenti
di proiettili all'uranio impoverito sono stati trovati ancora nel
gennaio dell'anno scorso. I bambini ammalati di leucemia, ha, pero',
sottolineato Hasanbegovic, provvengono da tutte le parti della
Federazione. I casi piu' gravi vengono dalla zona di Velika Kladusa e
Buzim, nel nord-ovest del paese, vicino al confine con la Croazia.
''Bisognerebbe analizzare il suolo e l'acqua in quella zona - ha detto
medico -, c'e' anche una miniera di manganese''. Il rapporto
definitivo degli esperti dell'Onu sara' presentato nel marzo prossimo.
Secondo il capo della missione Pekka Haavisto, sette anni fa la Nato
ha lanciato, nei dintorni di Sarajevo e di Foca, 2000 proiettili, vale
a dire 600 chilogrammi di uranio impoverito.
(ANSA) COR*VD 12/11/2002 18:54
http://www.ansa.it/balcani/bosnia/20021112185432384104.html
=== English ===
http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?object
ID=2E04BFCA-5B02-4AB4-AB6D812B566B5214
Radioactivity Detected in Bosnia Where NATO Used
Depleted Uranium Shells
VOA [Voice of America] News
November 11, 2002
United Nations environmental experts have said they
have detected radioactivity in three areas of Bosnia
where NATO forces used depleted uranium shells during
an air strike in 1995.
U.N. Environment Program officials Monday warned
against deploying forces in those areas for fear of a
possible health risk coming from the radioactive
material.
The head of the U.N. team, Pekka Haavisto, said the
three places of concern were an ammunition storage
site near Sarajevo, a nearby tank repair factory and a
military barracks in Han Pijesak in eastern Bosnia.
The areas were hit by NATO air strikes using depleted
uranium armor-piercing rounds in 1995 as part of an
effort to curb attacks by Serbs in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Investigators had probed 14 sites over the past month.
NATO authorities last year launched a probe into the
possible link between the use of depleted uranium
ammunition in the Balkans and increased cancer rates
among peacekeepers who had served in the area. But a
committee reported that medical research so far had
not proved any link between the weapons and the health
problems.
Some information for this report provided by AP and
AFP.
===
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-2162737,00.html
The Guardian
From the Associated Press
Bosnian Radiation Blamed on NATO
Monday November 11, 2002 8:40 PM
SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) - U.N. experts said
Monday they found three radioactive hotspots in Bosnia
resulting from ammunition containing depleted uranium
used during NATO airstrikes in 1995.
The tests found radiation at two sites in the Sarajevo
suburb of Hadzici and one in Han Pijesak, in the
Bosnian Serb republic, according to preliminary
results released by the United Nations Environmental
Program.
During its 1995 bombings of Serb positions around
Sarajevo, NATO used munitions containing depleted
uranium, a slightly radioactive heavy metal that is
used to pierce armor. The Bosnian government said some
10,800 rounds with the material were fired in its
territory.
Once lodged in the soil, the munitions can pollute the
environment and create an up to 100-fold increase in
uranium levels in groundwater, according to the U.N.
Environmental Program.
``We are concerned about the situation at the Hadzici
tank repair facility and the Han Pijesak barracks,´´
said Pekka Haavisto, the chairman of the U.N. agency´s
task force.
In Sarajevo, the U.N. team detected depleted
uranium-related materials and dust inside buildings
that are now used by private businesses. At the site
in the Bosnian Serb republic, the contaminated area is
used as a storage facility by army troops.
The areas where radiation is detected should not be
used until the sites are decontaminated, Haavisto
said.
The international experts were invited by the Bosnian
government to investigate concerns that depleted
uranium could harm residents and international
peacekeepers.
The U.N. team advised the Bosnian government to start
decontaminating the three sites and educating people
about potential hazards.
Apart from this team, a medical sub-team composed of
experts from the World Health Organization and the
U.S. Army, visited several hospitals in Bosnia,
collecting medical data and statistics. A full report
was to be published by UNEP in March 2003.
===
http://www.enn.com/direct/display-release.asp?id=7785
Environmental News Network
UNEP Identifies DU Risks in Bosnia-Herzegovina
From: United Nations Environment Programme
Monday, November 11, 2002
SARAJEVO -
A team of experts fielded by the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP) has investigated 15 sites
in Bosnia and Herzegovina targeted with weapons
containing depleted uranium (DU) during the mid-1990s.
The UNEP team used highly sensitive instruments to
measure surface radioactivity at 14 sites. These
measurements revealed the presence of radioactive "hot
spots" and pieces of DU weapons at three sites - the
Hadzici tank repair facility, the Hadzici ammunition
storage area and the Han Pijesak barracks.
"Following a request by the Council of Ministers of
Bosnia-Herzegovina, UNEP is carrying out this
scientific assessment", said Klaus Toepfer, Executive
Director of UNEP. "Seven years after the conflict, DU
still remains an environmental concern and, therefore,
it is vital that we have the scientific facts, based
upon which we can give clear recommendations how to
minimize any risk."
"We are concerned about the situation at the Hadzici
tank repair facility and the Han Pijesak barracks",
said Pekka Haavisto, Chairman of UNEP DU projects.
"The UNEP team detected DU-related materials and DU
dust inside buildings that are currently used by local
businesses or, in the case of Han Pijesak, by troops
as storage facilities."
"Before using any DU-targeted building there should
always be proper clean-up. When people are working in
buildings that have not been decontaminated,
unnecessary risks are being taken, and, therefore, we
will discuss with the Bosnia and Herzegovina
authorities the need for decontamination inside the
buildings currently in use as a first precautionary
step. Such a job should be carried out by experts",
said Mr. Haavisto.
The UNEP team found that the general public is not
aware of what DU ammunition looks like and the dangers
it can pose. UNEP will discuss with the national civil
protection authorities the possibility of offering
de-mining personnel, other local authorities involved
in DU work, and interested members of the public with
an easy-to-read flyer on the issue of DU ammunition in
the environment.
The two recommended precautionary measures of
decontaminating the targeted buildings and educating
the public are consistent with those proposed in
UNEP's earlier DU studies in Serbia & Montenegro and
Kosovo.
In addition to the 14 sites that were examined the
team could not to enter one site due to safety
concerns over nearby mines.
The 17-member UNEP team included experts from UNEP,
the Swedish Radiation Protection Authority (SSI),
Spiez Laboratory (Switzerland), Italy's Environmental
Protection Agency and Technical Services (APAT, former
ANPA), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),
the World Health Organization (WHO), the Greek Atomic
Energy Commission, the US Army Center for Health
Promotion and Preventive Medicine (USACHPPM), the
Nuclear Safety Institute of the Russian Academy of
Sciences, and the University of Bristol (UK).
The Bosnia and Herzegovina Ministry for European
Integration hosted the UNEP team. Local scientists
also joined the team on different occasions. The team
received local support from the United Nations Mission
to Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNMIBH), the Bosnia and
Herzegovina Mine Action Center (MAC) and NATO/SFOR.
The team took almost 200 environmental samples,
including 47 surface soil samples, three full soil
profiles, three penetrators, one full DU bullet, four
smear samples, 24 air samples, 42 water samples, 19
lichen samples, and three bark, two moss, one mushroom
and two vegetable samples.
The samples collected will be analysed for
radioactivity and toxicity at three internationally
recognized laboratories - Spiez Laboratory
(Switzerland), APAT (Italy) and Bristol University
(UK).
A medical sub-team composed of the experts from WHO
and the US Army Center (USACHPPM) visited three
hospitals and examined medical data and statistics in
the Bosnia and Herzegovina Federation and in the
Republika Srpska. The sub-team stayed in close contact
with both Ministries of Health (Srpska and Federation)
and received their full support.
In parallel to the medical sub-team, the IAEA expert
assessed the overall situation on radioactive sources
in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This included regulations
on handling, radioactive sources in use and storage of
radioactive wastes.
The UNEP DU assessment is funded by the Governments of
Italy and Switzerland. The final results will be
published in a UNEP report in March 2003.
For more information, please contact: Mr. Pekka
Haavisto, Chairman of UNEP DU Projects,
+41-79-477-0877, pekka.haavisto@..., Eric Falt,
UNEP Spokesperson in Nairobi, +254-20-623292, or
Michael Williams, UNEP Information Officer in Geneva,
at +41-22-917-8242, +41-79-409-1528 (cell),
michael.williams@.... See also
http://postconflict.unep.ch
For more information, contact:
Jim Sniffen
Information Officer
United Nations Environment Programme
1-212-963-8210
sniffenj@...
Web site: http://www.unep.org
===
Bloomberg News
November 11, 2002
UN Detects Radiation at Sites of NATO Shelling in
Bosnian War
By Paul Tighe
-The North Atlantic Treaty Organization fired about
10,000 rounds of depleted uranium shells on Bosnia
during the conflict.
Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Nov. 12 (Bloomberg) --
United Nations inspectors found three sites in
Bosnia-Herzegovina where radiation levels are high as
a result of NATO using ammunition containing depleted
uranium in 1995, the Associated Press said.
The UN Environment Program team found two sites in
Hadzici, a suburb of Sarajevo, and one in Bosnia's
Serb area where radiation levels cause concern, AP
cited Pekka Haavisto, chairman of the assessment team,
as saying yesterday. The area in Sarajevo is now used
by private businesses and the Bosnian Serb site is an
army storage plant, AP said.
Depleted uranium, a by-product of enriched uranium, is
used in anti-tank weapons because its high density
gives it armor- piercing capabilities. NATO carried
out air strikes in Bosnia- Herzegovina in 1994 and
1995 in retaliation for Bosnian Serb shelling of
cities.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization fired about
10,000 rounds of depleted uranium shells on Bosnia
during the conflict. The UN team is assessing whether
the use of such shells poses a threat to health in
Bosnia, the Environment Program said on its Web site.
Bosnia is split between two autonomous regions, a Serb
republic, known as Republika Srpska, and the
Muslim-Croat Federation.
(AP, 11-12)
http://quote.bloomberg.com/fgcgi.cgi?ptitle=Top%20World
%20News&s1=blk&tp=ad_topright_topworld&T=markets_box.ht
&s2=ad_right1_windex&bt=ad_position1_windex&box=ad_box_
all&tag=worldnews&middle=ad_frame2_windex&s=APdBxoBUvVU4gRGV0
===
http://english.pravda.ru/main/2002/11/13/39419.html
00:12 2002-11-13
Depleted Uranium: UN Confirms Radioactivity in Bosnia
The United Nations Environment Program task force inspecting
Bosnia-Herzegovina have claimed that DU can create an increase of
uranium concentration 100 times natural that of levels in groundwater.
Three sites have been declared as radioactive and have been cordoned
off.
The government of Bosnia-Herzegovina has claimed that 10,800 rounds of
DU ordnance were fired into its territory by NATO aircraft during the
Bosnian War in 1995. This weaponry is coated with Depleted Uranium to
give shells a greater penetration into their target. Despite numerous
claims by NATO that this weaponry is safe, there have been a growing
number of scientific reports which would suggest that this is not the
case. Inhalation of DU dust has been stated to be the cause of raised
levels of cancer in areas where DU has been deployed, namely in
Southern Iraq, Bosnia, Kosovo and southern Yugoslavia. In Iraq, up to
500,000 children have died in the area targeted by DU during the Gulf
War of cancer-related illnesses.
Pekka Haavisto, the Chairman of the UNEP team in Bosnia, declared that
"We are concerned about the situation at the Hadzici tank repair
facility and the Han Pijesak barracks". He added that the areas where
radiation has been detected should be abandoned until they are
decontaminated.
The team has admitted that there are potential hazards to people who
come into contact with DU.
Meanwhile, World Health Organisation experts have been visiting
hospitals in Bosnia, performing tests on patients who claim to have
been contaminated by DU. The UNEP team has warned that troops should
not be deployed in the areas contaminated.
The more NATO denies that DU is dangerous, the more evidence is
overturned which states the contrary. In deploying DU, NATO blatantly
disregarded the terms of the Geneva Convention, which states that
weapons that leave a lasting on the battlefield must not be deployed.
NATO is guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity and, were the
world order based upon justice, its leaders would be liable to stand
trial at the International Criminal Court at The Hague.
This, however, will never happen because the United States of America
considers that its citizens are above international justice, leaving
this country a free reign to go globe-trotting on a gung-ho mission of
arrogance and abject disrespect for international norms of behaviour.
Timothy BANCROFT-HINCHEY
PRAVDA.Ru
===
http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=11555
Stars And Stripes
November 14, 2002
U.N. team discovers three radioactive sites in Bosnia
By Ivana Avramovic, Stars and Stripes
TUZLA, Bosnia and Herzegovina - United Nations
Environment Program experts said Monday they have
discovered three radioactive sites in Bosnia.
?Seven years after the conflict, [depleted uranium]
still remains an environmental concern, and therefore
it is vital that we have the scientific facts, based
upon which we can give clear recommendations how to
minimize any risk,? said Klaus Töpfer, executive
director of environmental program.
The 17-member team took almost 200 environmental
samples from 15 locations around the country.
The World Health Organization and the U.S. Army Center
for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine also
examined medical data and statistics from three
hospitals in the Federation, the Muslim-Croat
controlled part of the country, and the Republika
Srpska, the Serb-dominated part.
Bosnian scientists joined the U.N. team on several
occasions, according to organizers.
The team found radioactive ?hot spots? and pieces of
depleted uranium weapons in the tank-repair facility
and ammunition storage area in Hadzici, a city just
outside Sarajevo, and in the Han Pijesak military
barracks, about 50 miles northeast of Sarajevo.
The U.S. military has said that depleted uranium
rounds do not pose a radiation risk.
Depleted uranium rounds, surrounded in a swirl of
controversy, are very effective in piercing armor.
Some NATO planes, which included U.S. aircraft, used
the rounds during raids in Bosnia and Kosovo. All 15
sites recently investigated were NATO targets at the
time.
According to an Associated Press report, the Bosnian
government said some 10,800 rounds containing the
depleted uranium were fired in its territory.
?We are concerned about the situation at the Hadzici
tank repair facility and the Han Pijesak barracks,?
said Pekka Haavisto, chairman of U.N. environmental
projects involving depleted uranium.
?The UNEP team detected DU-related materials and DU
dust inside buildings that are currently used by local
businesses or, in the case of Han Pijesak, by troops
as storage facilities.?
Haavisto recommended that the sites be decontaminated
by experts.
After speculation in 2000 that about 30 Italian
peacekeeping Balkan veterans died of cancer - five of
them of leukemia - because of depleted uranium
exposure, fear spread among local population who lived
in NATO-bombed areas at the time.
Many attributed their illnesses to that exposure.
The U.N. team recommended that an easy-to-read flier
be made to educate the general public of what the
ammunition looks like and the dangers it can pose.
UNEP could not investigate one of the 15 sites because
of the danger of mines in the area.
The samples collected will be analyzed in laboratories
in United Kingdom, Switzerland and Italy.
The team is expected to publish a report on its
findings in March of 2003.
=== Srpskohrvatski ===
--- In Questo indirizzo email è protetto dagli spambots. È necessario abilitare JavaScript per vederlo., "Miroslav Antic" wrote:
Radioaktivna i okolina Sarajeva
BANJALUKA (Srna) - ©ef tima za istra¾ivanje posledica dejstva
osiroma¹enog uranijuma u BiH Peka Havisto rekao je da je Sfor potvrdio
da pored 15 lokacija koje je posetio Tim UN za oèuvanje ¾ivotne
sredine, u okolini Sarajeva postoji jo¹ osam lokacija koje su gaðane
municijom sa osiroma¹enim uranijumom, za koje nema preciznih
koordinata.
Havisto je u intervjuu "Glasu srpskom" podsetio da je na tri od 15
lokacija koje su ispitivane pronaðen osiroma¹eni uranijum - u kasarni
u Han Pijesku, te u Remontnom zavodu i skladi¹tu municije u Had¾iæima.
http://www.glas-javnosti.co.yu/danas/srpski/vest-dana.shtml
<http://www.tiker.co.yu/index.htm>