Belgrade – According to the official data of the Agency for Protection from Radiation and Nuclear Safety of Serbia, depleted uranium munitions were used in the territory of our country during the 1999 NATO bombing campaign.

The presence of depleted uranium in the environment, which remained after the NATO air strikes against the territory of Serbia, was confirmed in the region of Vranje, said the agency.

Depleted uranium was registered in the region on the following cites: Pljackovica – RTS repetiror, 4 km north of Vranje, Borovac – 10 km south of Bujanovac, Bratoselce – 10 km northeast of Presevo and in Bukurevac and Reljan – 10 km east of Presevo.

Therefore, the Army of the then Yugoslavia designated  those locations as a contaminated area, while the activities for cleaning the area were undertaken in the period from 2002 to 2007.   A detailed dosimetric control and decontamination was carried out on all the locations, while the identified missiles, the contaminated soil and all the radioactive material were collected and stored in the storage of radioactive waste in the Public Enterprise "Nuclear Facilities of Serbia".

Also kept in the storage’s appropriate containers are the remains of  rounds of depleted uranium,  as well as the contaminated soil, which is kept in metal barrels. The storage conditions of the material at this time meet the safety and security requirements.

After the cleaning, the terrain was flattened and another dosimetric screening was performed.

Every year, as part of the program of monitoring radioactivity, and for the purpose of assessing the vulnerability of the environment and  health risks for the population, the radioactivity of all environmental parameters is controlled on the decontaminated sites where the ammunition containing depleted uranium was used. 

All the data suggest that no depleted uranium was detected on any of the said sites.

Source: Tanjug News Agency and Coordination Body