Germany - The Germany Defence Minister, Mr Rudolf Scharping, has said he is treating "very seriously" claims that depleted uranium weapons used by NATO in the Balkans could contain traces of plutonium, reports Derek Scally.
The report, to be aired on German television tonight, quotes from a study conducted by the Pentagon on US army weapons. The report concludes: "Depleted uranium available for use by the Department of Defence for the production of munitions . . . may contain traces of plutonium." Plutonium is 200,000 times more radioactive than uranium.