Israel Did Not Use Depleted Uranium During Conflict With Hizbollah, UN Agency Finds
New York, Nov 8 2006 2:00PM
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has found no evidence that Israel used munitions with depleted uranium
(DU) during its conflict with Hizbollah, but the country’s use of cluster bombs in Lebanon remains the main obstacle to
a resumption of normal life in the affected areas, the head of the agency has said.
Reporting on the findings of a UNEP assessment carried out for three weeks in October, Achim Steiner said samples taken
from 32 sites south and north of the Litani river found “no evidence of penetrators or metal made of DU or other
radioactive material.”
He further stated that “no DU shrapnel, or other radioactive residue, was found. The analysis of all smear samples taken
shows no DU, nor enriched uranium nor higher than natural uranium content in the samples.”
During the fieldwork, the UNEP did confirm the use of “white phosphorous-containing artillery and mortar ammunition by
the Israeli Defence Force (IDF),” Mr. Steiner added.
Mr. Steiner said his agency echoed earlier findings which recognized “the huge number of cluster bombs with a low
detonation rate dropped by the IDF over the last days before the ceasefire as the main remaining problem to return to
normal life in the affected regions.”
The experts covered the following disciplines; asbestos; contaminated land; coastal and marine issues; solid and
hazardous waste management; surface and ground water; weapons and munitions. “From these respective disciplines a wide
range of samples were transported to three independent and recognized laboratories in Europe for tests,” the UNEP chief
explained.
ENDS