Radiation exposure in Kosovo and Metohija during 1999. NATO aggression

[Slobodan]

Mirjana N. Anđelković-Lukić
Military Technical Institute, Belgrade, Republic of Serbia;
Government of the Republic of Serbia, Interagency Coordination Body, Belgrade, Republic of Serbia

Results:  The  use  of  ammunition  with  238U  depleted  uranium,  with  added  plutonium,  pollutes  the  environment,  water,  and  soil  in  the  long  term,  causing  various  disorders  and  diseases,  primarily  malignant  ones.  The  radioactivity  of  239Pu,  compared  to  its  toxicity,  is  several  thousand  times  higher and the inhalation of plutonium dust is harmful and causes cancer. Uranium  is  a  pyrophoric  metal,  toxic,  radioactive  and  easy  to  ignite.  Its  oxides  are  toxic  and  partially  soluble  in  water.  After  ignition,  the  round  releases  radioactive  aerosol  particles  which  burn  in  contact  with  the  air  causing short or long term damage wheninhaled. In Kosovo and Metohia, a   large   amount   of   radioactivity   was   measured   during   the   NATO   aggression against the FR Yugoslavia. In Metohia, radioactivity was 1,100 times that of natural background radiation.

Conclusion: During the war, the Army of the FR Yugoslavia was exposed to  high  radioactive  doses,  so  that  among  the  members  of  the  army  after the war there was an increased incidence of various malignancies, many of them lethal.


Introduction

The   78-day   NATO   aggression   on   the   Federal   Republic   of   Yugoslavia in March 1999 represents one of the most shameful pages in the history of international relations and the modern-day civilization of the second half of the 20th century. It is a crime against peace, human health and  the  environment.  It  caused  an  increase  in  various  malignancies,  difficulty   in   conceiving,   sterility,the   number   of   miscarriages,   thyroid   diseases, and an increased occurrence of asthma in children as well as in the elderly.
The  use  of  ammunition  with  depleted  uranium  caused  a  large  increase  in  various  malignancies  after  the  war,  and  thus  the  number  of  deaths in the FR Yugoslavia during the aggression can be added to the number of deaths which is increasing daily, since in most cases they died from radiation.
...a  great  tragedy  was  caused  by  depleted  uranium  (DU)  rounds  (uranium  depleted  in  235U isotope), fired from Gatling-type guns ofthe A-10 aircraft.

Number of uranium depleted rounds fired on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

The  countries  that  directly  attacked  FR  Yugoslavia  were  228  times  larger  than  the  FR  Yugoslavia,  had  67  times  bigger  population,  their  economic  potential  exceeded  that  of  Yugoslavia  by  679  times,  and  they  were  37  times  more  technically  superior.  The  exact  number  of  fired  DU  rounds  will  never  be  known,  because  NATO,  and  above  all  the  USA,  keep  this  information  secret;  they  do  not  want  to  admit  how  many  missiles they fired, as it would show that they had genocidal intentagainst the  Serbian  (but  also  the  Albanian)  people.  There  are  three  reports  on  the   amount   of   depleted   uranium   ammunitionused   during   the   1999   aggression on the FR Yugoslavia:

-  The  first  report  is  the  one  compiled  by  NATO,  which  states  the  number of 31,000 missiles.   
-  The  second  is  the  report  of  the  Army  of  the  FR  Yugoslavia,  according  to  which  about  50,000  pieces  of  DU  ammunition  were  fired,  and   
-  The  third  is  from  Russian  sources  which  estimate  that  about  90,000 DU missiles were fired in the territory of FR Yugoslavia.  Most DU rounds targeted the territories of Kosovo and Metohia and southern Serbia.

The  data  collected  by  the  FRY  Army  and  the  NATO  data  can  be  summarized  as  follows:  a  total  of  112  air  strikes  with  DU  ammunition  occurred  at  91  locations,  12  strikes  at  9  locations  in  the  Republic  of Serbia,  2  strikes  at  one  location  in  the  Republic  of  Montenegro  and  98  strikes at 81 locations in Kosovo and Metohia.

...it  is  important  to  note  that  a  total  of  49  strikes  (or  44%)  of  the  DU  ammunition  attacks  were  carried  out  after  the  agreement  had  been  reached to end the aggression, in the last 10 days of the war (Jovanovićet  al,  2012).  Depleted  uranium  was  used  not  only  in  30  mm  rounds  but  also in cruise missiles (with 300 kg stabilizer rods).


Full paper: http://www.vtg.mod.gov.rs/arhiva/2020/vojnotehnicki-glasnik-2-2020-1.pdf (pages 143-157)