PRESS RELEASE BY DEPLETED URANIUM (DU) OVERSIGHT BOARD DUOB
LAUNCH OF MAIN PROGRAMME OF VOLUNTARY DU RETROSPECTIVE TESTING FOR VETERANS OF OPERATIONS IN THE PERSIAN GULF (1990-91) AND FORMER YUGOSLAVIA

The Depleted Uranium Oversight Board (DUOB) is pleased to announce that its main testing programme is now ready to begin. The Board is an independent committee of scientists and veterans' representatives set up by the Government in 2001 to oversee the establishment of a voluntary retrospective testing programme for veterans concerned about possible exposure to depleted uranium (DU).

The test involves the provision of a 24-hour urine sample and its analysis for isotopes of uranium by a highly sensitive mass spectrometric technique. This is not a routine medical test, but a highly specialised procedure that can be carried out in the UK by only a very small number of laboratories. The test has been developed and validated over the past three years through experimental studies and in a pilot exercise involving 32 participants. The results of the test show the total amount of uranium excreted per day together with its isotopic signature, i.e. whether it is all natural (from the traces of uranium that occur normally in food and water) or, if DU is present, how much.

-The DUOB test is being administered by an independent contractor, through a network of NHS clinics in various regions of the UK. Samples will be analysed by one or both of two independent laboratories. The DUOB has planned enough capacity for up to 500 people to be tested per year with scope to increase capacity dependent on demand. The programme will remain open for as long as there is a reasonable level of demand.
The test is now available free of charge to individuals who served:

• in the Persian Gulf area between August 1" 1990 and July 31" 1991; or
• in the former Republic of Yugoslavia on or after August 5th 1994. as
• members of the UK armed forces on deployment; or
• civilian employees of the UK Ministry of Defence; or
• civilians working under contract to the UK Ministry of Defence; or
• civilians employed by other UK Government departments or non-governmental organisations in support of UK military operations;

Details and an application form can be obtained by writing to the DUOB secretariat at MoD Main Building (Floor 7 Zone H), Whitehall, London SW1A 2HB or emailing info@duob.org.uk. An application form can also be printed from www.duob.org.uk.

Background information on the DUOB and its work can be found at www.duob.org.uk. Press enquiries may be directed to the chairman of the Oversight Board, Professor David Coggon, on 02380 777624 email: dnmcnrc.soton.ac.uk