ABSTRACT
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) work on depleted uranium (DU) started in the summer of 1999 when UNEP carried out an assessment of the impacts of the Kosovo conflict on the environment and human settlements. Depleted uranium (DU) is the main by-product of uranium enrichment and, like any other uranium compound, has both chemical and radiological toxicity; it is mildly radioactive, having about 60% of the activity of natural uranium. Natural uranium is found in trace amounts in all rocks and soil, in water and air, and in materials made from natural substances. It is a reactive metal, and therefore it is not present as free uranium in the environment. The chemical toxicity of a substance is defined by a threshold concentration in the human body, especially in the different organs, below which no health damage can be observed in most individuals.
