Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 20 March 2023 to Question HL6144 on Ukraine: Ammunition and to UN General Assembly Resolution A/RES/77/49 adopted by the General Assembly on 7 December 2022, when he last made an assessment of the potential hazards to human beings and the environment from the contamination of territories with depleted uranium residues; and if he will make a statement.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has assessed the potential hazards to human beings and the environment following the use of depleted uranium munitions on the battlefield through the monitoring of UK military veterans and environmental surveys. The results of these indicate that the hazards to people and the environment are low, which is consistent with the findings of independent studies by the Royal Society, United Nations Environment Programme, and the European Commission.

The monitoring of UK veterans was based on the advice of the Depleted Uranium Oversight Board (DUOB), which concluded its work in 2007. The DUOB's final report can be found here:

https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/+/http:/www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/AboutDefence/CorporatePublications/HealthandSafetyPublications/Uranium/FinalReportOfTheDepletedUraniumOversightBoard.htm.

MOD remains open to significant new findings in this area.