No uranium link to Gulf War syndrome

GULF WAR syndrome, which has left a quarter of a million veterans suffering long-term illness, was not caused by debris from depleted uranium munitions, according to a “conclusive” new scientific study.

Instead, researchers believe the symptoms suffered by service personnel since the conflict in

1991 might have been caused by exposure to sarin nerve agent released widely when troops destroyed caches of Iraqi chemical weapons.

The illness, which has been suffered by thousands of personnel from the armed forces of the UK, US and other allied nations, has caused a range of acute and chronic symptoms.

These include fatigue, headaches, joint pain, indigestion, insomnia, dizziness, respiratory disorders and memory problems, and scientists believe it appears rooted in neurological impairment.

Researchers from the University of Portsmouth tested sufferers to examine levels of residual depleted uranium in their bodies and they say their study “conclusively proves” that none of them were exposed to any significant amounts of depleted uranium.

The testing took into account the predicted decline in depleted uranium from normal metabolism over the time since potential exposure