No Link Between Illness and Depleted Uranium: WASHINGTON -- DoD deployment health officials have released an information paper that states no country that sent troops to the Balkans has found a health threat related to depleted uranium. Depleted uranium is a byproduct of the process by which natural uranium is enriched to produce reactor fuel and nuclear weapons, according to the paper. DU's extremely heavy and dense nature has made it a valuable component in U.S. armor and weapons for many years, it says. In early 2001, international media reported an alleged link between depleted uranium use in the Balkans and leukemia in Italian troops who served there. U.S. officials have repeatedly said there is no danger from exposure to depleted uranium under the conditions faced in the Balkans. The new DoD paper, released Nov. 6, recaps studies done by European countries and international organizations that basically substantiate what the United States has been saying for years -- there's no danger. The organizations behind the cited studies are credible and independent of DoD, the paper states.