THE Ministry of Defence is about to order Royal Navy diving teams to

recover depleted uranium shells from the seabed off the Kirkcudbright

coast in a major investigation of possible radioactive contamination of

the area.

The move follows circulation of a United States Department of Defence

study which claims that the low-level radioactive core of these warheads

can pose an unexpectedly significant cancer threat to both humans and

animals when the weapons are used in a concentrated area, particularly

in water.

Between 3000 and 4000 of the anti-tank shells have been test fired at

the Dundrennan range into the Solway Firth over the past year, according

to Ministry of Defence figures.

A Ministry spokeswoman admitted yesterday that divers would shortly

begin operations ''to recover a small number of the DU rounds from the

seabed in order to allow laboratory assessment of their reaction to

exposure to seawater''.

Each of the rounds is tipped with a uranium alloy penetrator more than

two and a half times as dense as the hardest steel. The warhead can

shear through all known tank armour.

They are made from low-level radioactive material which consists

mainly of the element 238U. This is a by-product of the uranium

enrichment process used to make fissionable material for nuclear weapons

and reactors.

The US report, compiled by Dr Joe Osterman, the Pentagon's director of

environmental and health sciences, says: ''Intensive use of DU

penetrators in military testing and operations results in remnants that

are subject to atmospheric oxidation and or aqueous corrosion.

''Either process can lead to environmental contamination that has the

potential to cause adverse impacts on human health, primarily through

the water pathway.''

It adds that the uranium penetrator can oxidise immediately on impact

with a target, or more slowly if it misses the target and impacts with

ground or water, producing localised concentrations of highly toxic

particles.

The alarm bells are now ringing in Whitehall because the US study also

points out that ''oxidised forms of uranium are more soluble in water,

and thus potentially more available for ingestion by humans and

animals''.

Seawater is many times more corrosive than fresh water, and the vast

majority of the British test firings have taken place into the sea.

The US military launched an immediate environmental study into the

hazards of DU ammunition in the aftermath of the Gulf war. US forces

fired at least 5000 tank rounds containing the material, and A-10 attack

aircraft and Apache helicopter gunships fired tens of thousands of

smaller-calibre DU shells.

The British Army admits to using between 80 and 90 DU anti-tank rounds

during the final stages of the ground battle for Kuwait.

In direct contradiction of UK official claims that there was a minimal

risk of contamination to allied ground forces, the US study says: ''In

combat situations involving the widespread use of DU munitions, the

potential for inhalation, ingestion, or implantation of depleted uranium

compounds may be locally significant.''

It says that preliminary investigation has shown that ''only those

projectiles which

impact hard targets -- such as tanks or other armoured vehicles --

produce large quantities of radioactive particulates'' but that these

particles can spread and pose a health hazard in either wind or water.

Hundreds of US Gulf veterans and a smaller number of British

Servicemen have complained of Desert Storm Syndrome, a medical complaint

which many blame on radioactive contamination, and which can produce

symptoms ranging from persistent headaches to weight and hair loss or

skin infections.

A number of the men worst affected were infantry who had to advance

into Iraqi positions where vehicles had been struck a short time before

by fire from US Abrams or British Challenger tanks.

A DU round which penetrates armour plate sends molten fragments

through the interior of the vehicle, exploding fuel and ammunition

stored within, and turns into a particle cloud of uranium oxide in the

resultant fireball.

According to US military sources, new evidence shows that the dangers

from the ammunition are multiple. Troops in vehicles loaded with DU

shells receive the equivalent radiation dose of a chest X-ray every 20

to 30 hours.

But the major cancer risk comes from inhaling particles from a shell,

or having it penetrate the body via a wound, or by swallowing it in

water. While 238U's alpha radiation does not travel far, and can be

blocked by a piece of paper or by skin, it is deadly once it enters the

human system.

Large doses, apart from their carcinogenic effects, can also cause

metal poisoning similar to that of lead. Lower doses can damage the

kidneys and the lungs.

The UK has been testing DU rounds at Dundrennan and at Eskmeals in

Cumbria since 1982.