In June 2011, the NGO Coordination Committee for Iraq (NCCI) published a report about the state of depleted uranium in Iraq stating that contamination from Depleted Uranium (DU) is strongly suspected of causing a sharp rise in congenital birth defects and cancer cases in Iraq with many prominent doctors and scientists stating that DU contamination is also connected to the recent emergence of diseases that were not previously seen in Iraq, such as illnesses in the kidney, lungs, and liver, as well as a total collapse of the immune system [1]

Depleted Uranium (DU) weaponry has been used against Iraq since the Gulf War in 1991. An estimated (DU) expenditure of 320 – 800 tons were shot mainly on the withdrawing Iraqi troops from Kuwait to the north of Basra City. The use of (DU) ammunition on Iraqi territory never stopped since 1991. Different generations of (DU) supported missiles & Bunker Buster Bombs have been used during the 90’s on what was known as the No-Fly Zones, and during the attack on Iraq in 1998. Bombing Iraq with DU continued during the military operations of the invasion of Iraq in 2003, then afterward in other cities which resisted the occupation of Iraq [2].

Areas in and near Iraq's largest towns and cities, including Najaf, Basra and ­Falluja, account for around 25% of the contaminated sites, which appear to coincide with communities that have seen increased rates of cancer and birth defects over the past five years. The joint study by the environment, health and science ministries found that scrap metal yards in and around Baghdad and Basra contain high levels of ionizing radiation [3]. The environment minister, Narmin Othman, said high levels of dioxins on agricultural lands in southern Iraq, in particular, were increasingly thought to be a key factor in a general decline in the health of people living in the poorest parts of the country.

Cleaning up more than 300 sites in Iraq still contaminated by depleted uranium (DU) weapons will cost at least $30m, according to a report by a Dutch peace group in 2013 [4].

The level of contamination actually rises at times as more radioactive remnants of war are uncovered. Children, unaware but fascinated, find and play with irradiated leftovers, such as abandoned vehicles and military equipment. Scrap metal dealers, some of whom are children, contribute to the spread of contamination, and unsuspecting factory workers actually burn contaminated bricks in furnaces for fuel [5]. 

Addressing the issue, the University of Babylon conducted an academic study, which was published in January 2017, that revealed the existence of radioactive contamination in the soil of many areas in Babylon province in central Iraq, just south of Baghdad, including a textile factory, the Musayyib and Alexandria utility plants, an automotive company and Hattin industrial facility. Babylon is where Saddam's regime established numerous military manufacturing plants [6].

The NCCI report also noted that many buildings hit by DU shells have been repaired and reoccupied, without any decontamination operation taking place. In some impoverished and rural areas, Iraqis are not well-educated about the dangers of approaching or disturbing discarded war munitions, and particularly DU. It is important to note that most Iraqi civilians do not have the means to test radioactivity levels, so it is therefore impossible for them to know what is safe with any certainty.

Moreover, and in terms of coordinated clean-up operations, there have been some initiatives to remove contaminated war waste s and materials. Yet many of these clean-up operations have been characterized as insufficient and implemented under inappropriate conditions. Serious health and environmental risks for those involved in clean-up operations can be exacerbated by pervasive negligence and a failure to adopt necessary precautionary procedures [1].

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