Daily Record 12th January 2001

THE VILLAGE IN SHADOW OF URANIUM

Locals want same tests as UK troops

DUNDRENNAN lies in the heart of Galloway - and in the shadow of a military range where depleted uranium-tipped shells are tested.

It is a village living in fear as international concern grows over the possible deadly effects of the controversial shells on NATO soldiers in Kosovo.

Now a local councillor is demanding that villagers should be offered the same tests as those being made available to British veterans of the conflict.

Over the years there have been constant calls for the shells to be recovered from the Solway Firth and made safe.

Many people living in Dundrennan moved there for peace and quiet. They knew about the range but only now, in the glare of publicity about DU, are they worried about it.

George McAlpine and his wife Mae, both 60, retired to the village three years ago. They live on the main street overlooking the jagged remains of a 12th-Century Cistercian abbey.

Former steelworker George said: "We used to come to the area on holiday and decided it was a quiet, peaceful place to live. We never gave a thought to the range.

"But now we are concerned. How do we know when the shells are fired that radioactive particles are not carried in the wind?"

The Defence Evaluation and Research Agency, which runs the range, and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency have tried to allay locals' fears about DU.

George said: "They gave out lots of figures but to the layman they sound like gobbledygook. The MoD keeps telling us there's no significant danger but we need more facts."

There are said to be 6000 shells lying at the bottom of the Solway Firth.

George said: "An attempt was made to locate and recover them but only a handful were brought to the surface.

"We don't know what harm they are doing - it's just nuclear dumping. I would like the manufacturers of these shells, whoever they are, to put some of their profits into recovering them from the seabed."

Hotel worker Jane Parrot, 42, walks her dog through the range when there is no firing.

She said: "I never thought much about it before, it's such a pleasant walk. But all the news about DU shells makes you wonder if anything dangerous is carried in the area."

Jane moved to the village four years ago with her lorry-driver husband Richard, 37.

"We came here because we thought it was so peaceful but now we have all this worry about the range," she said. "I'm sure the MoD are not telling the truth about these shells."

Councillor Jock Purdie of Castle Douglas - who has called for range personnel and villagers to be given health tests - added: 'The village has to be given a clean bill of health."

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