(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
- It is too early to say anything about the causal link or whether the deaths are related to exposure to depleted uranium. The large health survey of the many soldiers who have served abroad since 1990 will not start until the summer, says Commander Reidar Mundal at the medical staff in the Armed Forces High Command.
Since the awareness of the so-called Balkan syndrome exploded over the New Year, not least after it became known that six Italian soldiers serving in the Balkans had died of leukemia (blood cancer), it has been quiet about the case lately.
But based on information from Commander Mundal, Ny Tid can state that at least six Norwegian soldiers who have previously served in the Balkans and in the Middle East contracted leukemia, and that four of them have already died as a result of the debilitating disease.
Four died
- Soldier from Oslo. Died of leukemia at Ullevål hospital in March 1997.
- Bjarne Kristian Eggen from Tistedal, Halden. Died of leukemia 33 years old in March 1998. Served in Lebanon in 1991 and in the Balkans in 1994.
- Officers from Eastern Norway. Died of leukemia in January 2001. Served in Bosnia from 1994-96.
- Soldier from Moss. Death of leukemia, time unknown.
- Former Major Svein Ruset from Linge in Valdal. Was diagnosed with leukemia last summer and is still alive. Served both in Bosnia and Kosovo in the 90's.
- Soldier from the West Country. Have been diagnosed with leukemia, but are still alive.
The papers are gone
Based on the conversations Ny Tid has had with Reidar Mundal by telephone, it is clear that the information about these cases has not been systematized.
The first time Ny Tid contacted about the officer who died of leukemia in January this year, the commander-in-chief, who is a doctor at the medical staff, could immediately state when the officer had served in Bosnia and tell that he was the only one who was registered dead due to blood cancer.
However, at the second time, Mundal could not find the papers.
- That was strange. We also have some paper lying in another office, but they have gone for the day, so I can not check it now, says Mundal, and instead begins to tell about other leukemia cases.
- Most recently yesterday, a lawyer from Moss called on behalf of the parents of someone who allegedly died of leukemia after serving in the Balkans. But I forgot to write down the name of the lawyer, says the commander-in-chief.
Didn't hear anything
- We have not heard anything from the Armed Forces since the media wrote about Bjarne's case in early January. The only thing we received then was a letter from the commander of the Norwegian UN forces who referred to the media coverage of the case, says Anders Larsson.
He is the brother-in-law of Bjarne Kristian Eggen from Tistedal, who died of leukemia in 1998. Nobody in his family has heard anything about the announced health exams.
- No, we know nothing about what is happening, and feel that we meet the wall. Can it be so difficult to find out whether the percentage of leukemia cases is greater among those who have served abroad, compared with Norway in general, Larsson asks, and reveals that he has little faith that the Armed Forces will investigate itself.
- What has burned into me personally, is how fast it went. Bjarne was as usual at work during the day, and then he died later in the afternoon, his brother-in-law remembers.
Medical examination
According to press spokesman Per Høiby in the Armed Forces Command, the health survey of around 18.000 people who have been in service abroad will start before the summer.
The first part is a survey where forms are sent out to everyone in the target group, most of them staying in the Middle East and the Balkans. Based on the answers obtained, it will be considered who will be summoned to the second part of the health examination, which is a physical examination of the individual.
How many this will be and when the results will be available, Høiby cannot say anything about today. He also has no official statistics on how many people have been diagnosed with leukemia so far, but confirms the case with Bjarne Kristian Eggen and Svein Ruset, two of the six cases that have been discussed in the media.
The Armed Forces is leading the health investigation, but has gained professional expertise such as the Cancer Registry, the Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority and the Norwegian National Health Surveys.
