NEW YORK, May 30: A nuclear research group said on Thursday that the United States fired weapons containing an estimated 2,000 tons of depleted uranium in Iraq, a substance it said is linked to cancer.

The Nuclear Policy Research Institute urged leaders of the United States and Britain to clean up the depleted uranium, which might cause cancer in the lungs, bones, blood and kidneys of human beings, they said.

They said a cleanup is especially important because the substance was heavily used in populated areas during the war.

Charles Sheehan-Miles and Dr. Tom Fasy, who is involved in scientific research of depleted uranium, released the information at a news conference at UN headquarters in New York.

Depleted uranium is used mostly in 120-mm Abrams tank rounds and 30-mm cannons mounted on A-10 anti-tank aircraft. The rounds are known as “silver bullets” because of their ability to penetrate heavy-armoured military vehicles.—dpa