NATO uses DU mainly for 300 mm shells used by A10 Warthog warplane against tanks. Each 300 mm shell contains 300g of DU; according to NATO around 31,000 shells were used during the Kosovo conflict. Approximately 9.3 tons were used in total in Kosovo. It should be noted that Uranium is present in the environment at about 2-8 tons per km² in the top 1 meter of soil.

112 sites in Kosovo have been identified as being targeted by ordnance containing depleted uranium, a UNEP team visited 11 sites: 5 in the Italian and 6 in the German sector.  The team consisting of 14 scientists from several countries, collected soil, water, and vegetation samples and conducted smear tests on buildings, destroyed army vehicles, and DU penetrates. The team found three sites with no signs of higher radioactivity, nor any remnants of DU ammunition. At eight sites, the team found slightly higher amounts of radiation immediately at or around the holes left by DU ammunition, or pieces and remnants of ammunition.

In 2001 WHO and the (then) Department of Health and Public Welfare have looked into the incidence of leukemia in Kosovo. Records at Pristina Hospital for the past four years were examined and doctors from district hospitals have been interviewed. The initial survey indicated that the incidence of leukemia in Kosovo has not increased. WHO and the Department of Health and Social Welfare point out that, although record are not perfect, any significant increase in cancers such as leukemia would have been noticed. Doctors state that it takes a minimum of two to three years for the symptoms of leukemia to be detected.