A report published in the Journal of Environmental Monitoring found that worms in the Dumfries testing ground had significant traces of poisonous uranium isotopes in their bodies.
Worms are a crucial part of the ecosystem, aerating the soil and aiding the nutrient uptake of plants. If they are contaminated, it suggests the wider environment is tainted.
The report said: "Many of the soil samples from the Dundrennan Firing Range had uranium concentrations and isotopic signatures indicative of contamination with DU. Furthermore, plants and earthworms collected from above and within contaminated soils respectively also had uranium isotopic signatures strongly influenced by DU, indicating that DU was indeed assimilated into biological tissues."
More than 6000 DU shells have been fired into the Solway Firth at Dundrennan, amounting to more than 20 tons of nuclear waste. The tests have been linked to increased rates of cancer and leukaemia in the area.
Opposition to their use is hardening, after a vote at the United Nations General Assembly, won by 136 states to five, required states to submit files on the health implications of DU. Britain was one of the states to vote against it.
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