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THE MoD have used a legal loophole to fire thousands of depleted uranium shells into ?Scottish waters.

Military bosses dodged an international ban by saying the 30 tons of radioactive waste was “placed” rather than “dumped” off the beach in Kirkcudbrightshire.

Outraged campaigners yesterday called on them to retrieve the toxic waste.

Aneaka Kellay, from the Campaign Against Depleted Uranium, said: “The Scottish public will struggle to understand how the MoD thought they could evade their legal and moral responsibility not to pollute the sea by calling this a ‘placement’.

“However they name their firing programme, the fact remains they have purposefully released nuclear waste into the Solway Firth.”

The toxic rounds end up in the water when tanks at a military range at Dundrennan fire shells at canvas targets on the cliffs.

Minutes of secret MoD meetings released after a Freedom of Information request show an official raised concerns in 2004 that the practice could breach the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic.

He was told the MoD’s interpretation was that “the projectiles were placements not dumping”. The convention states dumping doesn’t include “placement of matter for a purpose other than the mere disposal thereof”.

Depleted uranium has been linked to increases in cancers and birth defects in Iraq.

Minutes show the MoD have fired more than 6700 of the toxic shells into the Solway Firth over the last 30 years.

Labour MP Katy Clark yesterday said: “The legal basis on which the test-firing has occurred is open to serious questioning.”

But the MoD said: “All testing is in accordance with procedures agreed with the Environment Agency and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.”

The Scottish Government said they were strongly opposed to the testing of the shells in Scotland.