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The Persian Gulf War saw the first ever use of armor-piercing munitions and reinforced tank armor that relied on depleted uranium, a low-level radioactive heavy metal. Concerns have been raised about whether exposure to depleted uranium could have been a source of illness in returning Gulf War veterans. GAO found that the scientific understanding of the effects of depleted uranium on human health is still evolving. For example, an evaluation of 29 Gulf War veterans who had among the highest exposure to depleted uranium found that none of them showed any adverse kidney effects. However, most veterans with embedded fragments continued to have elevated uranium levels in their urine. Additional studies are underway to more fully understand the health effects of depleted uranium exposure and to better estimate the amount of exposure received by Gulf War veterans. Some Gulf War veterans have had difficulty fully participating in the medical screening program created to help ensure that veterans with higher than normal uranium levels are identified for appropriate monitoring and treatment. Some veterans had not been contacted by the Defense Department or the Department of Veterans Affairs to arrange an appointment at a medical facility, had not received the required urine test, and had been unable to understand the test results. The military has developed depleted uranium safety training, which instructs soldiers on how to identify and safely deal with depleted uranium contamination. However, GAO's review of general awareness training at 17 Army units found that the required training was not provided to all troops. Moreover, because neither the Army nor the Marine Corps monitor depleted uranium training for deployments, they were unable to say whether troops recently sent to Kosovo, where depleted uranium munitions were used, had received depleted uranium training.