Geneva -- Ambassador Donald Steinberg, the U.S. Special Representative for Global Humanitarian Demining, says a State Department-funded demining force will go to work inside Kosovo as soon as NATO gives the green light.

"The U.S. has signed a $1.6 million contract with a group called RONCO International that is doing our demining in Bosnia as well as other countries," he said. Six teams -- each composed of a team leader, six deminers, a medic, two dog handlers, and two dogs -- are "ready to go in as soon as NATO states that it is safe for them to do so."

Steinberg said it is not yet possible to estimate the number of mines laid in Kosovo, but noted that the UN has thus far identified 800 mined areas.

"I think you could argue that Kosovo today is among the world's most dangerous real-estate," he said.

Briefing journalists at the United Nations in Geneva following a 10-day trip to Kosovo, Albania, and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Steinberg emphasized that conditions have not yet been met for the safe return of refugees.

"We have already had, as I think you are aware, perhaps two dozen accidents with returning refugees. In a couple of cases, these have been fatal," he said.

"We are trying to tell refugees that they should not compound the tragedy that they have already faced with a premature return that will simply cause tragedies that are perhaps even greater on a personal basis."

Steinberg also said, "We are very concerned that if there are accidents today, there would not be a capability to address the health needs of the individuals who are affected by those accidents."

Most of the landmine fields established by the Serbs appear to be along the borders with Albania and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, where anti-personnel landmines were used to channel the refugees through official checkpoints. In addition, the Serbs are believed to have planted anti-tank mine fields along the borders as a deterrent to a possible NATO invasion. Experts worry, too, that the region in and around Pristina may be heavily infested with mines.

Both the Serbs and the KLA (Kosovo Liberation Army) used landmines not only as a military tool, but also to disrupt normal civilian life, Steinberg said. "Regrettably in those cases, very few maps would have been kept if any."

Steinberg said he was disappointed that as of the middle of last week, NATO had only received two maps from the Serbs detailing landmine deployment. "Part of the agreement was that they would provide information, and then at a later point, in essence, the Serbs would come back to proceed with the demining."

Unexploded bombs also pose a major threat. "A lot of the ordnance that has been launched by the Serbs, by the KLA, and certainly also by NATO, will not have gone off," he said.

"We have a pretty good feel as to where NATO unexploded ordnance may be, obviously based on our records of where the bombings took place. We have a much less good sense as to where the Serb or the KLA unexploded ordnance may be."

The process of demining has already begun under NATO, but the KFOR operation is not designed to perform humanitarian demining, Steinberg explained.

"Their demining efforts are designed to support their own deployment and their own operations. In that regard they are doing the demining or mine verification of major roads, bridges, (and) sites that they will be occupying."

Steinberg noted, however, that the NATO demining operation is paving the way for the humanitarian demining efforts that will follow. KFOR is "sharing information on everything they are finding."

KFOR's operations in Pristina include demining the site to be occupied by the United Nations Mine Action Coordinating Center that will open later this week. The center will coordinate all international demining efforts inside Kosovo. The United States will have a planning cell attached to it.

"We already have probably our best demining expert, a man by the name of Murphy McCloy, in Skopje," said Steinberg. Also on the ground in the region are "a variety of geographers, who are central to this process, computer scientists, and experts in psychological operations to assist the effort of mine awareness."

The first task will be to conduct a mine survey. The emphasis will be on "demining those areas that have an immediate impact upon the lives of the returning refugees, and therefore if there are water supplies, if there are power stations, if there are market places that have to be demined in order to allow the Kosovars to return to their normal lives, those places will be among our highest priorities."

Barriers will be constructed around other mine-infested areas and signs will be posted around the perimeter warning of danger. "Part of our challenge is making sure that the Kosovars know what the signs look like and know how to avoid those areas. So, yes, there will be areas that are essentially no-go areas for some time."

Steinberg said it will be three to five years "before we have conditions in Kosovo where individuals can pretty much go back to their lives as before." Even then, Kosovo will not be clear of mines. It will simply be possible to say where it is safe to go, and where it is not safe to go. The challenge of getting rid of each and every mine, piece of unexploded ordnance, booby trap, is one that is going to be around for a long time.

Mine awareness programs will be critical. Steinberg noted that UNICEF (UN Children's Fund) -- assisted in part by a grant from the United States -- has produced around a million pieces of mine awareness information including pamphlets and posters being distributed and displayed in the camps.

"I was at the border between (the Former Yugoslav Republic of) Macedonia and Kosovo on Thursday and every refugee who was returning received a packet of information, and you can bet they are reading it. They want to know what challenges they are going to face as they return to their homes."