LENOIR CITY, Tenn.,
Sept. 3, 2015 /PRNewswire/
-- Unexploded bombs, artillery shells, and other munitions are
legacies of war that can remain deadly for years, decades – even
more than a century.
When legacy explosives are found, modern techniques and
professionals are in the best position to protect people and
property, says an official with Sterling Global Operations (SGO),
an international company that conducts demining and munitions
management.
"It's a problem around the world as well as in America, where
World War I and II-era firing and bombing ranges may have long
faded from memory, and sometimes even from maps," said Nick Iaiennaro, an SGO official.
Some examples of the problem:
- On Aug. 9, 2015, British
authorities evacuated an east London neighborhood until a German World War II 500-pound bomb was
defused.
- On May 27, 2015, German
authorities evacuated 20,000 people from a portion of the city of
Cologne to detonate an unexploded
U.S. World War II bomb.
- In April 2014, seven people died
in Bangkok, Thailand when a World
War II bomb exploded in a scrap metal warehouse.
- In June 2013, a man gardening at
his Kansas home unearthed a
still-live World War I-era artillery shell.
- In 2008, Florida subdivision
residents near Orlando
International Airport learned their homes were built above the
remains of a World War II bombing range which news reports said
wasn't thoroughly cleared.
Some 1.5 billion artillery shells were fired on World War I's
western front alone, and World War II saw more than 2.7 million
tons of bombs dropped just in Europe.
"Older explosives can be even more volatile," Iaiennaro said.
"They deteriorate over time, and that can make them highly
unstable.
"SGO-mitigated explosives items from U.S. military bases and
foreign countries would fill 400 American football fields,"
Iaiennaro said. "We've detected, removed or destroyed some 85,000
tons of unexploded remnants of war in Afghanistan and Iraq alone.
"In Myrtle Beach, South
Carolina, we dealt with eight, 250-pound bombs some 500
meters from a child development center, private residences, and a
church. We've cleared several former U.S. ranges that once were in
the middle of nowhere, but today they're in, or near, populated
areas.
Lenoir City, Tenn.-based SGO's
steps in such situations are, he said:
- Determine munition type and hazard
- Decide on blast and fragmentation protection measures to
protect lives and nearby property
- After disposal, determine how the explosive came to be there,
which may indicate the presence of additional explosives
"Any suspected munition should be reported to authorities
immediately," Iaiennaro said. "Thinking about it as a souvenir or a
dud can result in a tragedy."
SGO employees mitigate explosives' danger in some of the world's
most hazardous places to help save lives and property, Iaiennaro
said.
"Based on the realities of war and of history, this work will
still need to be done 100 years from now."
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SOURCE Sterling Global Operations