Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 12 of 12
Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network
Drones Supporting Mine Clearance In Northern Sri Lanka, Oliver Gerard-Pearse
Drones Supporting Mine Clearance In Northern Sri Lanka, Oliver Gerard-Pearse
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
The humanitarian mine action (HMA) community’s nascent adoption of commercial drone technology has no doubt made a positive impact within the sector. However, drones go underutilized in HMA and many opportunities as well as potential pitfalls remain. Nurturing and developing this technology to assist in an increasingly diverse and evolving industry will benefit the community greatly. However, drones have only recently drawn the public eye with considerable strides forward in developing technology that is now available and financially accessible to the general public. Popular commercial brands are appealing more to the budding photographers and video bloggers that are able to …
The Hybrid Thermal Lance: A Promising New Technique For The Destruction Of Landmines And Uxo By Deflagration, Donald Pratt, Nick Torbet
The Hybrid Thermal Lance: A Promising New Technique For The Destruction Of Landmines And Uxo By Deflagration, Donald Pratt, Nick Torbet
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
Explosive ordnance can be destroyed by a variety of methods. Destruction in-situ using an explosive charge is generally the preferred means; it is reliable, technically straightforward, and often the safest option. Other techniques include thermite-based tools or low-explosive powered disruptors. However, in a number of current humanitarian mine action (HMA) operating environments, clearance organizations are faced with restrictions on explosive use and/or importation of other energetic materials such as thermite. This may be due to the legitimate security concerns of mine-affected states, or legislative frameworks that do not account for non-military use of explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) tools. This takes …
Shattered Lives And Bodies: Recovery Of Survivors Of Improvised Explosive Devices And Explosive Remnants Of War In Northeast Syria, Médecins Sans Frontières
Shattered Lives And Bodies: Recovery Of Survivors Of Improvised Explosive Devices And Explosive Remnants Of War In Northeast Syria, Médecins Sans Frontières
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
In northeast Syria, fighting, airstrikes, and artillery shelling have led to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of civilians from the cities of Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa, as well as rural areas along the eastern bank of the Euphrates River. Now that active fighting has moved toward the Syrian- Iraqi border, the population is beginning to return home. However, explosive remnants of war (ERW), improvised explosive devices (IED), and booby traps (remaining from conflict or planted purposefully in homes) continue to put the returning population at immense risk and further obstruct vital humanitarian access.
Sepon Supports Uxo Clearance In Laos, Saman Aneka, Micheal Valent
Sepon Supports Uxo Clearance In Laos, Saman Aneka, Micheal Valent
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
Sepon mine, owned by the largest international mining company in Laos, MMG Lane Xang Minerals Limited Sepon (LXML), is situated in a remote area of Vilabouly District, Savannakhet Province—one of the most bombed districts in Lao PDR. Over 21,000 people have been killed or injured as a result of unexploded ordnance (UXO) accidents in the post-war period (1974–2018), of which 25 percent were in Savannakhet Province. This legacy brings unique challenges to mining operations, development projects, and agricultural production.
Determining The Value Of Uavs In Iraq, Brad Alford, Edward Curran, Shawn Cole
Determining The Value Of Uavs In Iraq, Brad Alford, Edward Curran, Shawn Cole
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
As areas of Iraq and Syria controlled by ISIS are liberated, internally displaced persons (IDP) are returning to their homes to face widespread destruction and contamination from deadly improvised explosive devices (IED) implanted by ISIS to maim, kill, and terrorize. Janus Global Operations (Janus) currently operates throughout Iraq, clearing IEDs with a focus on bringing critical infrastructure online to allow IDPs to return safely and resume their lives.
Operating in urban environments has proven challenging due to the high volume of destroyed buildings and associated rubble. In urban environments, operators are exposed to uncertain situations when traditional detection methods can …
Advanced Geophysical Classification Of Wwii-Era Unexploded Bombs Using Borehole Electromagnetics, Laurens Beran, Stephen Billings
Advanced Geophysical Classification Of Wwii-Era Unexploded Bombs Using Borehole Electromagnetics, Laurens Beran, Stephen Billings
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
The legacy of World War II-era unexploded bombs (UXB) is an ongoing public safety hazard throughout Europe, and especially in Germany. Large, air-dropped bombs that are a legacy of Allied bombing campaigns are discovered on a weekly basis in Germany, requiring evacuations and disposal efforts costing hundreds of thousands of Euros in some instances.
This article presents recent work done by Black Tusk Geophysics using advanced geophysical classification (AGC) to reliably identify hazardous ordnance at urban sites in Germany. After briefly describing electromagnetic (EM) sensors and data processing required for AGC, this article will discuss survey and design considerations for …
Minefield Sketch Maps In Humanitarian Mine Action, Jesse Hamlin, Luan Jaupi
Minefield Sketch Maps In Humanitarian Mine Action, Jesse Hamlin, Luan Jaupi
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
Digital technology has the ability to bring minefield artifacts from the field to life. The HALO Trust (HALO) has been using Colortrac large format scanners in several programs around the world, to scan minefield sketch maps from the field, allowing these historical records to be viewed on desktop and laptop computers. Once the maps are scanned, they are geo-referenced in geographic information systems (GIS) to display alongside other layers, and used to allow HALO to build its database of activities through digitization of paper records alongside data that is recorded directly onto tablets.
Ppe Development And Needs In Hma, Andy Smith
Ppe Development And Needs In Hma, Andy Smith
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
As written in the International Mine Action Standards (IMAS) 10.30 on personal protective equipment (PPE), “the primary means of preventing explosive injury in the workplace is by the supervised use of demining tools and processes that reduce the likelihood of an unintended detonation.” The IMAS goes on to state that PPE “should be the final protective measure after all planning, training and procedural efforts to reduce risk have been taken.” To date the “final protective measure” has been to provide PPE that is practical but that does not provide full protection.
The Journal Of Conventional Weapons Destruction Issue 22.1 (2017), Cisr Jmu
The Journal Of Conventional Weapons Destruction Issue 22.1 (2017), Cisr Jmu
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
Editorial: The Evolution of PPE in HMA
Feature: BAC in Urban Areas
in the Spotlight: Europe
Field Notes
Research and Development
Field Notes
Lessons From The Past: The Rapid Clearance Of Denmark’S Minefields In 1945, Roly Evans
Lessons From The Past: The Rapid Clearance Of Denmark’S Minefields In 1945, Roly Evans
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
The clearance of the vast majority of Denmark’s minefields during 1945 was remarkable. In just under five months, a force ranging between 750 and 2,600 German prisoners of war (POW) under the supervision of 250–350 Danish officers and noncommissioned officers cleared 1,389,281 mines from an area of 1,103.2 sq km (425.9 sq mi). Such speed of clearance stands in stark contrast with much of modern humanitarian mine action since the 1990s. This article will explain how such speed was possible and why it could not reasonably be repeated today. The article will also identify a number of important lessons that …
Clearing Safe Spaces For Drought Affected Communities In Somaliland, Edward Lajoie, Megan Dwyer
Clearing Safe Spaces For Drought Affected Communities In Somaliland, Edward Lajoie, Megan Dwyer
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
Governments and nongovernmental organizations (NGO) working in the Horn of Africa consistently identify conflict and climate change as two primary drivers of insecurity in the region. The HALO Trust’s landmine and explosive remnants of war (ERW) clearance in the Republic of Somaliland over the last 19 years has been at the intersection of these two issues.
Why Is Water So Efficient At Suppressing The Effects Of Explosions?, Stephen Salter, John Parkes
Why Is Water So Efficient At Suppressing The Effects Of Explosions?, Stephen Salter, John Parkes
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
When most experienced explosives engineers first observe an explosion suppressed by bags of water, they are convinced that there has been a misfire. Depending on the amount of water and the way it is contained, the overpressure can be reduced by a factor of ten, sometimes more than twenty. The number of fragments from shell cases can be one hundred times less. Their velocities can be seven times. Slugs from focal point charges are stopped. Safety distances around magazines can be cut. The number of people evacuated from a bomb disposal site can be reduced. In June 1999, engineers from …