Helsinki, Finland The proposed route for the Nord Stream gas pipeline calls for the pipeline to cross portions of the Bay of Finland which were known to be heavily mined during WWII. After the war, the mines were "disposed of" by submerging them to the bottom of the sea such that they could not re-surface. What was standard practice back then is now an explosive safety challenge today.

[More]

Bellows Air Force Station, O'hau Hawaii An area formally known as "pier dump", now "Landfill 24" being cleanup up under a $2M congressional earmark has run into public perception issues related to munitions. The landfill cleanup project, which involves the removal of an estimated 8,500 tons of cultural debris, is half complete. Prior to the congressional earmark, the military was seeking DERP funds under the IRP to address the site. However, the conditions of the site were found not to pose an unacceptable risk to human health or the environment and as such, the site was found not eligible for DERP funding under the IRP. The site was not eligible for MMRP funding under DERP as munitions were not known or suspected at the site. Despite these findings, with the help of U.S. Representative Mazie Hirono (D-Hawai'i), the $2M earmark was granted by Congress to cleanup the site anyway.

[More]

Littlehampton Beach, United Kingdom a local resident walking along the beach discovered a strange object that appeared to have washed ashore. The resident reported the find to the police who responded to the beach to investigate. The police identified the item as a munition and subsequently cordoned off the beach area before calling the military for EOD support. EOD arrived on the scene and identified the munition as a 25lbs WWII era bomb. Since the tide was coming in, EOD opted to secure the area for the night by placing sandbags around the item.

[More]

New photos and images have been added to the UXOInfo.com Photo Gallery including a large set of images extracted from the unclassified Iraq Ordnance ID Guide published by the Navy. The on-line UXO Photo Gallery now has 2,200 images. More images will be added this week that were recently donated to UXOInfo.com by several UXOInfo.com users. If you have any images that you would like to share with the industry, please email them to information@uxoinfo.com

For donations exceeding more than 12 images or for very large files, please contact us for information on how to access our FTP site for donations.

Leesburg, Florida Construction workers digging a trench for an irrigation system in the outfield of a baseball field came across a munition item. The workers called police who responded with technical support from the Patrick Air Force Base EOD team. The EOD team identified the item as a WW II era mortar round. The munition was identified as a training round (exact nomenclature / MK-Mod number was not reported). EOD safely removed the munition from the baseball field without incident. Authorities are unsure exactly how the munition ended up in the baseball field. Authorities suspect that the item may have been discarded there back in the WWII time frame when the area was a lake.

Washington D.C. The United States Navy Memorial whose mission is to honor the men and women of the United States Navy-past, present, and future is developing a comprehensive, year-long exhibit about EOD forces that will be mounted at the Memorial's Naval Heritage Center on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC.

Thanks to a generous lead gift of $20,000 from Glenn Jones, Chairman and Chancellor of Jones University and a Navy EOD veteran, the Navy Memorial's exhibit's curator has been able to begin research and design plans for this project in anticipation of securing the necessary additional funding for the project. Your support is crucial to the success of this effort so please consider making a donation in the amount of $30-$300. Corporate sponsorship opportunities are also available for industry.

[More]

Billingham, United Kingdom Workers at the United Biscuits Plant discovered a WWII era hand grenade in a pile of potatoes waiting to be processed. The local police were called to respond to the unusual find. A Royal Army EOD unit based out of Catterick Garrison provided technical support for the call. The EOD unit safely removed the hand grenade from the food processing plant and conducted a controlled detonation of the item.

The exact origin of the potatoes is unknown at this time but it is not uncommon for UXO to be found scattered throughout Europe due to the significant amount of fighting that occurred during WWI and WWII.

Arkoma, Oklahoma a worker at the Taffe Iron and Metal Plant was injured when a munition item he was cutting with a blow torch exploded. The injured worker was rushed to the Fort Smith hospital in nearby Arkansas. The male victim is reportedly in critical condition at the hospital as a result of injuries sustained in the explosion. The munition item involved in the incident has been in storage at the recycling facility for almost 15 years along with a pile of approximately 200 other projectiles (155mm and 175mm). The munitions were supposed to be inert but it appears at least one of them was not.

[More]

Lacock, United Kingdom a treasure hunter searching the fields close to Reybridge Farm found an unexploded WWII era mortar buried approximately 6 inches below the ground surface. The field is located near the Duchess of Cornwall's (i.e. the former Ms. Camilla Parker Bowles, now the wife of Charles, Prince of Wales) residence. The local police were called to respond to the UXO find. A Royal Army Bomb Disposal team based at Tidworth provided technical support. The bomb disposal team safely removed the mortar from the area without incident. The farmer who owned the property was reportedly concerned as he has plowed the field every year for the past several years and may have been unknowingly putting himself at risk.

Fayetteville, North Carolina Construction workers at the Carrington Place Apartment complex uncovered a small cache of discarded military munitions (DMM) buried beneath the ground. The construction workers immediately stopped work in the area and contacted the police upon the discovery of the munitions. The police responded along with representatives from the ATF.

[More]