Seattle, Washington Environmental Protection Agency Region 10 issued a $45,000 fine to the Navy as a result of a formal dispute resolution process involving UXO cleanup options examined in the Remedial Investigation / Feasibility Study (RI/FS) for the Jackson Park site. The 232-acre property located in Bremerton, Washington on the EPA's Superfund National Priorities List (NPL) was once home to the former Naval Ammunition Depot (NAD) Puget Sound that operated from 1904 to 1959. The UXO or discarded military munitions (DMM) in the area are the result of past activities conducted at the NAD including the mishandling of military munitions primarily during and after WW I and WW II.

[More]

Waiouru, New Zealand A New Zealand EOD airman was killed when an unexploded 105 mm artillery shell he was working near exploded. The accident occurred at the Waiouru Military Camp where the New Zealand military has several active training ranges. Flight Sergeant Andrew Bruce Forster, 46, and another EOD airman were reportedly placing a stake in the ground several meters away from an old 105 mm artillery shell to mark it for disposal when it exploded. The UXO was apparently identified the previous day during a sweep of the area but no stakes or marking equipment was available at the time to mark the item. Therefore, the 27 year EOD veteran airman along with a second EOD airman were going back to mark the area with the UXO with a stake so that the disposal team could blow it in place during an upcoming disposal operation.

[More]

Quogue, New York Two brothers working with an auctioneer preparing for an upcoming auction of their late parents' estate came across an old artillery shell among the items to be sold. The brothers explained to the auctioneer that the shell came from their late father who brought it back as a souvenir from WWI. Reportedly the late father kept the shell in his back yard for all those years. Since the two brothers could not verify that the shell was inert, the auctioneer opted not to include it in the items for sale and also decided to call the local police to have the munition inspected for possible explosives.

[More]

Ulyanovsk Province, Russia What was supposed to a routine ammunition disposal operation turned out to be a deadly catastrophe that caused significant damage to a Russian Naval Ammunition Depot. In an unforeseen chain of events, an ammunition disposal operational caused a massive fire and sympathetic detonations of various munitions being stored at the facility. This caused a chain reaction which caused dozens of other munitions to detonate. Over 3,000 residents living near the ammunition depot located in western Russia were evacuated as firefighters and military personnel fought to bring the blaze under control.

[More]

Columboola, Australia A survey crew working for coal company scouting out locations for new coal mines uncovered a cache of WWII era shells. The workers called the police who responded with support from an Australian Defense Department EOD team. In all, 144 shells were found with three confirmed as CWM filled (mustard) rounds. The mustard rounds have been over packed in storage container and transported for safe keeping until they can be properly disposed of. The location where the rounds were found was reportedly a former U.S. weapons facility during WW II. The rounds were identified as WWII era U.S. shells (size and specific type not reported).

Fort Bragg, North Carolina a 47 year old man from Hamlet, North Carolina was killed when a UXO item he was handling exploded. Reportedly, the man was illegally scavenging for scrap metal on an active artillery range when the accident occurred. A second unidentified man assisting in the illegal scrap metal collecting operation was not injured. The Army released a statement that the two men were not employees of the base. A full investigation is underway by law enforcement and Army officials on the incident. The investigation will undoubtedly include searches of the residents of each of the two men involved to determine if other munitions items have been removed from the ranges.

St. Margarets, United Kingdom construction workers digging in the garden of a residential lot uncovered a small cache of munitions. The workers called the police who responded with a Royal Army EOD from Shornecliffe Barracks. EOD identified the munitions as live anti-tank grenades (quantity not reported) and another dozen WWII era mortar shells. Fifty rounds of small arms ammunition was also found buried in the garden.

[More]

Gainesville, Georgia A local resident clearing debris and trash from a vacant property uncovered a hand grenade. Not knowing if the grenade was real or a fake toy grenade, the man promptly called the police to report the find. The local sheriff's office responded along with the fire department. The fire department confirmed the grenade was of military origin and also determined the grenade's fuze and spoon were still intact. Since the grenade was a live military UXO, the Army EOD unit from Fort Stewart was called to provide support. EOD responded and safely transported the grenade from the area for proper disposal. EOD identified the UXO as a live WWII era MK II hand grenade. Authorities are unsure how the grenade ended up at the property.

Helmand Province, Afghanistan British Royal Army EOD Staff Sergeant Olaf Schmid of the 11th EOD Regiment was killed when the IED he was attempting to defuse exploded. Staff Sgt Schmid was based out of Vauxhall Barracks in Didcot and lived in Winchester with his wife and child. The day the incident occurred was scheduled to be his final day of his five-month tour of duty in Afghanistan. He deployed to Afghanistan in June and since then he had rendered safe 64 IEDs and was involved in 11 discoveries of bomb-making equipment.

[More]