Leicester, United Kingdom A 48-year old man recovered an ordnance item out of the River Soar while magnet fishing. The man, who is part of the Northants Magnet Fishing group, was keen enough to know to back away and notify authorities.

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Senators Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal along with Congress Members Alexandria Cortez and Jose Serrano sent a letter of concern to The Committee on Armed Services to push for alternatives to OB/OD for use on Vieques. In particular, the group is requesting $10M from the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) be used for closed detonation chambers.

The letter reads in part, "The military has now been engaged in cleanup efforts on the island for years - a crucial and overdue process. But those efforts have included open-air burning and detonation of hazardous wastes."

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Nhulunbuy, Australia A donation of WWII era historical artifacts resulted in a bomb disposal response by local police. The items donated by an elderly history enthusiast included several various ordnance items and related debris. The man reportedly had the items in his house for years after finding the items on a former property he owned near the airport.

Believing the items were safe, the man took the items with him when he moved 600 miles away to his current house where he used the munition items as bookends for years. Apparently the wife got tired of the items on display at the house and forced the man to get rid of them.

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Hampton, Virginia Local police responded to a call about an explosion on a site on Wythe Creek Road near Winder Farm Lane. Police suspect that the explosion was caused by UXO that became "unstable". They did not release any details on the exact type of UXO involved or the evidence collected that supported their suspicions. No one was injured as a result of the explosion.

Only five positions left for Underwater UXO management training designed for senior EOD/UXO supervisors or environmental managers to assist them in the planning and implementation for Underwater Munitions Response Programs. Underwater munitions are one of the fastest growing industries in Europe and effected Countries.

The training will consist of 8 days deployment to the Baltic Sea from 17-24 August 2019 to survey, investigate and monitor underwater sites. Students will embark from Gdansk Poland on-board the Research Vessels "Strakhov" from the Russian Academy of Scientists with an International Team of Professors and Experts from Russia Academy of Scientists, Royal Military College of Canada, Polish Academy of Scientists, United States University of Georgia and Canada's International Dialogue on Underwater Munitions (IDUM).

Those who are interest to further improve their knowledge and experience on underwater munitions responses, risk assessment and management options should attend. We encourage both students and environmental services industry personnel, to apply for this opportunity to learn more about the detection, investigation and monitoring of Underwater Chemical Munitions. Send your CV to info@idum.org.

Frankfurt, Germany Over 16,000 people were evacuated from the area around the European Central Bank headquarters as bomb disposal personnel disposed of a World War II era U.S. bomb. About 350 firefighters, police and Red Cross staff were involved in the operation to move residents.

The device was discovered earlier in the week in the Main River by city fire service personnel conducting a dive exercise in the river. Reportedly, the initial plan had been for a partial detonation to neutralize the bomb, but local experts were concerned that bomb could high order in the process. Therefore, divers moved the bomb, reported as a 250-kilogram (550-pound) US bomb from the position where it was found to a greater depth of 5.5 to 6 meters.

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