January 2020 UXO E-Newsletter Released

Click the banner above to view the January 2020 edition of the UXO E-Newsletter brought to you by Ordnance Holdings, Inc. (OHI).

Magnet Fishing Results In Mortar Find

Dewsbury, United Kingdom West Yorkshire Police called in the Army after a WWII era mortar was recovered by a magnet fisherman in a Dewsbury canal. The mortar, reported as a 'live 2-pound mortar' was disposed of by a Royal Ordnance Logistics Corps bomb disposal team.

Magnet-mortar2

Bridge, Rail and Boat Traffic Halted for UXO

Cologne, Germany Boat traffic was delayed on the Rhine in the Deutz business district, near Cologne's Hohenzollern Bridge as authorities responded to a WWII era UXO. The item, identified as a 1,100-pound U.S. bomb was found along the river bank.

The nearby rail station and bridge were closed along with the evacuation of nearly 10,000 workers from a 500-meter exclusion zone around the site.

Cologne-Jan2020.jpg

[More]

Dead Body and Suspect UXO Leads To Neighborhood Evacuation

Stockton, California Police responding to the home of man that reportedly died of natural causes called the bomb squad after finding "hundreds" of apparent military ordnance items in the house. The bomb squad contacted Travis AFB EOD for technical assistance as the nearby neighbors were evacuated from their homes.

EOD and bomb disposal crews worked over two days to sort and remove the items were found, for the most part, to be inert replicas. However, crews also found 25 small flares and fuses which were classified as "real" (type not reported) that had to be removed as well.

Police said investigators learned that the 70-year-old man appeared to be a collector of military items and did not have a military background.

Site of New Telsa Factory Found To Contain UXO

Berlin, Germany Electric car maker Telsa has agreed to purchase a 740-acre site to open build its first European factory that would give its cars "Made in Germany" branding.

A survey of the property connected with the sale has so far produced 7 UXO identified as WWII era U.S. ordnance (specific type not reported). Plans are underway for the disposal of the bombs. It's unclear if the UXO, or the potential for more, will have an impact on the purchase price of the land.

Magnet Fishing Results In Hand Grenade Find

Vass, North Carolina The Crains Creek Fire Department announced via social media that a few locals were magnet fishing near Morrison Bridge and Riverview Drive when they found a hand grenade, missing its firing pin, near the bridge. Several emergency units responded, including military EOD, who determined that it was unsafe to transport the grenade.

grenade-NC-JAN2020.jpg

[More]

Joint Region Marianas Reaches Agreement on Guam UXO

Article Source: http://Navy.mil

WASHINGTON (NNS)- Culminating over three years of negotiation, Department of the Navy leaders today signed an agreement to establish a disciplined process for the Commander, Joint Region Marianas (CJRM) to have the authority to implement prudent explosive safety principles on Guam. The agreement will have an immediate impact on billions of dollars in military construction activities being undertaken by all military services with missions on Guam, including the relocation of United States Marines from the Island of Okinawa, Japan.

The ceremony marks submission of the Guam Munitions Response Explosive Safety Submission to the Naval Ordnance Safety and Security Activity (NOSSA). To acknowledge this historic occasion, Mr. Dale Sisson, Executive Director of NOSSA, and Mr. Jim Balocki, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Installations, Energy and Facilities) signed a memorandum of agreement.

[More]

Resident Brings WWII Era Grenade to Mayor's Office

Asam, Guam Mayor Salas was ready to leave work for the day when a man walked into his office with a WWII-era UXO wrapped in a rag that he had found while while working in his yard.

Mayor Salas promptly called EOD who responded and identified the item as a live WWII-era hand grenade. EOD removed the hand grenade for proper disposal.

Even though residents are urged to call the police as soon as UXO items are found, residents continue to hand-deliver UXO items to local government officials. Other Guam Mayors have reported similar situations where residents bring ordnance to Government offices for disposal.

Mayor Salas believes that the community hasn't been reached by the Government awareness campaign and asks that if an ordnance is found, to not touch it and call 911.<.p>

WWII Ordnance Found on Selsey Beach, UK

Chichester, United Kingdom Two UXO items were found washed up on Selsey Beach in Chichester, UK.

According to sources, the Coastguard was called to the scene and the beach was cordoned off to protect the public. Pictures were taken and subsequently sent to a Royal Navy EOD Team for examination and it was later confirmed that the items were unexploded bombs left over from WWII. Two controlled explosions were then carried out on the beach by EOD.

SelseyBomb.jpg

[More]

Homeless Shelter Moved Due To UXO

Santa Rosa, California Government officials have decided against housing a homeless encampment on a parking lot near the Sonoma County Airport due to the potential for UXO as the parking lot is located within the former site of the WWII-era Santa Rosa Army Airfield.

In the early eighties, the area was a hotbed of development and in 1982, ampules from CAIS kits were discovered by construction crews during the digging of a sewer line. Further development in the area uncovered dozens more items.

Due to the concerns for more CAIS and the possibility for UXO in the area, city officials opted not to take the risk and decided to relocate the homeless encampment elsewhere.

More Entries


BlogCFC was created by Raymond Camden. This blog is running version 5.5.002.