Conference article

Unexploded ordnances (UXOs) in the soil of the Netherlands as a heritage from WWII are still a large problem in 2005. Up to now approximately 10% of all ammunition that was buried has been excavated. On an annual basis; thousands of ammunition articles are found that require destruction. In recent history the destruction of the UXOs was accomplished by open burning and open detonation. During these uncontrolled events; toxic chemicals are distributed into the environment threatening the flora and fauna as well as the health of the people involved in the open burning/open detonation. However; new legislation (European Union and the Netherlands) will prohibit the application of these environmentally unfriendly methodologies in near future. Therefore; TNO has developed proper techniques for the destruction of small; medium and large calibre ammunition. These techniques facilitate on-site destruction of the ammunition which prevents unnecessary transport of the ammunition. Furthermore; the developed methodologies enable the destruction of small; medium and large calibre ammunition in an environmentally friendly and secure way. Next to this; the technique which is applied to large calibre ammunition also enables the re-use of the ammunition as a practice shell. Within this presentation we will address each technique and show their application as they will be implemented in near future.

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