Explosives safety

Explosives engineering

Explosives engineering is the field of science and engineering which is related to examining the behavior and usage of explosive materials. ^[1]

Some of the topics that explosives engineers study, research, and work on include:

· Development and characterization of new explosive materials in various forms

· Analysis of the physical process of detonation

· Explosive generated shock waves and their effects on materials

· Safety testing of explosives

· Analysis and engineering of rock blasting for mining

· Design and analysis of shaped charges and reactive armor

· Design and analysis of military explosives such as shells, aerial bombs, missile warheads, etc.

Explosive weapon

An explosive weapon generally uses high explosive to project blast and/or fragmentation from a point of detonation.

Explosive weapons may be subdivided by their method of manufacture into explosive ordnance and improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Certain types of explosive ordnance and many improvised explosive devices are sometimes referred to under the generic term bomb.

When explosive weapons fail to function as designed they are often left as unexploded ordnance (UXO).

In the common practice of states, explosive weapons are generally the preserve of the military, for use in situations of armed conflict, and are rarely used for purposes of domestic policing. Certain types of explosive weapons may be categorised as light weapons (e. g. hand-held under-barrel and mounted grenade launchers, portable launchers of anti-tank missile and rocket systems; portable launchers of anti-aircraft missile systems (MANPADS); and mortars of calibres of less than 100 mm). ^[1] Many explosive weapons, such as aircraft bombs, rockets systems, artillery and larger mortars, are categorised as heavy weapons.

Taken in combination, Amended Protocol II and Protocol V to the United Nations Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons establish a responsibility on the users of explosive weapons to record and retain information on their use of such weapons (including the location of use and the type and quantity of weapons used), to provide such information to parties in control of territory that may be affected by UXO, and to assist with the removal of this threat.

Certain types of explosive weapon have been subject to prohibition in international treaties. The Saint Petersburg Declaration of 1868 prohibits the use of certain explosive rifle projectiles. This prohibition has evolved into a ban on 'exploding bullets' under customary international humanitarian law binding on all States. The 1997 Mine Ban Treaty and the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions also prohibit types of explosive weapons, anti-personnel landmines and cluster munitions, for states parties to these treaties.

In armed conflict, the general rules of international humanitarian law governing the conduct of hostilities apply to the use of all types of explosive weapons as means or methods of warfare.

The Secretary-General of the United Nations has expressed increasing concern at " the humanitarian impact of explosive weapons, in particular when used in densely populated areas. " ^[2] The President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Jakob Kellenberger has noted that " ICRC’s key operations in 2009 – in the Gaza Strip and in Sri Lanka – provided stark illustrations of the potentially devastating humanitarian consequences of military operations conducted in densely populated areas, especially when heavy or highly explosive weapons are used. " ^[3]

According to the British NGO Action on Armed Violence (AOAV), when explosive weapons are used in populated areas (towns, villages, residential neighbourhoods) the overwhelming majority (91% in 2012) of direct casualties are civilians. ^[4]

Action on Armed Violence has also charted a dramatic rise in the use of suicide bombing and improvised explosive devices globally. Their data showed the number of civilians killed or injured by car and suicide bombs and other improvised explosive devices rising by 70 percent in the three years to 2013. ^[5]

The International Network on Explosive Weapons (INEW), a partnership of NGOs, is calling for immediate action to prevent human suffering from the use of explosive weapons in populated areas.

Explosives safety

Explosives safety originated as a formal program in the United States in the aftermath of World War I when several ammunition storage areas were destroyed in a series of mishaps. The most serious occurred at Picatinny Arsenal Ammunition Storage Depot, New Jersey, in July, 1926 when an electrical storm led to fires that caused explosions and widespread destruction. The severe property damage and 19 fatalities led Congress to empower a board of Army and Naval officers to investigate the Picatinny Arsenal disaster and determine if similar conditions existed at other ammunition depots. The board reported in its findings that this mishap could recur, prompting Congress to establish a permanent board of colonels to develop explosives safety standards and ensure compliance beginning in 1928. This organization evolved into the Department of Defense Explosives Safety Board (DDESB) and is chartered in Title 10 of the US Code. Today, the DDESB authors DOD Manual 6055. 9, Ammunition and Explosives Safety Standards. It also evaluates scientific data which may adjust those standards, reviews and approves all explosives site plans for new construction, and conducts worldwide visits to locations containing US title munitions.

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