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Long‐term ERW management in Southeast Asia

Lessons from Saxony – GermanyFrank Masche, EOD-Consultant, on behalf of Thomas Lange,

Technical Director KMBD Sachsen

frank@masche.berlin

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Thomas Lange

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Saxony

Saxony is amongst the most contaminated “Länder” within Germany.•Very heavy ground fighting at the end of the war•Large cities were main targets for allied bombing raids•After the war, 134 areas were used by the military (USSR, GDR)•Also a large number of ordnance factories and other military properties dating back as far as to times prior to WW I•All of the above resulting in contamination with bombs, projectiles and the whole range of military contaminants•Today, large number of industrial enterprises and highly populated inside the cities

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The Saxony EOD‐Service (KMBD)• Funded in 1949, within the police force• Even in 1949 the long-term requirements for ERW

management were obvious, resulting in centralization and government supervision of the process

• Phases:• Immediate response after the war: clearance during

cleanup and rubble removal activities done by a variety of operators on communal level

• Focus on locations for key-industries during 50s and 60s

• Focus on locations for government-sponsored housing programs during 70s and 80s

• Since 1989 and the withdrawal of the Russian forces focus on clearance of former military areas and areas for large-medium scale industrial use

Todays tasks of the EOD-Service

1. Clearance and Disposal of ERW2. Search for ERW3. ERW-Kataster documenting contamination 4. Inter-agency support, advise and consultancy

Staffing:21 operators3 support staff, for analysis, admin etc

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Saxony KMBD statistics 2014

Missions Total: 813

Single finds 364

Ordnance Transports 432

Search tasks, surveys, investigations 12

Pyrotechnical transports for customs authority: 5

Requests for desktop surveys 609

Neutralization (Bombs) 12

Demolition in situ: 25

Diving Missions 2

Recovered Ordnance in tons

Light ordnance 25,4

Projectiles 221,06

Air-dropped bombs 5,1

Weapons 1,71

Explosives 0,04

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www.masche.berlin Tasks of the EOD‐Service (KMBD)

1. Recovery and Disposal

The KMBD clears and disposes of all items of military origin and parts thereof containing explosives, incendiaries, primers, agents etc. from until the end of WW II and from the Russian occupation; which were REPORTED

Recovery consists of

• Excavation without moving the item

• Identification of the item

• RSP (Neutralization or demolition in situ)

• Transport to a disposal facility (storage, cutting, burning, recycling of scrap metal)

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Tasks of the EOD‐Service (KMBD)2. Search

• Different detection technologies depending from search area

Available technology consists of

• Magnetometers

• Metal detectors (active systems)

• Computer supported detection

• Multi-channel detection

• Bore hole detection

Because of lack of capacity the KMBD usually tasks commercial companies with large-scale search operations.

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Tasks of the EOD‐Service (KMBD)3. ERW Land Register

The KMBD maintains an ERW Land Register. This includes:• Collection• Systematization• Analysis of potentially ERW-contaminated areas.

Data collection is based on authentic sources such as• Eye-witness statements• War diaries• Military maps• Local and entrepreneurial chronicles• US wartime aerial photography (Saxony owns about

7000 photos, covering about 60% of its area)

Data is summarized and shown in specific ERW-contamination maps, which are referring to individual properties.The Land Register is a living document and constantly updated (new information, clearance activities, etc)

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Tasks of the EOD‐Service (KMBD)

4. Inter-agency support, advise and consultancy

• Risk research and prevention• Analysis of level of ERW-contamination on construction

areas• Preparation of constructional and infra-structural activities• Consultancy for law enforcement• Support of commercial training facilities• Training for fire fighters, civil defense etc. with regards to

ERW• Risk education

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1st question for a property developer: Is my property contaminated with ERW?

Procedure:

1.Request an ERW desktop survey within the application procedure ① all application data to constructional authority, ② no direct interaction with KMBD; the applicant interacts with the local authority who will get support

from KMBD if required

2.Three possible outcomes:① NO information to support possible contamination with ERW; the applicant is free to proceed without

further measures – OR:② No confirmed suspicious areas are known, but contamination with ERW cannot be ruled out; the

applicant is free to proceed but advised to observe caution and to consider measures such as visual observation during excavation or partial detection of area – OR:

③ There is a confirmed hazardous area or at least a high likeliness based on evidence; the applicant will be officially requested to endure measures of pro-active or concurrent ERW-response during earth-moving activities

NOTE: some administrative areas in Saxony and in other parts of Germany require a mandatory request for an ERW desktop survey since a bomb killed four workmen in Berlin in 1994,

Cost Implications:Some citizens try to bypass the procedure in fear of additional costs. (offense and potentially dangerous)In Saxony the costs are borne by the government (transport, recovery, disposal and search activities in CHA’s). The citizen only bears the costs for search activities on areas without ERW-suspicion and for the application procedure as per official rates.

Analysis of level of ERW‐contamination on construction areasPreparation of constructional and infra‐structural activities