How difficult is it to detect and disable landmines?
Different types of landmines pose different threats to those who clear them. Anti-vehicle landmines are usually easier to detect. However, some can be fitted with anti-handling devices – or booby traps – which are designed to initiate the landmine if it is tampered with. Many anti-personnel landmines are made of plastic and have minimum metal content (usually just a firing pin, and the metal jacket of a detonator). Hi-tech metal detectors are used and these landmines can be found (a mine detector does not exist at the moment). However it is slow and painstaking work because of the care that must be taken not only to locate the landmine but to ensure that 100 per cent of the contaminated land is searched without missing any items. The hard work has been done once the landmine has been detected and identified. The next step is to either destroy it in situ or make it safe (disarm it) and destroy it at a later date.
Related Questions
- Since many chemical and biological weapons are difficult to detect, won’t it be too late for me to save my life by putting on my gas mask or respirator once I’ve become aware of the threat?
- What kinds of methods are currently used to detect and disable landmines?
- How difficult is it to detect and disable landmines?
