Comments on: Egyptian Researchers Aim to Clear Landmines Using Bacteria and Plants

By: Mohamed Sallam

Mohamed Sallam — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 23:33:19 +0000

Dear All,
Thank you very much for this interesting topic. Please update us with any details, I have a promising idea that may positively impact the efficiency of the detection method.
Best Regards,
Mohamed Sallam

By: φωτοβολταικα συστηματα

φωτοβολταικα συστηματα — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 13:10:54 +0000

Very interesting topic!
Do you think there will be a positive development?

Do we have any updated information?

By: Laurel Anne Hill

Laurel Anne Hill — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 05:23:08 +0000

The situation is complex. There are many types of landmines. Basically, however, they fall into two main categories: Anti-personnel (AP) and Anti-vehicle (AV) mines.

AP landmines are the most common. The weight of a dog or a child is enough to set them off. These days, their casings are generally plastic.

AV landmines contain more explosives than AP landmines do and also require a greater weight to trigger them. AV landmine casings can be made of metal or plastic. However, metal AV landmine removal becomes complicated if plastic AP landmines are planted nearby.

But then there are explosive remnants of war (ERW) which consist of items such as artillery shells, grenades and cluster munitions that have not exploded. These are not landmines but they can remain dangerous, function as AP landmines do, and even be called landmines in error. Most such explosive ordnance tends to be made primarily of metal and explosives.

I checked the “Explosive Remnants of War and Mines Other Than Anti-Personnel Mines” global survey 2003-2004, issued by Mines Action Canada. According to that report, only 20 – 25% of the estimated 23 million landmines in Egypt at that time were actually AP or AV landmines. The rest were ERW, which are not technically landmines (even if they produce the same result) and would mainly be comprised of metal and explosives.

I suspect that at least some of Egypt’s planned action is to destroy ERW.

By: Tafline Laylin

Tafline Laylin — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 06:20:35 +0000

Thanks Laurel. That’s good to know. What are newer land mines made of?

By: Laurel Anne Hill

Laurel Anne Hill — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 16:53:24 +0000

I would like to clarify a point. When I first heard about the Egyptian plan, I asked how many of the landmines in that country had iron bodies that the bacteria could attack. Many modern landmines contain little metal. However, if the Egyptian mines are older, the metal content would be much, much higher.