Explosions at Munitions Dumps
eased to more than three per month – the highest rate recorded in a calendar year. It is unclear whether the problem is getting worse or reporting of incidents is improving. What is clear is that the number of explosions is not decreasing despite efforts to address their causes.” Almost all countries have one or more facilities for the storage of weapons and ammunition, which require constant surveillance by a technically skilled workforce, careful monitoring of the humidity and temperature levels of the stockpile, and the safe disposal of ammunition that has reached its “sell-by date”.
Pilar Reina, an SAS researcher, told IRIN news agency recently that “countries tend to consider surplus of ammunition as an asset rather than a liability, and, among other reasons, very often this explains why they do not prioritise Physical Security and Stockpile Management [PSSM].” Apart from better reporting of incidents, she cited three possible reasons for the increase in Unplanned Explosions at Munitions Sites (UEMS): aging ammunition, some of which dates back to the First World War; the dearth of technical and stockpile management expertise; which contribute to the failure to destroy unstable munitions stocks. This scenario calls for a cautious approach to be adopted by almost all countries in monitoring abandoned, damaged or inappropriately stored and managed stockpiles of ammunition and explosives and observe precautionary measures to avert undesired explosions..
