De-Mining

De-Mining

The purpose of humanitarian demining is to remove harmful remnants of war. This allows refugees an opportunity to return to their homes and return to their lives and allow the rebuilding process to begin. Those that are manual de-miners use a metal detector and go over the ground of a designated area, not missing one square inch with a prod and trowel method.

The area is first identified by mine detection dogs that go ahead and sniff out the landmines, identifying them by the odor that the explosive material leaves behind. Once an area is detected by the dogs it is marked so that the de-miners can manually investigate it. Mechanical metal detectors and ground-penetrating radar are used to clear mines, as well. The most effective landmine clearance operations will include a combination of manual and mechanical methods, as well as mine detection dogs.

De-miners are usually trained experts that are part of the military or international community working through non-governmental organizations or even members of the local community. However, prior to any landmines being cleared it must be determined the exact location and size of the minefield and the number of landmines it contains.

The areas where landmines are originally placed are rarely mapped so this process must be engaged. This is an important procedure as there are many factors that can cause mines to migrate and contaminate safe land. Once this information is gathered and potential minefields are marked, de-miners can start. The methods for demining include manual, mine detection dogs, and mechanical.

Effective landmine clearance programs usually combine several methods by using the most appropriate and cost-effective methods for each specific project. The manual method ensures a 100% clearance rate but there are drawbacks. Metal detectors are less successful finding plastic mines with low metal content. Since metal detectors react to all metal in the soil, a high rate of false alarms means that de-miners may waste time searching for mines that are not there.