• MAG's Foundry Project the first of its kind in Lao PDR
• Several demolitions carried out, each destroying items with a total weight of more than one ton
• Five to six thousand items of UXO to be cleared from scrap dealers’ yards
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Wired for sound: bulk demolitions are set up with the utmost care. |
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The sound of the demolitions could be heard 10 kilometres away. |
Phonsavanh town has been rocked by the biggest explosions heard since the end of the Vietnamese- American War more than 35 years ago.
This time though, the blasts have a more peaceful intent – destroying thousands of items of unexploded ordnance (UXO) left over from the late 1960s/early 1970s conflict.
With funding from the US Department of State, MAG has over recent weeks been conducting bulk demolitions of items piled up at a scrap metal foundry in the town.
Several demolitions, each destroying items with a total weight of more than one ton, have been carried out.
“The huge explosions from these demolitions been heard all over Phonsavanh, even though the demolition site is around 10 kilometres away,” said Soth Phommalinh, MAG’s Provincial Programme Manager.
MAG’s innovative Foundry Project is the first of its kind in Lao PDR. The initiative sees MAG work with the local scrap metal industry to clear UXO from the foundry and scrap dealers’ yards, reduce the acceptability of UXO within the trade [High-risk trade], provide scrap dealers with safety briefings and a reporting system for UXO.
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It’s about nine o’clock in the morning. Villagers searching for scrap metal on a valley floor deep in the jungle hear a huge explosion. The sound reverberates around the towering mountains. Someone has been unlucky today. From High-risk trade, an article exploring the UXO scrap industry in Lao PDR. |
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The foundry is the final destination of much of the scrap collected in Xieng Khouang. Since the project started in June 2008, more than 25,000 items at the foundry have been carefully examined and sorted into groups for demolition.
Most items have been moved away from the town for demolition, but some are too dangerous to move and will be dealt with in situ. Local residents in the vicinity will be evacuated first.
The next stage of the project is to clear an estimated five to six thousand items of UXO from scrap dealers’ yards.
Links:
- High-risk trade [an earlier article exploring the UXO scrap trade]
- Bomb Harvest movie [external site]
- BBC Radio World Service audio: 'Bomb Hunters' [external site]
- MAG Lao microsite
13 November 08
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