– When we know that blasting has taken place in the past, and we don’t know if there are any explosives left – it feels very uncertain. So says Terje Dolmseth, rock blasting manager for Acciona construction on the Ranheim-Værnes section. Wants order On the project to build a new E6 in Trøndelag, they have benefited from help from the four-legged all the way. But it is not mandatory to use dogs to search for unexploded dynamite. – I think it is very strange that there has not been an order about it. I know that there are many more people who want to use it, and who demand that dogs be used, says Dolmseth. Terje Dolmseth in Acciona construction believes that it should become a requirement to use dynamite dogs. Photo: Bent Lindsetmo / news The new Helltunnel will be approximately four kilometers long, and will be built for the 110 zone. Dolmseth describes it as quick and safe to use a dog in the work. – There could be up to 30 derelicts on the entire stretch. Then it is very good if someone finds them before we go after them. In the tunnel, they have detonated around 1,000 volleys. Before it was possible to get help from a dog, the areas had to be examined visually. – It will only be superficial. It works at first, but becomes a poor substitute for using a dog. – I believe and hope that there will be an order in the near future. A discovery is a discovery that can save something. DSB believes that the use of a dog can be a suitable measure in some construction projects where explosives are left behind. Photo: Bent Lindsetmo / news Not appropriate The Norwegian Directorate for Public Security and Preparedness (DSB) administers the regulations for civilian handling of explosives. Head of section Brit Skadberg in the section for chemical safety, writes to news that it is not appropriate to regulate which method should be used to neutralize detonators. – Using a dog may be the right measure in some construction projects where explosives remain from previous activities, but will not necessarily be so in all cases. Read the full response from DSB at the bottom of the case. Since 2012, the Directorate has registered ten personal injuries as a result of residual explosives. The injuries occurred in connection with drilling or handling masses after blasting, and primarily affected employees on the construction site. Corona uses his sense of smell to find undetonated explosives. Photo: Bent Lindsetmo / news In 2016, an excavator driver died after being spiked in remaining explosives. Last year there were seven detonations in sawmills, but none resulted in personal injury. So far in 2022, there have been seven detonations in detonators. No personal injuries have been reported this year either. Many hundreds of kilos Kristoffer Modell is responsible for canine expertise at AF Decom, and part of the group that specializes in the use of dogs to search for remaining explosives in the construction industry. Together with six-year-old Corona, he has spent several hours here in the tunnel recently. – The dog uses its sense of smell to go over the areas we are going to search over, and if there are residues or larger quantities left – the dog will show us the area or “pin point” exactly where it is, says Modell. The group has four dogs that have followed a training program over a year. Now they have work all over Norway, in addition to some assignments in Sweden. – It has been very well proven by both the Norwegian Armed Forces and Norwegian People’s Aid, which by using mine dogs has resulted in us having a program that means that the dogs are specialized in finding explosives for the construction industry. The new Helltunnel will be four kilometers long and will have a 110 zone. Photo: Bent Lindsetmo / news More people see the benefit AF Decom started with dogs as a project in 2011. But from 2017 they have had their own dogs. – Since then, we have found quite a lot – from small amounts to finds as large as over 100 kilos, says Modell. – I think it shows that the work we do with the dogs is important. We wish that both contractors and builders had made this a measure to be implemented. We had seen that as a great advantage for everyone who works with this. He adds that several people put it as a demand or a measure where it has been blown up in the past. – There are more and more tunnels, and more people see the importance of using a dog. It is cost-effective and provides a normal, natural progress in the project without delaying it – in addition to being a good risk-reducing measure. – And we see a big increase in the number of contractors who want to use it because they see the great benefit of it. The dog group in AF Decom hopes that more contractors and builders make the use of dogs a requirement. Photo: Bent Lindsetmo / news Read the full response from DSB here: “DSB administers the regulations for civilian handling of explosives. The purpose of these regulations is, among other things, to ensure that the legal use of explosives occurs without accidents and that explosives do not leave the legal handling chain. Remaining explosives that have not detonated after blasting in construction projects is a security challenge for the industry. The Explosives Regulations require rock blasters to check after firing explosives that there are no detonators left. Detractors must be rendered harmless as soon as possible. However, it is not appropriate to regulate which method should be used. The same will be the case for remaining undetonated explosives from old blasting works from years ago. Ground searches with dogs for remaining undetonated explosives is a relatively new service in the civilian market and a tool the industry can use. The use of dogs for ground searches for remaining explosives has proven effective. Blasting is carried out in many construction projects where all areas are unique in terms of assessment of how the blasting is to be carried out and the type of explosives to be used. The use of a dog may be the right measure in certain construction projects where explosives remain from previous activities, but will not necessarily be so in all cases. In any case, a ground search with a dog for remaining explosives cannot be used as the only measure in an area where explosives may remain, as one cannot be completely sure that the dog has detected everything. Anyone involved in construction projects where it is suspected that there may be residual explosives must exercise caution. On a general basis, all handling of explosives must be done after mapping the sources of danger where unwanted incidents that may occur have been identified. Where a risk has been identified, measures must be taken to reduce the risk to an acceptable level. Which measures will be right in the different cases must be assessed separately and it is therefore not appropriate to impose the use of a specific method.”
ttn-69
Thinks that the use of dogs to search for remaining explosives must be mandated – news Trøndelag
