Accidents and incidents in Humanitarian Demining (HD) · Accidents and Incidents in Humanitarian Demining (HD) - ... because manual demining is still the ... T55 Tank and Rollers

European-American Workshop 2002September 11-13, 2002; BAM-Berlin; Germany

Christina Müller, Martina Scharmach, Andy Smith

Accidents and Incidents in Accidents and Incidents in Humanitarian Humanitarian DeminingDemining (HD) (HD) --

the Need to Keep Accurate the Need to Keep Accurate Records for Meaningful AnalysisRecords for Meaningful Analysis

Christina Mueller, Martina Scharmach (presenters) BAM-Berlin; GermanyAndy Smith (author) AVS, Monmouth, Wales,UK



According to the UN’s International Mine Action Standards (IMAS) for humanitarian demining, a demining “accident” occurs when a deminer is injured by an explosive device during clearance. An “incident” occurs when a civilian is injured by an explosive device. Reliability investigations are aimed to prevent both – the following situations should be avoided more and more –example cases:



Accident in KosovoAccident in Kosovo



The most common accident that occurs in humanitarain deminingis when an anti-personnel blast mine detonates while it is being uncovered. The picture shows a deminer in Afghanistan. Most deminers work in a similar position when investigating a signal from their metal detector. He loosens the ground with a short bayonet, then scoops the loose spoil away with his left hand.



If the mine detonates, his hand is so close that it will be severely damaged. Hand and arm injuries are the most common disabling injuries in humanitarian demining.But they may only be the most common because manual demining is still the most common way of clearing mines. Even when dogs are used, the manual deminer must later move in to find the mines. When machines are used, a second method must be used to check the ground and deminers have been injured and killed while doing this.



T55 Tank and RollersT55 Tank and Rollers

The picture shows a Soviet T55 tank with KMT5 military mine-roller system on the front. The tank was sent from the former East Germany to Angola for use clearing anti tank mines near the border with Namibia. The barrel of the tank has been removed and the roller system attached to the front.Unfortunately, mechanical systems designed for military use do not clear mines very efficiently.



Tank in an ExplosionTank in an Explosion

This picture was taken when the tank ran over a mine it had missed. The rear of the tank was thrown high into the air and the armour was breached. The blast pressure killed one of the occupants.



Missed MineMissed Mine

The next most common disabling injury to occur when demining is for the victim to step on a mine he has missed as he works.This deminer is on a stretcher in Mozambique. The loss of both legs like this is relatively uncommon, but damage to the second leg occurs often and makes it harder for the victim to recover and use a prosthetic leg.Notice how the trauma of the blast prevents excessive bleeding.



AVS Database of AVS Database of DeminingDemining AccidentsAccidents

The AVS Database of Demining Accidents is a record of deminers injured by explosives while at work. The records are summarised for easy searching, and any written reports available are included so that a researcher may check the summary. When creating the database, the aim was not to provide data for quantitative analysis. The author saw the database as a useful source of information for managers and a relevant training tool for field use. The author wanted to facilitate the following:



1) Research1) Research

By providing “snapshots” of activities surrounding accidents, the database can be used as an introduction to how demining is actually carried out.

The author recommend its use when preparing Technical Advisors (TA) for field deployment.



2) Training 2) Training

As a training aid, real events can be used to show the importance of safety issues such as adequate area marking, appropriate tools and detectors, cautious excavation, quality control checks, blast visors, etc. It also provides salutary lessons over the need for good training, adequate field control, open management, appropriate medical and communications equipment, and so on.

Several demining NGOs have asked for the medical details in the database for use when training their field medics.



3) Reference3) Reference

The database proved invaluable during the revision of some parts of the international standards (IMAS) because the range of opinion canvassed was very broad and based on heartfelt individual experience. Reference to the database established the prevalence of severe hand-injury and showed which mines and demining activities posed the greatest threat. It also showed that over-protection with ineffective PPE extras was neither desirable nor necessary.



4) Demythologising4) Demythologising

Demining engenders myths of danger, heroism and the “black art”. The database explodes many of the myths – and shows how simple demining actually is. It also shows how multilayered management remote from the actual work can introduce new dangers by imposing their ignorance.



5) Identifying Causes5) Identifying Causes

The available evidence clearly indicates that deminererror is an infrequent cause of an accident, and that failures in the control chain are far more common. When seeking to reduce the number of accidents and/or the severity of resulting injury, understanding why accidents occur is essential.



6) Archive6) Archive

The database provides an archive to ensure that data is preserved. For example, with the closure of the Kosovo MACC, their accident investigations would be very hard to access if they were not included in the DDAS. Also, a dataset of accidents in Mozambique was recently returnedto the MAC in Mozambique, where the original records had been lost. And in Cambodia, most of the records that have survived are heldin Khmer, so the DDAS provides an english language translation for those wanting to learn from past accidents.



Quantitative Data AnalysisQuantitative Data Analysis



Example:Example:

Defining the Defining the ““ThreatThreat”” Mines as Mines as Those Most Frequently Involved in Those Most Frequently Involved in

Accidents, the Current List Accidents, the Current List (April 2002) Reads:(April 2002) Reads:



DeminingDemining Accidents in the DDASAccidents in the DDAS

AP blast 74%AP B/frag 8%Fuze 5%AP Frag 4%AT 3%Ordnance 2%Submunition 1%Other/unknown 3%



Deaths in Deaths in DeminingDemining AccidentsAccidents


The AP blast and AP bounding-fragmentation situation is reversed with many more deaths from bounding-fragmentation mines than from AP blast mines. You should also notice that ordnance, which only features in 2% of all accidents, causes a significant proportion of fatalities.



It should also be noted that the majority of the ordnance deathsoccurred in Kuwait during the post gulf-war clean up and before any International safety standards for humanitarian deminingexisted.

To make an analysis of injury significant the author has had to draw a distinction between “severe” injuries and “minor” injuries. The author define the difference as:

Minor: a minor injury is one that does not require surgical intervention and does not result in long-term disability.Severe: a severe injury is one that results in long-term disability or requires surgical intervention.

This is a fairly crude distinction but the author has found it useful.



Severe Injuries in Severe Injuries in DeminingDemining AccidentsAccidents




Activity During AP Blast AccidentsActivity During AP Blast Accidents

Excavation 46.5%Demolition 1%Detection 2%Handling 5.5%Stepping on Missed mine 29%Survey 6%Vegetation removal 3%Victim inattention 7%



Common Injuries when Excavating AP Blast MinesCommon Injuries when Excavating AP Blast Mines(as a % of all Excavation Accidents)(as a % of all Excavation Accidents)

Loss of eye or eyes 6.7% Severe eye 22.7%Amp fingers 11.5%Amp Hand 2.2%Amp Arm 4.1%Severe arm 6.3%Severe shoulder 1.9%Severe hand 16.4%

In about 30% of all excavation accidents with AP blast mines – a severe eye injury occurs.In about 42% of all excavation accidents with AP blast mines – a severe injury to a hand or arm occurs.



Causes of the InjuriesCauses of the Injuries

Severe eye injury results from: 1) The issue of inappropriate eye protection – such as the thin industrial safety spectacles that are still widely used; 2) The issue of visors that cannot be seen through.2) The use of visors that are not down at the time of detonation.3) The use of old, UV hardened visors that shatter on blast impact.

Severe hand and arm injury results from:1) The use of a short tool meaning that the hand is within 30cm of the mine when it detonates.2) The use of an inappropriate digging method so that the hand is above the mine when it detonates.3) The use of a tool that shatters on detonation and the parts inflict other injuries.



Frequency AnalysisFrequency Analysis



Most important was the observation that, with appropriate protection, most demining accidents could result in very minor injury and no permanent disability. (Most involve AP blast mines.)The author has been unable to find any accurate record of the numbers of injuries in the construction or the taxi-driving industries in developing countries in order to make a comparison. Informal surveys in Pakistan imply a much higher accident rate in the construction industry.It is a myth that manual demining is especially dangerous.



MissedMissed--DevicesDevices



Missed mines found by the deminers stepping on them are recorded in the AVS Database of Accidents and make up 23% of recorded accidents. Some of those records refer to devices missed by dogs and machines.



SummarySummary and Outlookand Outlook

The data in the Database of Demining Accidents is not extensive enough to allow quantitative data analysis of demining methods and their relative safety. Useful data about the effectiveness of various clearance methods does exist, but access has hitherto been restricted. When reliable data is available, meaningful analysis can begin and compelling conclusions can be derived. But already now the AVS data base provides:valuable information material for research, training, reference, demythologising, identifying cames and archiving.Copies of the author's Database of Demining Accidents (DDAS) are available to demining researchers from GICHD at no cost, contact [email protected]

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Accidents and incidents in Humanitarian Demining (HD) · Accidents and Incidents in Humanitarian Demining (HD) - ... because manual demining is still the ... T55 Tank and Rollers