Ordinance and Explosives Geographical Information Systems

Previous experience in Former Used Defense Site (FUDS) remediation, and a strong instrumentation background, brought OEGIS to the forefront as a program requiring technologies which LTG, Inc. is developing.

Thousands of sites are under scrutiny for cleanup, however the cost of cleaning up a site poses interesting problems. This is like a sunken ship treasure hunt. You know basically where the ship is, from historical records. You know what it was carrying from manifests. A survey is done of the area to locate the ship. Once the ship is found, you are only interested in the gold coins, and not the forks, cups, plates, nails, and rigging. The Brute Force method scours every inch of the sea floor, processing everything. This will work. However, Brute Force methods are generally more expensive then the benefits of recovery.

This same problem exists in finding unexploded ordinance. You are only interested in those pieces that pose a threat, and are unsafe. Our military might over the years of preparation and deployment, is known for its effectiveness. It is also very safe. Methods and practices for safety in the use of ordinance is a fundamental in US Military operations. So much that the munitions sometimes do not go off at all. We call these duds. However, these duds still have the explosives in them. Now there exists an explosive hazard, deposited in the ground, hillside, cliff, and even vegetation (trees). Many of these areas are now recreational, residential, or industrial development locations. Inhabiting a former range that possesses hidden explosives is an accident waiting to happen.

So, we want the hidden explosives removed. The key word that LTG, Inc. is interested in, is explosives. All the Electromagnetic detection systems focus on the metal. Removal of all metallic objects (Brut Force) from a site, versus only a fraction that pose a threat, weighs heavily in the favor of explosives detection, and not metallic detection. Not to be misunderstood, the EM systems are very useful, and are the primary detection systems employed. However, before an anomaly is expensively removed it is prudent to know, "Does it contain explosives?".

This is what LTG, Inc. wants to answer, with instrumentation that focuses on the gold coins, and not the garbage. Methods of remediation found on this site are in current use today. The Army Corps of Engineers in Huntsville Alabama (CEHNC) are developing alongside contractors for remediation systems and standards. Please look through and feel free to use the materials found here.