UXO

Taking a boob tube break from packing, we came across a show about the islands of the South Pacific. The narrator mentioned that Solomon Islands were the site of intense fighting during WWII and hub casually mentions that one of the big tasks with the new campus is that they have to have unexploded ordnance aka UXO cleared from the site of the campus.

Quick google search turned up some interesting reads about past UXO removals:

Solomon Islands and issue of unexploded ordnance (UXO) from WWII

COMPLETION-MUNDA AIRPORT, SOLOMON ISLANDS – UXO CONSULTING

Navy Clearance Divers Mentor Royal Solomon Islands Police In Explosive Ordnance Disposal

Australian Clearance Divers clean up unexploded ordnance in the Solomon Islands

I'm gobsmacked. Here's one quote that I just can't get over:

“Many of the UXOs had to be destroyed in situ as they were too dangerous to move. In one case a village had to be evacuated while a naval shell was rendered safe with a carefully placed shaped charge. The fuse of the shell in question was in such an unstable state that the slightest nudge could still have set it off."

72 years later and this is still live ordnance. Wow.

It looks like this move and this job isn't going to be anything like the others.