Bomb disposal

Bomb disposal is the process by which hazardous explosive devices are rendered safe. Bomb disposal is an all-encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated functions in the military fields of Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) and Improvised Explosive Device Disposal (IEDD), and the public safety roles of Public Safety Bomb Disposal (PSBD) and the Bomb Squad.

"Bomb disposal" does not encompass the remediation of soils polluted with explosive materials.

History

The first professional civilian bomb squad was established by Sir Vivian Dering Majendie. As a Major in the Royal Artillery, Majendie investigated an explosion on 2 October 1874 in the Regent's Canal, when the barge 'Tilbury', carrying six barrels of petroleum and five tons of gunpowder, blew up, killing the crew and destroying Macclesfield Bridge and cages at nearby London Zoo.

In 1875, he framed The Explosives Act, the first modern legislation for explosives control. He also pioneered many bomb disposal techniques, including remote methods for the handling and dismantling of explosives. His advice during the Fenian dynamite campaign of 1881-85 was officially recognised as having contributed to the saving of lives. After Victoria Station was bombed on 26 February 1884 he defused a bomb with a clockwork mechanism which might have gone off at any moment.

Bomb

A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechanical stress, the impact and penetration of pressure-driven projectiles, pressure damage, and explosion-generated effects. Bombs have been in use since the 11th century in Song Dynasty China.

The term bomb is not usually applied to explosive devices used for civilian purposes such as construction or mining, although the people using the devices may sometimes refer to them as a "bomb". The military use of the term "bomb", or more specifically aerial bomb action, typically refers to airdropped, unpowered explosive weapons most commonly used by air forces and naval aviation. Other military explosive weapons not classified as "bombs" include grenades, shells, depth charges (used in water), warheads when in missiles, or land mines. In unconventional warfare, "bomb" can refer to a range of offensive weaponry. For instance, in recent conflicts, "bombs" known as improvised explosive devices (IEDS) have been employed by insurgent fighters to great effectiveness.

The Long Walk

The Long Walk is a dystopian novel by Stephen King published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman in 1979 as a paperback original. It was collected in 1985 in the hardcover omnibus The Bachman Books, and has seen several reprints since, as both paperback and hardback. Set in a dystopian present following an alternate history in which Germany appears to have won World War II, the plot revolves around the contestants of a grueling walking contest, held annually by a totalitarian version of the United States of America. In 2000, the American Library Association listed The Long Walk as one of the 100 best books for teenage readers published between 1966 and 2000. According to Stephen King, it is the first novel he wrote, begun eight years before his novel Carrie was published in 1974, when he was a freshman at the University of Maine in 1966–1967.

Plot summary

One hundred teenage boys participate in an annual walking contest called "The Long Walk" or just "The Walk". Each contestant, called a "Walker", must maintain a speed of at least four miles per hour; if he drops below that speed for 30 seconds, he receives a verbal warning. A Walker who slows down again after receiving three warnings is "ticketed". The meaning of this action is intentionally kept vague at first, but it soon becomes clear that "buying a ticket" means to be shot dead by soldiers riding in half-tracks along the roadside. Walkers may be shot immediately for certain serious violations, such as trying to leave the road or attacking the half-track, and are given warnings for minor violations such as interfering with one another. The soldiers use electronic equipment to precisely determine a Walker's speed. A Walker clears one warning for every hour that he stays above the minimum speed.