UXO SOUVENIRS

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@igc.org>]

From: Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@igc.org>

UXO SOUVENIRS
Typically, one of the first "public" responses to the discovery of 
unexploded ordnance in a public area is for souvenir hunters, armed 
with metal detectors, to go out looking for shells, grenades, and other 
weapons. Data on UXO-related accidents is dominated by the explosions 
of such souvenirs, many of which are transported off-site to homes and 
businesses.
An important protective response, therefore, would be to discourage or 
even prevent unauthorized collection of identifiable ordnance - on the 
assumption that it might include unexploded charges. The consequences 
of an explosion should be a sufficient deterrent, but it isn't. One 
might argue that collectors get what they deserve - and that their 
deaths would aid in the evolutionary process - but often the people 
injured or killed are not the collectors themselves.
If there are laws outlawing the collection of unexploded military 
ordnance, they should probably be made more effective. If such laws do 
not exist, they should be considered. Does the federal government have 
the authority to legislate against such activity on its own property? 
Can it outlaw souvenir munitions collection at former defense sites?
Lenny Siegel