Preserving bombs ‘dangerous’

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

REQUESTS to preserve and display some of the vintage bombs discovered at the Kawit Island of the South Road Properties (SRP) were rejected by the Central Command (CentCom) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

The bombs are too dangerous and should be detonated, military officials said.

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Aside from the Fort San Pedro museum, war veterans in Cebu City and the Toledo City Government want to take custody of some of the bombs and preserve them, said Philip Zafra, the chief of staff of Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama.

Zafra met with officials of CentCom, the Special Weapons and Tactics (Swat) team of the Cebu City Police Office and the Cebu City Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council yesterday morning to discuss the matter.

He said that during their meeting, CentCom officials expressed a “strong opposition” to the request to preserve the bombs.

“They discouraged preserving the bombs because it’s very dangerous. They will not take the risk because they know the effects of these bombs,” he said.

The bombs contain picric acid, an odorless, yellow chemical compound used in military explosives.

According to a British Columbia Museums in Canada document, picric acid is dangerous as it is highly sensitive to shock, friction or heat, and may decompose explosively.

CentCom officials also said that the chemical is poisonous and can cause allergies to a person exposed to it.

The official told Zafra that if the bombs will be preserved, they have to be disarmed.

“They said the picric acid will have to be removed,” said Zafra.

However, the CentCom officials said they don’t have the equipment to safely remove the chemical, so all the vintage bombs will have to be detonated.

As of last count, a total of 28 bombs have been dug up from Kawit Island.

In an interview yesterday, Zafra said they hope to detonate all the vintage bombs tomorrow. He is optimistic that the supply of C4 explosives they requested from Camp Aguinaldo will arrive today.

For today, the City will prepare the disposal site at the Carmen Copper Corp. in Toledo City, the same site where one of the vintage bombs was detonated last Saturday.

Only one vintage bomb was detonated that day due to the lack of C4 explosives.