According to John Scott, explosive response team trainer and adviser for the Department of Public Safety, the average detonation frequency is about three to five times a year.
“We may have to conduct more detonation operations in the future, depending on the amount of unexploded ordnance we can gather from around the islands,” Scott said.
Saipan’s last detonation operation was in Dec. 2007.
He said they have to let the unexploded ordnance stuff accumulate before asking the U.S. Navy to detonate the munitions.
Scott is asking the community to call 911 immediately to report any sightings or discovery of any unexploded ordnance in their backyards or areas.
“When you see unexploded ordnance, don’t mess with it. Call the police immediately and let the trained experts come and get it out,” Scott said.
He warned residents not to try to handle any unexploded ordnance and keep it far from fire.
“The experts will assess if the ordnance is safe to move or not, and if it is, they will store it with other unexploded ordnance in a storage bunker in Marpi,” he said.
He added that they conduct regular retrieval of unexploded ordnance on island.
“We need people to continue to report any single discovery from your backyards,” Scott said.
He said in the past years, over a thousand bombs have been unearthed.
On Friday morning, a bomb disposal team composed of U.S. Navy experts, DPS personnel and a private company detonated about 250 pieces of unexploded World War II ordnance in Marpi.
Jeff Black of the U.S. Navy said since most of the recovered pieces of unexploded ordnance were mostly over 65 years old, they brought in modern explosives to make sure that “everything is blown off and nothing will be left.”
“It is extremely important to detonate all the unexploded ordnance to keep the public safe, and to avoid the risk of having the average resident of Saipan accidentally detonating one of this ordnance in their backyards,” Black said.
The pieces of unexploded ordnance — U.S. and Japanese bombs, projectiles, hand grenades, mortar rounds, and other ordnance items — were buried in a sandy pit before the bomb disposal team went up the Suicide Cliff lookout to detonate them.
Local police and firefighters also blocked the road to stop anybody from straying into the area.
“This is a large tourist impact area so our concern is to minimize the impact so the tourists and visitors would be the least affected in the detonation operation,” Black said.
Lt. Erich Gurges of the U.S. Navy, who led the bomb disposal team, said that most of the recovered unexploded ordnance is extremely hazardous.
“There are some which are moderately hazardous, while others are not dangerous as they are just casing,” Gurges said.
