Ordnance sound in MV: Where the old grenades are hidden!

Ordnance sound in MV: Where the old grenades are hidden!

In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania there were over 260 immediate operations by the ammunition recovery service in 2023. Grenades were found primarily during construction work in places like Mönchhagen and at a primary school in Grevesmühlen, which clearly illustrates the dangers that lie beneath the ground. Interior Minister Christian Pegel (SPD) has clearly emphasized that thousands of tons of war material from the two world wars are stored in the state, especially in forests, fields and even in the Baltic Sea. Baden-Württemberg, Hesse and other federal states also rely on their explosive ordnance disposal services to deal with this burden.

The explosive ordnance register currently lists 866 contaminated areas with a total size of 91,528 hectares, which corresponds to around 3.9% of the country's area, and endangered areas such as ports and coastal regions cannot be ruled out. The situation is particularly critical in Rostock, on the Wustrow peninsula, around Peenemünde on Usedom and in the south of Schwerin, where the highest danger categories are registered. Around 28,700 hectares of forest area fall into the highest danger category 4 of the explosive ordnance register, a serious concern for local residents.

The challenges of explosive ordnance disposal

The disposal of explosive ordnance is a state matter, although in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania the ammunition recovery service at the state office for central tasks and technology of the police is responsible for this. The federal government bears the costs for federally owned areas, while the state bears the costs for other areas and can reimburse these costs upon application to the federal government. According to the ministers, however, a reliable estimate of how much ammunition is still hidden in the ground remains difficult. By the time he took over the chairmanship of the federal-state working group on explosive ordnance disposal in 2025, immediate operations and scheduled orders had skyrocketed; In 2024, 378 immediate operations and 283 planned orders to search for explosive ordnance were recorded.

Throughout Germany, the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Service (KRD) has the crucial task of dealing with unaccounted explosive ordnance, most of which was produced before 1945. These include, among other things, improperly stored leftover ammunition and bombs that have come to light in recent decades. The KRD's specialized employees not only deal with the defusing, but also with the disposal of unexploded ordnance. This shows that in many federal states the scope of tasks is variable and the respective responsibilities can vary greatly depending on where you are.

A look into the future

The federal government has launched an emergency program worth 100 million euros for the recovery of old ammunition dumps in the North and Baltic Seas. A pilot project to recover World War munitions off Boltenhagen was started in August in order to identify and eliminate the dangers of dumped war munitions. An additional 190 million euros are planned for clearing contaminated federal properties in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. A total of 6.5 million euros has already been planned for munitions recovery in MV in 2025, so that the work can progress.

Since 1990, 2,582 tons of ammunition have been successfully recovered during various clearance operations and 249 tons during immediate operations in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. However, the danger is omnipresent - and so the work of the explosive ordnance disposal services remains of central importance for the safety of citizens. Especially since a total of eight employees died during operations between 2000 and 2010, this critical area continues to be followed with great interest by the media and the public.

With the Federal Center for Ammunition Salvage located in Rostock and the focus of prevention work, it is clear that the dangers posed by old ammunition and weapons that have not been defused must not be underestimated. Every day counts to protect people's lives and secure the environment.