ISEE Special Call for Student Papers
from the ISEE
The ISEE Conference Program is pleased to announce the Call for Student Papers to be presented at the 36th Annual Conference on Explosives & Blasting Technique, the largest gathering of its kind involving field blasters, manufacturers of explosives-related products, educators and researchers, to be held in Orlando, Fla., Feb. 7-10, 2010. More

Special Devices Inc. Bringing 250 Jobs to East Valley
from The Arizona Republic
A quick response to save a long time business in east Mesa is resulting in jobs for the East Valley. Within weeks of hearing that California-based Special Devices Inc., was consolidating its automotive operations, Mesa city officials made it a priority to approve building permits so the company could quickly transfer its production lines to its facilities near Greenfield Road and Loop 202. More

Improved Seismology Tools Can Detect and Locate Low-yield Nuclear Explosions
from PhysOrg
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is leading a joint project with Los Alamos and Sandia national laboratories, as well as the Air Force Technical Applications Center (AFTAC) and Quantum Technology Sciences, Inc., to improve the accuracy of regional seismic travel time (RSTT) predictions to detect and locate low-yield nuclear explosions. More

Ohio Explosives Plant Blast Turns Fatal
from the Dayton Daily News
A woman has died more than a month after being injured in a blast that ripped through an explosives plant in southeast Ohio. Forty-three-year-old Marletta Betts died of complications from burns early Monday at Ohio State University Medical Center in Columbus, according to Franklin County Coroner Jan Gorniak. More

Homeland Security Grants Cody $112K Robot for Explosive Threats
from Cody Enterprises
It can scoot down the aisle of a plane and reach into an overhead compartment, it can keep its operator out of harm's way and, if it’s particularly obliging, it can fetch a can of pop for its operator. More

Hybrids' Thirst for Metal Causes Mining Concerns
from The Los Angeles Times
Hybrid cars are often lauded as a step toward a more sustainable future for cars. However, some of the rare earth metals needed to make the electric motors and batteries for cars like the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight are getting harder to come by. More

Scientists Simulate 3.0 Earthquake in Negev
from The Jerusalem Post
The Seismology Branch of the Geophysical Institute of Israel carried out a controlled detonation of 80 tons of explosives as part of a joint Israel-US-European scientific experiment on Wednesday morning. The above-ground explosion in the Negev desert was equal to an earthquake of 3.0 on the Richter scale. More

Live Bombs Litter Hope, Ark.
from KTAL
Defense contractors have been brought in to clear left over World War II explosives from what used to be known as the Southwest Proving Ground. The 50,000 acre section of land in Hempstead County, Ark. is now home to unsuspecting residents who regularly stumble across the bombs. More

Quarry License Denied to Protect Bird Sanctuary
from The Community Press
The Ontario Municipal Board has directed the Ministry of Natural Resources not to issue a quarry license to Drain Bros. Excavating Ltd. for the extraction of limestone aggregate from its 72-hectare site five kilometers north of Havelock, Ontario. More

Ky. Fines Blasting Contractor Over Boulder
from the Lexington Herald-Leader
State mining officials have fined a blasting contractor $10,000 for an explosion last week that sent a large boulder tumbling downhill and into a Floyd County home. The Division of Mine Reclamation and Enforcement said Monday that it cited Austin Powder Company for the unsafe use of explosives and for a "flyrock incident" caused by unsafe practices. More

'Send Him Down the Mines," They Said. So I Went.
from The Times Online
King Coal, a season of films at the BFI, fills me the admiration for the miners, whose dignity is heartbreaking and inspiring. More