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From http://www.iribnews.ir/Full_en.asp?news_id=242006&n=32  IRIB PERSIAN NEWS

Bees hunt for landmines in Croatia

Swarms of honey bees buzz over Croatian meadows in an experimental hunt for explosives, making them new recruits in authorities’ efforts to clear away thousands of potentially deadly landmines.Researchers have been carrying out tests to see how well the bees can detect the scent of explosives, a project which in turn could help rid Croatia of the estimated 250,000 mines left from the 1991-1995 Serbo-Croatian war.

“So far we had excellent results, although the desired level of bees’ sensitivity is still not achieved. It is now only up to our perseverance,” Nikola Kezic, an agriculture professor at Zagreb university, told AFP.

The bees are being used mainly to check areas that have already been cleared by deminers in case any have been overlooked.

“For now we don’t take them to minefields before the method is validated, but instead we use test fields,” Kezic said, adding that one of the advantages of the method is that it takes only four days to train a new hive.

Although still in testing phase, experts place high hopes in the project, as it would significantly decrease demining costs.

It is being developed jointly by the university’s agriculture faculty and the Centre for Testing, Development and Training (CTRO).

Since the end of the war, some 450 people have been killed by landmines and 1,800 have been injured, according to national demining body, the Croatian mine action centre.

About 1,100 square kilometres (423 square miles) remain infested with mines, amounting to two percent of Croatia’s territory.

In addition to the 250,000 leftover mines, an equal number of unexploded projectiles are also believed to remain scattered throughout 12 of the country’s 21 counties.

“This project has very good prospects, although it is still in the phase of research,” said Nikola Pavkovic, director of CTRO, which was founded by the Croatian Mine Action Centre (HCR) to test and develop new methods and equipment.

Bees have been trained by placing small amounts of TNT in cups next to their feeders.

Researchers are now trying to train them to detect the smell of the tiniest traces of explosives.

“When we set a TNT sample, bees come to it, but the scent in the minefield near a landmine hidden under ground is much weaker and that is why we want to increase bees’ interest for much weaker intensity of the smell,” said Kezic.

Bees have long been trained in the pollination of field crops, Kezic explained.

In a minefield, swarms searching for food are followed by thermic cameras that can show them detecting mines.

Experts say the method’s low cost would greatly contribute to efforts to clear mine-infested areas.

SM

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