Experts in explosives from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson went towards Cold Bay, near the western edge of the Alaska Peninsula, on Oct. 30 to investigate the report of a hunter from the area about what was believed to be a huge artillery shell that had not been detonated. The shell was discovered in the middle of the federally-protected Izembek National Wildlife Refuge an important habitat for species of migratory birds as well as other wildlife.
U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Tyrone Powell, the explosives ordnance disposal team’s leader for that mission has confirmed that the hunter found an unexploded military round.
“It’s massive artillery” Powell said. “When we lifted it up from the earth, it was around six or 700 pounds. It took us four to get it out.”
The shell measured about 12 inches in diameter and 4 feet long. Powell claimed that the particular form of round was made in 1943 during WWII however it could have been manufactured any time up until the 1990s.
“What was fascinating about the round was that it was divided open, which meant there was no explosive inside. It must be beneath the ground for quite a long time before that could take place,” Powell said.
Photos of the bomb reveal that the region has a number of large divots that are found in the tundra that point towards military operations in the pastthat is, that is, the U.S. military built a base in the area in the 1940s.
“It appears to be a demolition site to remove old weapons,” Powell said. “What we’re assuming was was one of these pieces of ordnance … was kicked away from the area where it was being blown to pieces. These kinds of objects are hidden in the soil and then eventually, they make toward their destination.”
The team of military personnel utilized explosives to eliminate the explosives where it was located -situated in the middle of the huge 315,000-acre refuge, which has one of the largest grass beds of eelgrass.
Noise pollution has an adverse impact on wildlife. But the representatives of the refuge have said that they observed the birds in nearby lakes prior to the detonation and found them in the area afterward, with no reaction.
Izembek is an important habitat for more than a quarter million birds that migrate through the area. This also includes Pacific Black Brant a unique species of goose whose whole population can be found in the refuge just at this time of the year in the fall when it migrates.
The refuge claimed that the explosion occurred far away from the majority of the waterfowl that migrate and was not close to the Eelgrass areas where brants eat.
