INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON MINE CLEARANCE TECHNOLOGY 2-4 July 1996 Copenhagen, DENMARK STANDARDS FOR HUMANITARIAN MINE CLEARANCE OPERATIONS STANDARDS FOR MINED AREA MARKING David McCracken Background 1. Standing armies, such as within NATO and the former Warsaw Pact forces, have agreed to a common methodology to mark mined areas. Although those agreements exist, the reality of marked mined fields in affected countries does not bear witness to this standard. Civil wars and guerrilla type warfare are characterized by heavy usage of mines without any marking or recording of mined areas. Localized marking techniques have been used in mine affected countries. Techniques such as crossed sticks and broken branches require a trained eye to detect and are not durable over the long term. 2. Mine Marking is a vital component of a Mine Survey Clearance Operation. Mine Marking must be conducted at the same time as survey operations, with the team conducting the survey so that the mine marking is performed in the correct location. The basic function of mine marking is to provide an immediate warning for people moving in or near a hazardous area. 3. When applied in an area where people do not understand the warning message, mine marking requires close links to the Mine Awareness programmes. The materials used in mine marking are attractive to a poor, war displaced people with little or no assets for basic human survival. AIM 4. The aim of the present paper is to propose a set of common standards for mine marking with the goal of developing a flexible international standard. These standards should be adaptable for implementation in Standard Operating Procedures for mine affected countries. PURPOSE 5. The purpose of mine marking is to create a visual barrier surrounding a hazardous area to warn people immediately of the presence of danger. TYPE OF MINE MARKING 6. Mine marking can be broken down into three types of marking to address the different areas in which mine marking will be encountered or conducted. 7. Local Marking. Local marking covers a variety of ingenious types of marks specific to a mine affected country. These marks are usually laid by soldiers to warn fellow soldiers of an area where mines have been laid. These marks are usually well known among the combatants and are not apparent to the untrained eye, and may vary between different areas of operation, such as cut marks on trees, branch arrow marks etc. 8. Combatants in some war affected countries have used a common system which may or may not be visually apparent or survive the elements. In many cases marked mine fields have been overgrown with vegetation and are no longer visible to the unwary. 9. In addition, non-combatants will use a form of mark to warn family members or village neighbours of the presence of mines, often known firsthand through casualties of family members or livestock. 10. In all cases these types of marking do not indicate the size, boundaries, depth or direction of mined areas. These types are only useful as information to survey or marking teams in their tasks of identifying mined areas. 11. Warning Mine Marking. Standard mine marking methods are designed to provide an immediate warning to people of a hazardous area. This type of marking should be visual and should clearly indicate the direction of the hazardous area. 12. Operational Mine Marking. Operational Mine Marking involves establishing a clear visual boundary of a mined area in conjunction with a physical barrier, that is, pickets and barbed wire. This type of marking is utilized as a start line for mine clearance operations. In addition, specialized marking can be used within the mined area during the clearance operation to indicate functional areas for operations and definitive boundaries between mined and cleared areas. 13. Operational Mine Marking includes the permanent marking of cleared areas during the Level 3 Survey by a system of benchmarks, to leave a permanent mark. LEVELS OF MINE MARKING 14. Mine marking should be categorized into three basic levels from which situations covering a variety of environmental factors can be effectively addressed: (1) emergency marking, (2) semi-permanent marking, (3) permanent marking. Types of mine marking fit into the levels of marking as progressive stages to an eventual clearance operation. (1) Emergency 15. Emergency marking of a suspect mined area is intended to provide an immediate visual warning of the presence of mines. This type of marking should be a recognized mine symbol that clearly indicates danger, that is, skull and cross bones danger mine sign. This type of marking would be utilized by persons involved in survey operations or selected local inhabitants of mine affected areas. Emergency marking should be clearly recognizable from a distance of at least 50m, and endure the elements for at least three to six months. 16. Local type mine marking, such as crossed sticks, must still be recognized as a form of marking for people who do not have the resources to install a proper identifiable mine mark. This type of marking must be enhanced through knowledge provided by mine awareness teams to all people operating in mine affected areas. 17. The location of all types of emergency marking should be reported to the nearest mine clearance organization, to facilitate follow-up survey and mine marking activities. (2) Semi-permanent 18. Semi-permanent marking is used as a visual barrier surrounding a mined area. This type of marking should use recognizable mine warning signs, such as the skull and cross bones danger mine sign. The marking should be visible from a distance of at least 50m or from visual distance sign-to-sign in heavily vegetated or undulating ground. Mine signs should be placed convenient to the human eye approximately 1 to 1.25m above the ground to ensure that children and adults can clearly see the sign. Signs should be properly affixed to a picket or improvised material approved locally. The marking should endure the elements for a period of six months to one year. (3) Permanent 19. Permanent marking is for populated areas where the intention to conduct demining operations is not possible in the immediate future. Permanent marking should be a physical and visual barrier to the movement of humans and livestock. For example, the use of steel pickets barbed wire and mine signs, chain link fence with warning signs. This type of marking should endure the elements for at least one to five years. STANDARDS 20. Standards for mine marking should be divided into practical applications which can be assigned to priorities for implementation in the field. Practical identifiable standards, such as shape, size, colour, symbology, language, composition and durability of material for mine-marking materials are basic criteria for establishing a standard which is flexible enough to be utilized in different countries. Shape 21. Mine markings (signs) should be in a shape that is man-made and does not conform readily to its background terrain. For example, a square shape is rarely found in nature, and is a suitable shape for display purposes, that is, nailing to a post or hanging on a fence. Size 22. The size of a mine sign should be easily seen at a distance of at least 50m, including the symbology on the sign. A sign 25cm wide by 25cm long by 2mm thick has been proven effective in countries such as Cambodia, Mozambique and Angola. Colour 23. The background colour of the sign should be red, which is an internationally recognized warning to "stop". The written portion of the sign and symbology should be white so that it is clearly recognizable on its red background and clearly visible in its natural surroundings. Colour must be clearly visible both day and night. 24. Posts or pickets fabricated in earth tone colours, will blend into natural surroundings. Pickets should be painted in bold bands of red and white paint to attract attention and clearly indicate a warning. Symbology 25. The skull and cross bones is an internationally recognized symbol depicting a warning of danger. It visually depicts death or serious injury and is easily identified even by illiterate people. Language 26. Mine signs should have printed in the two languages the term "DANGER MINES" in bold lettering, so as to be easily identified at a distance of at least 25m. The prominent language of the mine affected country should be displayed on top and the second language on the bottom. The lettering should be in white to contrast with the red background. Material 27. Material used for all aspects of mine marking must be durable enough to resist the deteriorating forces in their environment, and to conform with the length of time of their intended use. Special chemicals could be considered to protect marking materials from the effects of sunlight, water, insects and animals. COMPONENTS Signs 28. Basic mine signs should comply with standard norms which have been employed in the majority of mine affected countries and have a track record that has been proved. 29. The most commonly used mine sign is square shaped, red coloured with white skull and cross bones with a clearly written warning "DANGER MINES" in two languages with the predominant language on top. This mine sign should have a white coloured backside so a person can clearly understand which side of the mine sign he/she is looking at, to understand his/her proximity to danger. 30. Mine signs should be made of a material that will endure the natural forces of the environment in which they will be used, and constructed of a material which is of no particular economic interest, such as corrugated plastic cardboard coated with red and white colour pigments, perforated with holes to prevent its use as a roofing shingle. Pickets 31. Pickets are used to suspend a fencing material and to hang or affix mine signs. Picket material can range from reinforced concrete to angle iron, and wood poles. The use of these types of materials will depend on their financial cost in terms of production and labour. In mine affected countries where various types of vegetation have overgrown mined areas, wood poles can normally be cut and produced during the course of the marking operation. 32. Pickets should be designed for the soil type in which they will be placed. For example, clay type soils are capable of holding a picket in place with only a short portion of the picket below the surface, whereas sandy soil requires a much larger portion of the picket to be driven into the ground. The height of the picket must be calculated to permit suspension of mine signs at the appropriate height so as to be clearly visible despite surrounding vegetation. For example .3m driven into the ground with 1.5m of the post exposed above the ground, picket size equals 1.8m. 33. Consideration should be given to using a chemical protection to prevent insects from eating the picket away such as ants, and termites. Fencing 34. Fencing should be considered as a barrier for mined areas which are in an area of frequent and dense human and animal traffic. Fencing materials such as barbed wire are effective barriers to humans and animals. Coated barbed wire with a galvanized component usually will endure the elements for a long period of time. Other types of materials, such as plastic rope, plastic tape etc. have been used in the past for temporary marking, and have proved to be ineffective over a long period. 35. Strands for fencing should be placed at heights intended to be visual and not to allow a human, from child to adult height, or live stock to cross without specific effort. For example, one strand placed at .3m from the ground and one strand placed at 1.0m would sufficiently force a human to lift his feet or bend over to penetrate the fence. This action, coupled with the visual warning of painted posts and mine signs, gives ample warning to a mine aware individual. 36. Fasteners for fencing materials and mine signs must be made of a material which has equal durability or greater than the product it is fastening. For example, a fastening of mine signs to barbed wire would require a plastic clamp used commercially as a small hose clamp or a galvanized nail with tack sized head (roofing nail) for fastening to a wooden pole. 37. Fencing requires the support of a Mine Awareness Programme to educate peoples in the vicinity of fenced mine areas to leave the material for its intended use. IMPROVISATION 38. Improvised material such as trees, rocks, plied stones, existing fence lines etc. are all usable for mine marking. The criteria for employment should be their prominent presence, and they would have to have been enhanced to indicate clearly their new purpose, that is, painting symbols or bold red and white stripes. 39. Improvised marking should become part of the local mine awareness programme to educate local people about their meaning.