We are encouraging Albertans to continue to report these explosives to their local police.

From January to October of this year, the Alberta RCMP Explosives Disposal Unit (EDU) located and disposed of 36 geogels (gelatin dynamite), 11 sticks of dynamite, 10 kilograms of gunpowder, two metres of safety fuse, detonator cord, two perforator initiators and 161 detonators.

Most explosives the EDU is called to recover are located in rural areas. Alberta has a large amount of degraded dynamite on older properties from mining and farming industries. Some of these explosives were purchased because historic rules gave Alberta farmers and ranchers easy access to dynamite.

People should not touch anything they think could be an explosive. Instead, call local police immediately and the EDU will be called to dispose of the explosives safely at no cost to the homeowner.

In August in the Bassano Detachment area, a family located a cache of dynamite, detonator cord, and a box with detonators while cleaning out their barns. The family did the right thing by calling their local RCMP detachment that then called the EDU.

This holiday season, when you visit elderly family members living on rural properties, talk to them and ask if they have explosives stored that may have been forgotten.

Over the next few weeks, the Alberta RCMP will be sharing EDU successes from the past year on social media. Follow @RCMPAlberta (Twitter) and @RCMPinAlberta (Facebook).

The post Could there be old explosives on your farm or ranch? appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

Because of these old rules, there is a large — but unquantified — amount of degraded dynamite in the province. Every year, many Albertans report finding dynamite or detonators stored, or in some cases forgotten, on their properties.

Anyone who finds such items on their property should be cautious and immediately report it to their local detachment.

In the past year, police recovered 115 detonators and have dealt with 10 files involving detonators and dynamite. In addition, the Explosives Disposal Unit recovered a total of four hand grenades within one week in Devon, Red Deer, and Didsbury.

“It is so important for people to understand how dangerous these materials can be no matter how much time has passed since they were stored,” Cpl. Paul Zanon of Explosives Disposal Unit said in a news release Oct. 20.

“Two weeks ago, we recovered two hand grenades in Devon with the assistance of the Canadian Armed Forces, and one of them was still active despite being encased in concrete some 60 years ago. We can`t stress it enough. If you find such materials on your property, do not touch or move them. Immediately report it to police.”

The RCMP is well equipped to dispose of degraded dynamite and all other types of explosives, and will do so at no cost.

When advising police, take photos if possible, and inform them of the age of the device, its location, and the amount that is present.

The post Are there old explosives on your farm or ranch? appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.