Japanese businessman Kiyoshi Amemiya has dedicated his life to building machinery that safely and efficiently removes landmines from war torn countries.
“I saw women and children with missing arms and legs and many had severe facial burns. Although I knew nothing about landmines then, I was determined to do something about it”. In 1995, Amemiya, president of Yamanashi Hitachi Construction Machinery, set up a six-member project team within the company to begin the development of a mine clearing machine.
What they came up with was, essentially, a converted mechanical digger. Amemiya said he made the mine clearer by adapting Hitachi Construction’s hydraulic excavator, putting a drum bristling with blades in place of the bucket on the hydraulic arm and strengthening the cab against blasts.
Bob Nichols examines the use and long-ranging effects of depleted uranium. He mentions the work of Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat, Former Chief of the Naval Staff, India, and links to this report on the conference Dialogues With Decision Makers (pdf) hosted by The Indian Doctors for Peace and Development (IDPD).