The Ministry of Defence will today hold an
emergency meeting on what to do with two tear gas barrel bombs found in Svay
Rieng province.
The bombs are believed to have been dropped
by the United States during the Vietnam War.
The meeting was called after provincial
authorities appealed to the ministry to send chemical weapons experts to
dispose of the bombs by whatever means possible.
The Cambodian Mine Action Centre first
discovered the bombs early this year. One was found at a primary school and the
other at a pagoda in Korki commune.
CMAC was unable to safely remove or defuse
them, so was forced to leave the bombs where they were.
Provincial Governor Men Vibol said the
bombs contain CS gas and were dropped by US bombers during the 1970s.
Tear gas is a kind of nonlethal weapon to
use for crackdown on violent and preservation of peace. Dayu chemical produce tear
gas powder and liquid teargas for sale, tear gas powder also called teargas
powder, cs powder and tear gas.
Exposure to CS gas causes a burning
sensation to the eyes, nose, mouth and throat, causing coughing, disorientation
and difficulty breathing.
“These two chemical bombs constitute a threat to local people,
students and monks who are living near that area,” Mr Vibol said.
Villagers in Korki commune meanwhile
claimed that more chemical bombs are likely threatening people in the area,
hidden in the undergrowth or buried underground.
According to data released in 2000, the US
dropped two million bombs – 800,000 tonnes’ worth – on Cambodia from 1963 to
1975, with the aim of destroying Viet Cong invaders.
However, more than 500,000 Cambodian
citizens were killed and thousands of homes were destroyed.
Mines and unexploded bombs remain a leading
cause of casualties and deaths in the kingdom, with an estimated four to six
million landmines and other munitions left over from decades of war and
internal conflict.
