Safety Of Weapons Research Articles

Numerical Study of PBX 9501 Explosive Combustion Process in Confined Space

Explosives combustion is primarily classified into conductive and convective combustion. In situations where confinement is sufficiently strong, the instantaneous high pressure generated by convective combustion in cracks can cause rapid fragmentation of the explosive matrix, resulting in a significant increase in the combustion surface area and triggering a high-intensity reaction with potentially catastrophic consequences. Therefore, the study of convective combustion in cracks is crucial for ensuring the safety of weapons and explosives. Previous simulation studies have primarily used finite element analysis software, which has excellent performance in handling explosive detonation processes. However, its accuracy in describing gas behavior between explosives and constrained containers is limited. This study divides the combustion process of a pre-cracked explosive in a confined space into four stages based on reasonable assumptions and simplifications. We developed a simulation method that combines the Arrhenius formula with the MWSD model to model the combustion rate of the explosive. By introducing a correction coefficient, Con, to the Arrhenius formula, the formula and MWSD model control the first and third stages of explosive combustion, respectively, while smoothly transitioning during the second stage. We used this method to numerically simulate the experimental results of Shang Hailin et al. on a crack width of 50 μm. The simulation results include the temperature field and pressure field of the first three stages of explosive combustion and the pressure rise curve of the pressure measurement point at the same location, as in the experiment. The simulation results are consistent with the experimental results.

A design of laser pyrotechnic device based on fiber laser detonation

In order to meet the application requirements of high performance, high safety and high reliability of laser explosives in future weapons and equipment, this paper tries to solve the problem of interaction reliability between laser and energetic materials, and studies the interaction law between fiber laser and energetic materials with high beam quality. The principle prototype of all-fiber laser ignition with high beam quality is developed. The interaction between high beam quality pulsed laser and energetic materials was studied. Fast and efficient ignition of pulsed fiber laser based on high beam quality is realized. Compared with semiconductor laser, the output brightness of fiber laser is high and the light energy is concentrated under the condition of the same output power, which is conducive to the instantaneous generation of high temperature hot spot when interacting with the agent, which can effectively improve the ignition efficiency. And the photoelectric conversion efficiency is high, can effectively reduce the energy supply. It is an ideal pyrotechnic device which can improve the safety of weapons and equipment in modern war.

Determination of the characteristic colors of the terrain in the development of camouflage means

Color and pattern are integral parts of the visual characteristics of camouflage. These means, taking into account the experience of military operations during the Russian-Ukrainian war, can significantly increase the survivability and safety of personnel, weapons and military equipment, by eliminating the characteristic unmasking signs of these military facilities and hiding them on vegetative, desert-steppe, snowy and urbanized areas background.
 The paper considers the first stage in the design of camouflage means of concealment - the identification of the characteristic colors of the area. The identification of characteristic colors is proposed to be carried out using clustering related to unsupervised machine learning methods. The number of clusters determines the number of colors that will be displayed on the masking surface.
 It was determined that it is advisable to analyze terrain images stored in the digital JPEG format, and the colors are represented in the RGB additive color model.
 When conducting research, such a clustering method for image analysis as k-means was used, which has an advantage over other clustering methods in ease of implementation, unpretentiousness in resources and sufficient computational speed. Other clustering methods, such as hierarchical or density-based, have not proven to be suitable for image clustering. The comparison was made with the most common clustering methods: c-means, DBSCAN, OPTICS, agglomerative, spectral biclustering, etc.
 Various algorithmic approaches to choosing the number of clusters were tested, according to the results of the experiments, the “elbow” method was chosen as the most optimal one.
 Mathematical algorithms were taken from open sources, their implementation was carried out using common software libraries for machine learning of the Python programming language.
 The results of the work made it possible to choose mathematical algorithms for determining the number of colors of camouflage means of concealment. This will allow to analyze the terrain of all natural zones of Ukraine and design effective camouflage coverings for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

An Ounce of Prevention is the Only Cure: Nationwide Clinical and Financial Outcomes of Self-Inflicted Firearm Injuries.

Self-inflicted gunshot wounds (SIGSWs) remain a leading, preventable cause of death in the United States. The present study evaluated patient demographics, operative characteristics, in-hospital outcomes, and resource utilization between patients with SIGSW and other GSW. The 2016-2020 National Inpatient Sample was queried for patients ≥16years old admitted following gunshot wounds. Patients were categorized as SIGSW if they were injured through self-harm. Multivariable logistic regression was used to evaluate the association of SIGSW on outcomes. The primary endpoint was in-hospital mortality with complications, costs, and length of stay secondarily considered. Of an estimated 157,795 surviving to hospital admission, 14,670 (9.30%) were SIGSW. Self-inflicted gunshot wounds were more commonly female (18.1 vs 11.3%), insured by Medicare (21.1 vs 5.0%), and white (70.8 vs 22.3%) (all P < .001) compared to non-SIGSW. Psychiatric illness was more prevalent in SIGSW (46.0 vs 6.6%, P < .001). Additionally, SIGSW more frequently underwent neurologic (10.7 vs 2.9%) and facial operations (12.5 vs 3.2%) (both P < .001). After adjustment, SIGSW was associated with greater odds of mortality (AOR: 12.4, 95% CI: 10.4-14.7). Length of stay (β: +1.5days, 95% CI: .8-2.1) and costs (β: +$3.6K, 95% CI: 1.4-5.7) were significantly greater in SIGSW. Self-inflicted gunshot wounds are associated with increased mortality compared to other GSW, likely due to the increased proportion of injuries in the head and neck region. This lethality, coupled with the high prevalence of psychiatric illness in this population, indicates that efforts must be made to intervene through primary prevention, including enhanced screening and weapon safety considerations for those at risk.

Handling Weapons as a Source of Security Threats in the Local Environment

Abstract The main purpose of our presentation is to show the possible sources of endangering the safety of weapons handling in violation of the rules of special care. We want to shed light on the security risks posed by the actual use of weapons around local communities. Namely, the general position has been adopted, according to which weapons are by their nature a dangerous thing, which, if misused, poses a direct threat to life, health and safety of people and public order. Injuries and deaths due to the use of firearms are a serious public health issue in many countries. Accidental deaths and injuries due to the use of firearms represent a small but significant proportion of all deaths and injuries related to the use of firearms. The victim, however, can be either the shooter himself or a random individual. The causes lie mainly in the incompetence, carelessness, and recklessness, and often the presence of alcohol also contributes to weapons accidents. The article thus focuses primarily on the analysis of security threats arising from the execution of shootings on civilian shooting ranges, shooting ranges or land used by individuals and shooting organizations and in hunting grounds. These areas are generally located within local communities, which can pose a serious security risk to local communities. It should be noted that limited access to weapons, in conjunction with appropriate regulation, is the most effective measure to reduce the number of injuries and deaths related to weapons.

New Calculation Method for the Delay Time of the Heat Conduction Delay Element

In order to ensure the safety and reliability of weapons, it is very important to grasp the influence of the inside and outside diameters of the shell on the delay time. In this paper, a fluid–solid coupling model is established for a metal baffle-type delay element with a silicon-based delay composition. The combustion flow field of the delay element with the inside diameter of 3, 4, and 5 mm is simulated by the Star-CD software. Then a new method is proposed to calculate the delay time of the heat conduction delay element. The influence of the internal and external diameters on the delay time of the thermal conduction delay element is studied. The results show that the temperature of the ignition composition gradually increases due to the heat conductivity of the metal baffle after burning of the delay composition, and the highest temperature is reached at the centre of the ignition composition. The influence of the size of the inside and outside diameters on the delay time has a critical equilibrium point, which may be related to the balance between the combustion heat increment and the heat loss.

Strain concentration caused by the closed end contributes to cartridge case failure at the bottom

Ruptures at the bottom of cartridges are a common cause of failure of ammunitions, which directly threatens the safety of weapons and shooters. Based on plastic tube theory, this study analyses the radial and axial deformation of a cartridge, considering the radial constraint of the closed end at the bottom of the cartridge. Owing to the influence of the closed end, the bottom of a cartridge does not establish complete contact with the chamber. Owing to strain concentration in the non-contact area, this area is more amenable to the occurrence of cartridge rupture. This theory predicts the location of the fracture more accurately than the traditional theory. The maximum axial deformation of a cartridge comprises bending and friction deformation. The maximum strain at the bottom of the cartridge increased by 135% owing to the introduction of bending strain caused by the closed end. The strain distribution of a cartridge was measured using digital image correlation technology, and the measured result was consistent with the predicted results of the bending deformation theory and rupture case. The effects of wall thickness, radial clearance, friction coefficient, and axial clearance on the axial deformation of the cylinder were studied. Increasing the wall thickness and reducing radial clearance were found to reduce bending deformation; furthermore, lubrication and reduction in axial clearance reduce frictional deformation, which in turn reduce cartridge rupture.

Aerial Weapon Safety under the Provisions of Law

The article presents several of many safety aspects regarding aerial weapons. An attempt was made to present problems related to environmental safety, technical services, the transport of hazardous materials in the light of the applicable provisions of Polish and international laws.

Reduction of Postdischarge Suicidal Behavior Among Adolescents Through a Telephone-Based Intervention.

Brief telephone follow-up for a patient with suicidal tendencies after he or she has been discharged from an emergency room or hospital has been shown to decrease subsequent suicide attempts. However, despite the high rate of suicidal behavior in adolescents, this intervention has not been examined in this population. As part of a quality improvement intervention, postdischarge telephone contacts were used to attempt to reduce suicidal behavior and inpatient rehospitalizations among adolescents. Adolescents who were hospitalized for suicidal ideation or attempt (N=142) were randomly assigned to one of two telephone interventions delivered over a 90-day period: either a single call intervention (SCI) or a multiple calls intervention (MCI). The intervention consisted of assessment of suicidality, review of safety plan, and discussion of medication and weapon safety, with up to six telephone contacts in the MCI and up to one contact in the SCI. Primary outcome measures included suicidal behavior and inpatient rehospitalizations; secondary outcome measures included adolescents' confidence in their safety plan. Adolescents receiving the MCI had a significantly lower rate of suicidal behavior (6%) compared with adolescents receiving SCI (17%; odds ratio [OR]=0.28, p=0.037); results persisted while the analysis controlled for relevant covariates (OR=0.25, p=0.032). Similarly, adolescents receiving the MCI reported significantly greater confidence in their safety plan at 90 days (95%vs. 74%; p=0.001), which, in turn, was associated with a lower rate of suicidal behavior (OR=0.95, p=0.019). A telephone-based intervention for providing recurrent follow-up soon after discharge is feasible in the adolescent population and may be effective in reducing postdischarge suicidal behavior.

Acomparative brief on conducted electrical weapon safety.

The variety and high number of published research articles on conducted electrical weapons (CEW) provides adetailed, yet in some parts inconclusive overview of medical aspects of CEW. Due to different research approaches and the use of dissimilar test subjects, an assessment of possible health risks of CEW is limited. The present work provides abrief on CEW safety based on currently available animal, computer and human research data. Using the medical database PubMed, articles published on this topic are critically evaluated and compared with each other. Special focuses are the differences and similarities of human and animal research as well as computer simulation programs. The authors explain why some studies are more reliable than others and give their expert opinion on the safety of CEW. The body of data that have been reviewed provides reasonable support for the safety of CEW.

Weapons effects modelling for safety applications

Weapon effect modelling has many applications, but in this paper we focus on how advanced computer models can be used to assess the effectiveness of blast shielding structures and materials, for example to improve the safety of weapons production. Safety laws are changing from prescriptive, solution-based regulations to a risk-management-based approach, so being able to estimate the performance of protective measures allows us to produce directly-relevant safety evidence. Such an approach can be used to show that risks are reduced so far as is reasonably practicable (SFAIRP) in order to demonstrate compliance with the WHS Act, 2011. This paper first describes how a variety of computer-based models for the prediction of the development and propagation of blast pressures can be used to provide a detailed assessment of the risks associated with explosions in complex environments, with particular reference to injury assessment - something that is sometimes impractical with simpler techniques. We then show how some of these techniques have been used in two real-world examples to successfully support safety case development. Finally, we extrapolate from the examples, showing how these techniques could be applied to assess weapons safety in different environments, or for risk assessment in defensive or offensive scenarios.

Weapons effects modelling for safety applications

Weapon effect modelling has many applications, but in this paper we focus on how advanced computer models can be used to assess the effectiveness of blast shielding structures and materials, for example to improve the safety of weapons production. Safety laws are changing from prescriptive, solution-based regulations to a risk-management-based approach, so being able to estimate the performance of protective measures allows us to produce directly-relevant safety evidence. Such an approach can be used to show that risks are reduced so far as is reasonably practicable (SFAIRP) in order to demonstrate compliance with the WHS Act, 2011. This paper first describes how a variety of computer-based models for the prediction of the development and propagation of blast pressures can be used to provide a detailed assessment of the risks associated with explosions in complex environments, with particular reference to injury assessment - something that is sometimes impractical with simpler techniques. We then show how some of these techniques have been used in two real-world examples to successfully support safety case development. Finally, we extrapolate from the examples, showing how these techniques could be applied to assess weapons safety in different environments, or for risk assessment in defensive or offensive scenarios.

Stockpile stewardship in the light of national ignition campaign experience

ABSTRACTUncontrolled risk is inherent in any program that lacks a proven means for revealing improper system performance, and the U.S. Stockpile Stewardship Program (SSP) is no exception. The downside of uncontrolled risk has been illustrated by the outcome of the National Ignition Campaign (NIC), a part of the Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) Program that has long been characterized as a crucial adjunct to the U.S. nuclear weapons program. For most of its duration, the NIC utilized simulations and partial-system experiments at several facilities, adding full-system experiments at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) only at the very end of the program. Uncontrolled risk was present in the program while those experiments were absent. That risk materialized when failure to achieve fusion capsule ignition was repeatedly and conclusively demonstrated in full-system experiments. For the SSP, the corresponding risk is that expectations concerning the safety, performance, and reliability of weapons in the stockpile are significantly incorrect. The only proven way of controlling that risk—finding out whether the expectations are wrong—requires nuclear testing. In its absence, this risk is not controlled by the SSP. The ongoing presence of uncontrolled risk in the U.S. nuclear stockpile leads inevitably to uncertainty in the effectiveness of the U.S. nuclear deterrent. None of the potential consequences of that uncertainty, one of which is a decrease in the deterrent's effectiveness, are beneficial to the United States or those who rely on its nuclear umbrella.

A Figure of Merit: Quantifying the Probability of a Nuclear Reactor Accident.

In recent decades, probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) has become an essential tool in risk analysis and management in many industries and government agencies. The origins of PRA date to the 1975 publication of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) Reactor Safety Study led by MIT professor Norman Rasmussen. The "Rasmussen Report" inspired considerable political and scholarly disputes over the motives behind it and the value of its methods and numerical estimates of risk. The Report's controversies have overshadowed the deeper technical origins of risk assessment. Nuclear experts had long sought to express risk in a "figure of merit" to verify the safety of weapons and, later, civilian reactors. By the 1970s, technical advances in PRA gave the methodology the potential to serve political ends, too. The Report, it was hoped, would prove nuclear power's safety to a growing chorus of critics. Subsequent attacks on the Report's methods and numerical estimates damaged the NRC's credibility. PRA's fortunes revived when the 1979 Three Mile Island accident demonstrated PRA's potential for improving the safety of nuclear power and other technical systems. Nevertheless, the Report's controversies endure in mistrust of PRA and its experts.

236U and 239,240Pu ratios from soils around an Australian nuclear weapons test site

The isotopes 236U, 239Pu and 240Pu are present in surface soils as a result of global fallout from nuclear weapons tests carried out in the 1950's and 1960's. These isotopes potentially constitute artificial tracers of recent soil erosion and sediment movement. Only Accelerator Mass Spectrometry has the requisite sensitivity to measure all three isotopes at these environmental levels. Coupled with its relatively high throughput capabilities, this makes it feasible to conduct studies of erosion across the geographical extent of the Australian continent.In the Australian context, however, global fallout is not the only source of these isotopes. As part of its weapons development program the United Kingdom carried out a series of atmospheric and surface nuclear weapons tests at Maralinga, South Australia in 1956 and 1957. The tests have made a significant contribution to the Pu isotopic abundances present in the region around Maralinga and out to distances ∼1000 km, and impact on the assessment techniques used in the soil and sediment tracer studies. Quantification of the relative fallout contribution derived from detonations at Maralinga is complicated owing to significant contamination around the test site from numerous nuclear weapons safety trials that were also carried out around the site. We show that 236U can provide new information on the component of the fallout that is derived from the local nuclear weapons tests, and highlight the potential of 236U as a new fallout tracer.

Pakistan’s nuclear weapons: how safe is safe enough? Transparency versus opacity

Due to expanding and increasing religious extremism and terrorism coupled with political instability in Pakistan, most western observers believe that Pakistan's nuclear weapons are not secure and could be taken over by terrorists. This would have adverse implications for the region and for global peace, especially for the security of USA and Europe. This article argues that this perception is based on a flawed understanding and knowledge of how Pakistan's command and control setup has evolved and operates. Pakistan's nuclear weapons are as safe as any other state's nuclear weapons. Pakistan has also been active in supporting and participating in global efforts to improve nuclear safety and security. Over the years, Pakistan has been quite open in sharing information regarding how it is improving its command and control system with western governments as well as scholars. This article argues that the steps Pakistan has taken to secure its nuclear weapons are adequate and that Pakistan would continue to further strengthen these measures; however, it is the expanding religious extremism, terrorism and anti-Americanism in the country which make the international perception of Pakistan extremely negative and then seep into the perception of Pakistan's nuclear weapons safety and security.

Accidental Nuclear War and Russell’s “Early Warning”

84 Reviews c:\users\kenneth\documents\type3401\rj 3401 193 red.docx 2014-05-14 8:54 PM ACCIDENTAL NUCLEAR WAR AND RUSSELL’S “EARLY WARNING” Ray Perkins, Jr. Philosophy / Plymouth State U. Plymouth, nh 03264–1600, usa perkrk@earthlink.net Eric Schlosser. Command and Control: NuclearWeapons, the Damascus Accident and the Illusion of Safety. NewYork: Penguin P.; London: Allen Lane, 2013. Pp. xxiii + 632. isbn: 978-1594202278. us$36; cdn$38; £25. ric Schlosser has given us a very important and much needed look at the history of us nuclear weapons safety. The book is well researched and, despite its subtitle, is more than a history of nuclear weapons safety. In the course of developing his thesis that nuclear weapons have been—and continue to be—a shockingly dangerous part of the post-wwii world, we get not only a tutorial on nuclear weapons and delivery systems, but a fascinating and eyeopening account of the dynamic of the nuclear arms race, replete with interservice rivalries, ideological fanaticism, and the struggle for civilian control. It was this dynamic which gave us obscenely bloated nuclear arsenals and a military leadership that too often favoured weapons reliability over safety. The story is cogently covered in the course of recounting in considerable detail what has to be one of the most frightening of us nuclear weapons accidents (and there were hundreds1 )—viz. the 18 September 1980 accident in 1 A Sandia Laboratory study found at least 1,200 “serious” accidents involving nuclear weapons between 1950 and 1968. The most serious are called “broken arrows” in Defense Department parlance. These include unauthorized launch, release of a b= Reviews 85 c:\users\kenneth\documents\type3401\rj 3401 193 red.docx 2014-05-14 8:54 PM Damascus, Arkansas involving a Titan ii icbm with a nine-megaton warhead .2 During a check for a possible fuel system leak, a mechanic near the top of the missile (in a hardened silo beneath ground) dropped a nine-pound wrench socket which fell 70 feet and punctured the fuel tank; eight hours later, despite efforts to contain highly flammable fuel vapours, the missile exploded covering the complex in a huge fireball and toxic gases. The warhead, the largest in the us arsenal at the time, was catapulted 1,000 feet into the air and landed a quarter mile away, largely intact. By good luck (and the grace of God?)3 , there was no thermonuclear detonation—especially fortuitous since the warhead had long been identified by its designer (Sandia Laboratory) as one of the least safe in the us arsenal, i.e. one of the most likely to detonate in “abnormal environments” (such as intense heat). Sandia had petitioned the Pentagon for more than a decade to retire or retrofit the warhead (p. 334). The Damascus incident concerns, directly or indirectly, most of the book. But the story is told rivetingly with many detours into weapons history, technical information and a cast of interviewees connected with the nuclear military -industrial complex at various levels. One of Schlosser’s most important characters, and from whom he gets much of his information, is Bob Peurifoy, a longtime nuclear weapons engineer and vice-president at Sandia who waged a heroic thirty-year campaign against Pentagon resistance to nuclear weapons safety. With the help of the Freedom of Information Act and recently declassi fied material, Schlosser provides the reader with literally scores of examples of terrifying nuclear accidents, including events that could easily have led to weapon, fire, explosion, release of radioactivity or full-scale detonation. dod reported only a small percentage of accidents until 1959, after which they reported about 130 per year (p. 327). Most of Schlosser’s data on nuclear accidents—and he cites dozens of examples throughout his book—come from the declassification of dod material since the end of the Cold War and skillful use of the Freedom of Information Act. There has long been some information regarding nuclear mishaps accessible to careful readers of the us press—to be sure only a tiny percentage, but enough to justify public concern. Bertrand Russell’s was a voice that sounded early warnings based upon information that...

Total System Cost Analysis and Comparison of DX-Tree and Star Ring Architectures in conjunction with Master-Slave Multi-Super-Hypercube topology

In todays advanced technology environment, we come across a number of research areas that require extensive data processing. These areas include but not limited to, modeling and simulation of accuracy, safety and reliability of nuclear weapons, global warming, weather forecasting, DNA computing, nanotechnology, immune cell system, optical computing. Since we constantly continue to explore new avenues in our research program, hence the demand for improvements in other scientific and engineering parameters are continuously on the rise. These scientific and engineering requirements include but not limited to speed, reliability, fault tolerance, availability, compatibility, scalability, flexibility, cost to name a few. In todays environment, utilisation of parallel processing not only satisfies increasing demand for extensive data processing, yet it relatively fulfils deficiencies that one would experience in these scientific and engineering requirements. To this effect the authors have introduced architectures based on Master-Slave Multi-Super-Hypercube DX-Tree architecture and Master-Slave Multi-SuperHypercube Star Ring Architecture. For these architectures and the current message passing architectures, the total system costs are developed and through mathematical modeling and simulation are compared. In this comparison the merit and demerits of these architectures from the cost point of view are highlighted to enable the user to select an appropriate Message-Passing architecture which would best satisfy ones scientific requirements.

A contribution to the discussion on the safety of air weapons

Firearms legislation in the UK stems from the Firearms Act 1968 with its definition of a firearm as a lethal barrelled weapon of any description. The Act allows certain exceptions to be held without licence, most notably air weapons although these are limited by The Firearms (Dangerous Air Weapons) Rules 1969 and related regulations to below 12ft lb (16.3J) for air rifles and below 6ft lb (8.1J) for air pistols. Despite this there are occasional fatalities, typically 1 or 2 each year in the UK, from legally owned air weapons. In the USA there are over 20,000 visits each year to emergency departments due to injuries from air weapons and paintball guns. Despite this, limited research appears to have been carried out into the safety of air weapons and the present study tries to address this. Fresh samples of animal tissue were obtained from an abattoir or butcher and were embedded in ballistic gelatin. Pig heart, lung, liver and shoulder were used. By firing pellets into gelatin alone and into the combination of the gelatin and animal tissue it was possible to compare gelatin as a model for these tissues. The depth of penetration was similar but the residual track appeared to remain more open in the animal tissue. Pellets penetrated completely through the organ, with total penetration of gelatin and organ being typically around 10-15cm. Samples of pig, cow and chicken skin were placed in contact with the gelatin or embedded in the gelatin to simulate the effect of skin on penetration into a body. Chicken skin had no effect, pig skin stopped the pellet and cow skin was perforated by the pellet. If cow skin was embedded in the gelatin there was little effect on the total amount of penetration, but cow skin on the front surface of the gelatin reduced penetration by about 30%. Computed tomography was used to examine the pellet track and to calculate the volume of damage produced. However, due to the similar densities of gelatin and organ a technique had to be developed to differentiate phases. A barium salt paste was applied to outer surfaces and iodine solution or barium nitrate solution containing red food colouring was injected into the pellet track to enhance the contrast of the track. The track through the gelatin tended to enclose itself whereas the track through the organ remained more open, presumably due to the inhomogeneity of the fibrous nature of the tissue. Pellets were also fired at construction materials (wood, plasterboard and brick) and computed tomography used to determine the volume of damage created. Pellets perforated single layers of wood and plasterboard and would embed in a second layer. However, if the two layers were in contact the pellet did not penetrate the first layer. An air rifle pellet could therefore perforate house construction materials, although the resultant kinetic energy would be low and further damage would be limited. Some of the possible physical parameters are discussed that might help predict the degree of damage caused, but from this study it is not possible to define a limit which could be proposed as safe.

Converted Firearms: A Transnational Problem with Local Harm

Over the last decade, the Dutch police as well as police forces in several other Western-European countries were confronted with an increase in the availability and use of converted firearms. Converted firearms were originally blank firing weapons, for example gas and alarm pistols, which are converted to fire live ammunition. These firearms were used for threats, (attempted) killings, robberies and drug related crimes. Although the trade in converted firearms seems to have a small-scale character when judged from a global perspective, the use of these weapons imposes a serious threat to society as converted firearms are cheap and easy to obtain by criminals with an evidently high inclination to shoot, in particular young men from ethnic minority groups. In this article the trade in converted firearms is described using a script perspective. Several underlying mechanisms are distinguished that facilitate the availability of converted firearms on the Dutch criminal market, especially the existence of transnational social networks and the limited context of control. Finally, several strategies are described that focus on the demand-side as well as on the supply-side of the criminal market for converted firearms, such as joint police investigations, local administrative measures, pre-emptive searches and tackling the use of converted firearms by exploiting the anxieties of criminals about the safety of such weapons.