Explosive Find

A man who had recently purchased a second home was surprised to find a strange object that suspiciously looked like dynamite in one of the rooms.

This took place in Cidones (Soria) on the 11th of January.

He informed the Guardia Civil, who immediately sent round a bomb-disposal team from Burgos (Grupo Especial de Desactivación de Explosivos or GEDEX for short) to inspect the find. The area was cordoned off as a precaution.

The team identified the object as explosive material and took it to the closest quarry to be detonated; thus disposing of it.

What it actually was is detonating cord (also called detacord, primer cord and even sun cord). It is a thin, flexible plastic tube usually filled with pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN). It is a high-speed fuse which explodes, rather than burns, and is suitable for detonating high explosives.

Typical uses include mining, drilling, demolitions, and warfare. Two of the biggest makers are Cordtex and Primacord, which have become generic names for this type of fuse.

However, there were also slow-burning fuses, sticks of a Spanish mining explosive, Goma-2 and Tetryl (a nitramine booster explosive).

The deceased previous owner was a dinamitero; i.e., somebody whose profession includes using dynamite for blasting, etc.

(News: Cidones, Soria, Castilla-Leon)

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