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Business is booming at bomb school

Bomb school students test explosives and study the effects. Hear the explosion. ( 22K/2 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)

May 15, 1998
Web posted at: 11:49 a.m. EDT (1549 GMT)

From Correspondent Rick Lockridge

SOCORRO, New Mexico (CNN) -- Blowing things up is the way to learn at bomb school. The facility, better known as the Energetic Materials Research and Testing Center, is dedicated to research and development of energetic and explosive materials.

By blowing things up and then sharing their data with the FBI and other law enforcement agencies, researchers at the center feel like they're not just scientists but crimefighters, says EMRTC's Van Romero. (119K/11 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)

Watch the full report VXtreme streaming video (2:00)

The school, in the foothills of central New Mexico, teaches lessons in evaluating craters left after a bomb has exploded. Crater size helps investigators determine whether the bomb came in a small package, like a box, or a big one, like a truck.

EMRTC is affiliated with New Mexico Tech, which builds bombs for the sole purpose of being exploded -- and studied.

Experts say fertilizer-based bombs, like the one that destroyed the federal building in Oklahoma City, are frequently used by terrorists

Fertilizer-based bombs -- like the deadly one that took off the side of the Oklahoma City federal building three years ago -- have become the weapon of choice for terrorists, says Romero, because they are cheap to build and create a broad blast wave that can attack a large surface. (161K/15 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)

Another part of the bomb school curriculum is studying the holes left in aircraft and vehicles after they've been shredded with shrapnel and mauled with missiles.

Determining how the damage was done is like solving a puzzle, Romero says.

Van Romero discusses the importance of his work
	493K/14 sec./160x120 QuickTime movie

And, he adds, the ability to analyze bombing techniques and patterns are vital in the fight against terrorism.

In a world full of incidents and accidents, business at the bomb school is booming.

Check out what's coming up on next week's Tomorrow/Today

Related sites:

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• Energetic Materials Research and Testing Center
• New Mexico Tech

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