Some of the most perfidious remnants of war are mines threatening not only combating parties but also innocent civilian lives. Moreover, they make large areas inaccessible that otherwise could be used economically. This threat exists even long after cessation of hostile actions. Up to now, the range of tools for humanitarian demining is confined to mine detection dogs, metal detectors, prodders, manual excavation tools and mechanical clearance machines (flails and tillers). In 1999, this gave rise for the Board of Directors of the EFNDT to suggest whether detection methods commonly applied may also be helpful in detecting mines and the like. It was proposed to transfer existing NDT technology to these areas. As a consequence, Working Group 5 "Antipersonnel Landmine Detection (APLD)" was founded to support this concept. As soon as the group became aware of the fact that mines were encountered not only in the soil but also elsewhere the name was changed to "Antipersonnel Mine Detection (APMD) ". It now is becoming more and more obvious that vicious devises such as mines and bombs threatening lives everywhere represent an increasing risk to everybody. In contrast, the particular interest in antipersonnel mine detection is decreasing in favour of general security and safety. However, all these problems have in common that such devices need to be detected in time, i.e. before they become effective. This gives reason to extend the scope of the existing Working Group 5 accordingly. It is of advantage to exchange existing knowledge and there is a chance to keep the awareness of the mine problem alive by this way.
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