Over the past five years, Icelandic authorities have found over one thousand unexploded bombs, mortars and other explosives, most of them dating from WW2.
Sigurður Ásgrímsson, the department manager for the Icelandic Coast Guard in Reykjanes, told Vísir that the discoveries have been a part of an extensive clean-up project for the area.
During the Second World War, when both British and American soldiers were stationed in the Reykjanes area, the peninsula was often used to test explosives. The specific area of the clean-up is around what used to be Patterson air base, where American forces tested explosives up until 1960. The total area of the clean-up is between 12 to 15 square kilometers.
While Sigurður said he would be reluctant to ever declare the area completely clean of explosives, his team have put a great deal of work into finding unexploded ordinance. As such, he says the area is now clean enough for construction and other forms of development to move forward.
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