A bombing range is an area used for testing explosive ordnance

Bomb

A bomb is any of a range of explosive weapons that only rely on the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy...

 and practicing to accurately direct them to the target. Bombing ranges are used for munitions that either explode or produce too much destruction to use at a shooting range

Shooting range

A shooting range or firing range is a specialized facility designed for firearms practice. Each facility is typically overseen by one or more supervisory personnel, called variously a range master or "RSO – Range Safety Officer" in the United States or a range conducting officer or "RCO" in the UK...

, such as kinetic energy penetrator

Kinetic energy penetrator

A kinetic energy penetrator is a type of ammunition which, like a bullet, does not contain explosives and uses kinetic energy to penetrate the target....

s or very large caliber

Caliber

In guns including firearms, caliber or calibre is the approximate internal diameter of the barrel in relation to the diameter of the projectile used in it....

 bullet

Bullet

A bullet is a projectile propelled by a firearm, sling, or air gun. Bullets do not normally contain explosives, but damage the intended target by impact and penetration...

s. Bombing ranges are usually used by highly organized military

Military

A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...

 organizations. Terrorists

Terrorism

Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...

 and rebels

Rebellion

Rebellion, uprising or insurrection, is a refusal of obedience or order. It may, therefore, be seen as encompassing a range of behaviors aimed at destroying or replacing an established authority such as a government or a head of state...

 are likely to test weapons where most convenient and not use a strictly defined area because the explosion

Explosion

An explosion is a rapid increase in volume and release of energy in an extreme manner, usually with the generation of high temperatures and the release of gases. An explosion creates a shock wave. If the shock wave is a supersonic detonation, then the source of the blast is called a "high explosive"...

s attract attention and long-term safety is not a consideration.

Bombing ranges pose several hazards, even when not in use or closed. Unexploded ordnance

Unexploded ordnance

Unexploded ordnance are explosive weapons that did not explode when they were employed and still pose a risk of detonation, potentially many decades after they were used or discarded.While "UXO" is widely and informally used, munitions and explosives of...

 is often the biggest threat. Once a bombing range has been permanently closed, they are sometimes cleared of unexploded ordnance so that the land can be put to other use or to reduce the chance of accidental detonation causing harm to people near the range, trespass

Trespass

Trespass is an area of tort law broadly divided into three groups: trespass to the person, trespass to chattels and trespass to land.Trespass to the person, historically involved six separate trespasses: threats, assault, battery, wounding, mayhem, and maiming...

ers or authorized personnel. Cleanup or complete cleanup may be put off indefinitely depending on the cost, the danger to personnel clearing the area, the land's potential use, the likelihood of an explosion being triggered and the probability of someone being around to trigger or be harmed by an explosion.

The wreckage can also be hazardous. Bomb fragments and other wreckage can cause lacerations and puncture wounds if not removed before the land is put to other uses, such as farming or recreation

Recreation

Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or pleasure and are considered to be "fun"...

, or if it is handled by curious trespassers or untrained salvagers

Marine salvage

Marine salvage is the process of rescuing a ship, its cargo, or other property from peril. Salvage encompasses rescue towing, refloating a sunken or grounded vessel, or patching or repairing a ship...

. The fragments, wreckage and residues may also contain toxic

Toxicity

Toxicity is the degree to which a substance can damage a living or non-living organisms. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a substructure of the organism, such as a cell or an organ , such as the liver...

 substances or be radioactive

Radioactive decay

Radioactive decay is the process by which an atomic nucleus of an unstable atom loses energy by emitting ionizing particles . The emission is spontaneous, in that the atom decays without any physical interaction with another particle from outside the atom...

. Exposure can come from direct contact, but it can also come offsite by the air, from surface or groundwater contamination or by the uptake of toxin

Toxin

A toxin is a poisonous substance produced within living cells or organisms; man-made substances created by artificial processes are thus excluded...

s by plants and animals consumed by humans. Which route of exposure is most likely depends on the type of substances present, the proximity of inhabited areas and whether unauthorized personnel trespass on the range. Developing nations and those in an economic crisis often have a haphazard salvage industry involved in legal and illegal activities. In these areas, bombing ranges are scoured for salvageable metal

Metal

A metal , is an element, compound, or alloy that is a good conductor of both electricity and heat. Metals are usually malleable and shiny, that is they reflect most of incident light...

s. Unusual items, sometimes the most dangerous, are made into trinkets. The danger is greatly increased when the materials are melted down or worked by hand, exposing workers to toxic fumes or radiation

Radiation

In physics, radiation is a process in which energetic particles or energetic waves travel through a medium or space. There are two distinct types of radiation; ionizing and non-ionizing...

.