text: is there a way to get rid of mines?   how do you get rid of land mines? there are movements by the un, military and civilian groups (about 300 groups in total) to ban the manufacture and use of land mines. the chances are good of convincing first world countries of a ban, but the facts are that the most heavily mined countries are a result of dirty wars, not major conflicts. the majority of land mines have been planted in the last 20 years. currently, 36 nations build land mines and most countries use them. these countries produce about 10 to 20 million units a year. about 2 million new land mines are laid each year depending on what conflicts are raging. the u.s. budgeted $89 million for land mine warfare in 1996.  the first task a newly stabilized country faces is cleaning up land mines. traditional land mines are cleared in a variety of ways. in large open areas, tracked vehicles with flailing chains can clear most mines. in less accessible or poorer areas, the old-fashioned metal detector is used. some new scheibel-type models can detect many plastic versions. some countries use the old-fashioned method of probing at a shallow angle with knives. sniffing dogs can be used, along with a raft of new high-tech methods employing radar, sonar, thermal neutron, microwave, and even satellites. for now, most mines are detected and dug up the old-fashioned way, by hand or the painful way; by foot. wildly speculative estimates on the costs to remove the world's land mines come in at about $33 billion.  in cambodia, an on again/off again adventure travel destination, estimates hover around us$12 million annually for 10 years to remove the 10 million land mines left from the war. there are a few groups like halo working in cambodia, but they still have to put up with being kidnapped and harassed by roque khmer rouge bandits. there are 60,000 victims of land mines in cambodia today, with every 237th cambodian an amputee. but it is not the pain and disfigurement that ultimately kills. the reality is that unlike handicap-friendly america, losing a limb in the third world is a fast ticket to poverty, begging, sickness and death.  land mines can be found in angola, afghanistan, bosnia-herzegovina, cambodia, ethiopia, eritrea, the falklands, iraq, iran, laos, mozambique, somalia, thailand, kuwait and vietnam. in addition to carefully planted land mines, there is a significant amount of unexploded ordinance in europe, southeast asia and the south pacific. don't get smug because you think you know your mines and your history. one mine clearance expert told us they are digging up british land mines in mozambique because qaddafi had his folks dig them up in libya and sell them to rebels. for those who need to know, there is an excellent book by eddie banks titled anti-personnel mines, a recognition guide ($120, 512 pages, isbn!-85753-228-7) sold by brassey's (800) 775-2518, fax (703) 661-1501.  one small step...  if you can't dig them up and you can't stop them from planting them, what can you do to help? first, write your local and federal politicians to make them aware that the u.s. and its allies manufacture these insidious killers. if you have experience in explosives or mine clearance, read the "dangerous jobs" section to contact a number of mine clearance companies. if you would like to donate money or time to help the innocent victims of mines, contact emergency, via bagutta 12, 20121 milan italy (% 39-2-7600-1104, or fax 39-2-7600-3719),    there were 7 million land mines laid in iraq and kuwait before and during the gulf war. kuwait spent $800 million clearing out land mines after the gulf war.  it costs between $500 and $2000 per mine to remove them. a few years ago, 80,000 - 100,000 mines were removed around the world at a cost of $100 million. to remove all the mines in the world would cost $58 billion. unfortunately, 2 to 5 million mines are put in the ground every year.  a dp reader who spends much of his time in mined are