[m0zg]

This is true of nearly any country which had a real, actual, land war on its soil. Which is most of European countries, and especially the former USSR and today's Russia. As kids in Russia we burnt TNT for fun (or whatever the waxy thing was that's found inside artillery shells) and threw WW2 rifle rounds into bonfires. Only much later did I find out that TNT fumes are toxic.

[LifeLiverTransp]

In any german city there is a good chance, that some forgotten bomb rots away right beneath the building you live, blowing up any second.

Excavator work here is something for heroes and suicidal people.

[mirimir]

TNT is indeed a very safe explosive. And yes, it burns ~like wax, but lots more sooty. Basically, detonation requires high-velocity shock. More even than blasting caps. You need a secondary explosive. Which, anyway, is why it's good for artillery shells.

[mirimir]

Belated footnote: When the military run low on TNT and other "safe" explosives, sometimes they switch to stuff that's far more shock-sensitive, ages faster, and becomes very hazardous over time. So one key thing is knowing which types of munitions are ~safe to play with, and which are deadly.

Also, TNT releases NO2 when it burns (or detonates). Plus a bunch of ~toxic and ~mutagenic aromatic hydrocarbons, which end up absorbed on the soot. Some of which is respirable.

[trhway]

>Only much later did I find out that TNT fumes are toxic.

sounds like those self-made detonators we used to dispose the stuff of were a healthier choice :)