Illegal use of explosives - An incidental phenomenon or the seeds of the next real threat to collective security and public order?

The widespread use of various types of explosives both by military and non-military (paramilitary and industrial) users - characterised by specific properties (including their explosive nature, physico-chemical make-up and, most of all, their destructive properties in the context of the protection of life and health of people and other living organisms) - generates an extremely complex environment. In such circumstances unauthorised users (those identified as acquiring explosives illegally) are another source of a real threat to collective security and public order, and the current threat is not only at the national and European level, but also global. Authorised use of explosives in terms of their industrial application most often and in general opinion is focused on the mining industry. However, careful analysis of the subject shows that the range of authorised industrial users of explosives, e.g. those who use them in industry, is much broader. A summary of illegal ways of obtaining explosives regularly includes all those who are passionate about organic chemistry (including the chemistry of high-energy chemical compounds – a very intricate and difficult field) and producers of homemade explosives. Dissemination of this sort of practice may in fact contribute to the mass production of explosives and construction of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) used for different purposes. In turn, the destructive properties of explosives, combined with their large scale and illegal use, are a growing and significant threat in the area of collective security and public order.