This section deals with safety precautions that must be observed by the handlers and throwers of all hand grenades and by other persons who may be located within the danger area of the grenade.

Any handler or thrower of a casualty-producing hand grenade or person who is within the danger area (approximately 50 meters) of the grenade must wear a steel helmet.

No hand grenades, other than fuzed practice grenades, should be defuzed by any person EXCEPT qualified and authorized ordnance maintenance personnel.

When handling grenades armed with an impact detonating fuze, you should NOT release the safety lever before throwing NOR observe the impact of the grenade. Wait at least 5 minutes before approaching a dud. If a grenade armed with an impact detonating fuze is accidentally dropped after the safety pin has been removed, the grenade MUST be picked up and thrown to a safe area. Under NO circumstances should the grenade be kicked or tossed into a sump or ditch, since any sudden jarring of the grenade after the arming delay is expended causes detonation.

Do NOT remove the safety pin on a grenade until you are ready to throw it. In training, once you remove the safety pin, it must not be placed back into the grenade; tine grenade must be thrown.

You, or anyone else not experienced in ordnance disposal, must not recover, handle, or otherwise tamper with dud grenades.

If you should accidentally drop a casualty-producing hand grenade after pulling the safety pin, shout GRENADE to alert other personnel in the area and ensure that the grenade is picked up and thrown in a low arc into a safe area.

Figure 12-12.-Typical pressure type of land mine mechanism.

Under no circumstances should you attach grenades to clothing or equipment by the PULL RING. Attaching grenades to clothing or equipment by the pull ring can easily result in the safety pin being accidentally removed from the grenade.

When handling a noncasually-producing hand grenade, such as the chemical type, you should not be closer than 10 meters to the grenade while it burns. You should not look directly into the thermite mixture since it may cause temporary blindness or even permanent eye damage.

The safety lever of a chemical hand grenade, other than the ABC-M25A2, should not be released before the grenade is thrown because of its extremely short time-delay period.

Riot control hand grenades should not be thrown into a closed area nor should they be detonated within 5 meters of personnel.

Smoke hand grenades should not be used in a closed area.

At least a 30-minute waiting period should elapse before you approach a chemical grenade dud, and then only authorized ordnance-disposal personnel should approach it.