Global Mining Explosive–Russia, Moscow, Russia:
P. А. Bragin, Chief Specialist

Eurasian Register of Explosive Materials, Moscow, Russia:
B. N. Kutuzov, President, Professor, Doctor of Engineering Sciences, b.n.kutuzov@gmail.com

Orica CIS, Moscow, Russia:
M. N. Overchenko, Chief Executive Officer, Candidate of Engineering Sciences

Examination and Certification Center for Explosive Materials, Almaty, Kazakhstan:
I. A. Pustovalov, Director

A review is given of the known methods of concealed marking of explosives. A new method is described for concealed informative marking of industrial explosives by adding special agents (markers, which can be detected by special analysis methods in the explosive itself or its residues at the blasting site). Information content of marking is achieved by means of information encoding with the use of combinatory codes, which is determined by the combination of marking agents. The concealed nature of marking is maintained by using the marking agents in super low amounts detectable only by means of special physical-chemical analysis methods. The study contains description of spectrophotometric characteristics of some marking agents and threshold concentrations for their identification by spectrophotometer PE-5400UF. The results are given of reading of the marking introduced into a granulated water-emulsion explosive by the proposed method. A methodology is given for identification of marking agents in samples of marked explosives by spectrophotometric method. It was shown that besides the concealed nature, the proposed method of marking of explosives has manifold opportunities for encryption of the data contained in the marking. At that, it is possible to simultaneously implement numerous known methods for encoding all the textual and digital information that must be specified in the marking.
Authors appreciate to candidate of technical sciences Maslov I. Y. for systematic support of organization and executing the research and to candidate of technical sciences Gorin S. A. for valuable advices during discussing of experiment results.

1. Available at: http://www.eurasiancommission.org/ru/act/texnreg/deptexreg/tr/Documents/P_57.pdf (in Russian)
2. I. Yu. Maslov. Sposob markirovki vzryvchatogo veshchestva (Explosive marking method). Patent RF, No. 2368591. Applied: November 07, 2008. Published: September 27, 2009.
3. Jose Almirall, Jeannette Perr. Method and apparatus for Detecting Explosives. Patent US 20090309016. Published: December 17, 2009.
4. Belin V. A. Sovremennye problemy vzryvnogo dela (Modern problems of blasting work). Trudy nauchnogo simpoziuma «Nedelya gornyaka-2013» (Proceedings of scientific symposium «Miner’s week 2013»). Gornyy informatsionnoanaliticheskiy byulleten = Mining Informational and Analytical Bulletin. 2013. Special issue No. 1. pp. 100–108.
5. Tyutchev F. I., Aronov I. Z., Rybakova A. M. Tekhnicheskie reglamenty Tamozhennogo Soyuza: «uzkie mesta» (Technical regulations of the Customs Union: «bottlenecks»). Standarty i kachestvo = Standards and Quality. 2014. No. 4 (922). pp. 24–30.
6. Poryadok provedeniya tekhnicheskogo rassledovaniya prichin avariy, intsidentov i sluchaev utraty vzryvchatykh materialov promyshlennogo naznacheniya na obektakh, podnadzornykh Federalnoy sluzhbe po ekologicheskomu, tekhnologicheskomu i atomnomu nadzoru (Order of technical investigation of the reasons of accidents, incidents and cases of industrial explosive material loss on the objects, regulated by the Federal Environmental, Industrial and Nuclear Supervision Service). Bezopasnost truda v promyshlennosti = Occupational Safety in Industry. 2012. No. 4. pp. 62–78. (in Russian)
7. Akhmetov I. Z., Ilin V. P., Kolganov E. V., Sudakov V. V., Smirnov S. P., Kozhevnikov V. G., Kotov L. R., Valeshniy S. P., Tikhomirova N. P. Markirovka plastichnykh i elastichnykh vzryvchatykh veshchestv — nadezhnyy zaslon ispolzovaniyu ikh v terroristicheskikh tselyakh (Marking of plastic and elastic explosives — the reliable barrier to their use in terroristic purposes). IX Zababakhinskie nauchnye chteniya — Mezhdunarodnaya konferentsiya po fizike vysokikh plotnostey energii : sbornik trudov (The IX Zababakhin scientific talks — International high energy density physics conference : collection of proceedings). Snezhinsk, 2007.
8. Rembelski D., Barthet Ch., Frénois C., Gregis G. Improvement of Explosive Detection with a Fluorescent Sensor Using a Heating Device. EUROSENSORS 2014 — The 28^th European Conference on Solid-State Transducers. Procedia Engineering. 2014. Vol. 87. pp. 208–211.
9. Turkeltaub G. N. Khromatografiya kremniyorganicheskikh (elementorganicheskikh) soedineniy : dissertatsiya ... doktora khimicheskikh nauk (Chromatography of silicon-organic (element-organic) compositions : Dissertation ... of Doctor of Chemical Sciences). Moscow, 2005. 46 p.
10. Marshall M., Oxley J. Aspects of explosives detection. 1st Edition. UK : Elsevier Science, 2008. 302 p.
11. Vzryvchatka s otpechatkami paltsev (Fingerprint explosives). Khimiya i zhizn — XXI vek = Chemistry and life — XXI century. 2005. No. 3. p. 4. (in Russian)
12. Tarakanov A. I., Kolganov E. V., Ilin V. P., Varenykh N. M. Perspektivy izmeneniya zakonodatelstva v sfere vzryvchatykh veshchestv (Prospects of the change of explosives legislation). Vzryvnoe delo = Explosion technology. 2012. No. 107/64. pp. 263–270.
13. Marking, Rendering Inert, and Licensing of Explosive Materials: Interim Report. 1997. 48 p.
14. Sinhal R. K., Shekhar H., Raol A. S., Singh H. Modelling of DMNB Content for Marked Plastic Explosives. Defence Science Journal. 2007. Vol. 57, No. 6. pp. 811–815.
15. Kimble H. Critical review of novel detection methods for buried explosives. The Journal of the Institute of Explosives Engineers. March 2014. pp. 12–15.
16. Pellegrino P. M., Holthoff E. L., Farrell M. E. Laser-Based Optical Detection of Explosives. USA : CRC Press, 2015. 409 p.
17. Bobrovnikov S. M., Gorlov E. V. Lidarnyy metod obnaruzheniya parov vzryvchatykh veshchestv v atmosfere (Lidar method of disclosure of explosive vapors in atmosphere). Optika atmosfery i okeana = Atmospheric and Oceanic Optics. 2010. Vol. 23, No. 12. pp. 1055–1061.
18. Wang D., Chen A., Jen A. K.-Y. Reducing cross-sensitivity of TiO₂-(B) nanowires to humidity using ultraviolet illumination for trace explosive detection. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics. 2013. No. 15. pp. 5017–5021.
19. Kunanbaev N. S., Kutuzov B. N., Maslov I. Yu., Overchenko M. N., Pustovalov I. A., Filatov A. P. Tekhnologiya skrytoy informativnoy markirovki promyshlennykhvzryvchatykh veshchestv (Technology of hidden information marking of industrial explosives). Bezopasnost truda v promyshlennosti = Occupational Safety in Industry. 2015. No. 11. pp. 18–23.