The objective is to establish basic knowledge hitherto unknown about HMEs; their composition and characterisation. The task is also to review freely available recipes (for instance on internet) and to evaluate their dangerousness. During the study, several basic questions should be answered, how can HMEs be produced from ordinary commercially available chemicals and materials? What type of chemicals are available freely today for the direct use in HMEs? How can freely available chemicals be easily chemically changed or concentrated so they can be used for the production of HMEs? What are the concentration limits of precursors or HME formulations for them to be usable by terrorists? What is the chemical stability of HMEs? (What time span does a terrorist have between the production of an HME and the execution of an attack?). What can be done to prevent or inhibit the production of HMEs? The research of this project must be performed in close collaboration with manufacturers of precursors. The project also requires the participation from end users such as police or security services. Extensive attention should be given to dual-use and ethical issues. The goal of the HOMER project is to implement a comprehensive, coherent European study on HMEs including the identification, detection of HMEs, the prevention of HME threats and for the ease of identification of bomb factories, leading to the rapid take up of sustainable project results for the benefit of European police and security services, the manufacturers of precursors and for the safety of the EU citizen. Led by the end user, the PSNI as the HOMER project co-ordinator, will implement a comprehensive European wide study on HMEs addressing many key questions including: what can be done to prevent or inhibit the production of HMEs, what types of chemicals are available freely today for direct use in HMEs and what is the chemical stability of HMEs.