Does a plastic shell or casing make for effective shrapnel in an improvised explosive device? How much lesser is the effective casualty radius compared to metal, or to glass?
Plastic won't have the range of metallic shrapnel, nor will it have the penetration capabilities. As far as glass goes, I wouldn't it except in foodstuffs/water (yes, if you're gonna talk about IEDs, might as well talk of sabotaging someone's dinner, too). I would use plastics unless there was a risk of my target using a metal detector.
