When I asked how it had been learned that the shell was not live, I assumed that the ER docs had already concluded that the shell was safe before removing it. After rereading the article, I see that my assumption was wrong. In fact, the docs just went ahead and removed the shell without really knowing, probably relying on the word of the shell's owner. The bomb squad later examined the shell and determined it was definitely not live.
Once the shell was removed, there was no medical need to determine whether or not it was live using x-rays or other imaging techniques. The bomb squad could just have destroyed the shell if they concluded that it might be live.
Sorry for my mistake. I should have read the article more carefully.
—”I should have read the article more carefully.”
And that would be an unusual event here on FreeRepublic.