“Bombs Away” - Understanding unexploded ordnance risks

Over 60 environmental consultants and property professionals joined our recent webinar with 6 Alpha: “Bombs Away” - Understanding unexploded ordnance risks.  David Mole, Business Development Director at Landmark commented: “around 12% of the entire UK landmass has been used for military training and over 15,000 items of ordnance were found in UK construction sites between 2006 and 2009.  Our free webinar provided our clients with an overview of the source of UXO risk, and steps they can take to minimise risk.”

During WWI and WWII thousands of tonnes of high explosives were dropped on the UK, with 17,000 tonnes falling on London alone.  Approximately 10% of the air delivered bombs failed to explode (6 Alpha Associates), resulting in an underground unexploded hazard which remains to this day.   Other large cities that have been affected are Portsmouth, Plymouth Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester, Newcastle and many others.

Even today, these munitions still present a significant hazard, with the news often featuring reports of bombs being found in the construction environment  and washed up on the beach.  Unexploded ordnance risk is also caused by military sites, active explosive sites and weapons and ammunition manufactures.  An analysis of our data archives identified 600 historical and active explosive sites in the UK and over 1,000 weapons and ammunition manufacturers.

Simon Cooke, Managing Director at 6 Alpha Associates, described the steps necessary to reduce the risk associated with unexploded ordnance to a level that is as low as reasonably practical (ALARP).

Simon commented: “At the start of any new ground works project, the first stage Preliminary search is a must. While the potential risk may be considered small, it should not be overlooked for the ultimate safety of all concerned.”

The first step to analysing potential risk is a desktop tool called a Preliminary UXO Risk Assessment, which indicates whether there is any risk of encountering a bomb. It's a quick and relatively cost effective option, developed in line with guidance from CIRIA and endorsed by the Health and Safety Executive.

If the  Preliminary UXO Risk Assessment suggests a risk to the project, the next step is to conduct a Detailed UXO Risk Assessment. This will detail the type of threat, the size, origin and also takes into account the proposed construction method and how that would impact on risk of UXO being encountered including project delay and prospectively a detonation event.  Strategic risk mitigation measures are described enabling investigative/groundworks and/or groundworks to safely proceed.

Read more about Envirocheck Bomb Search.

Landmark Information Group offer a range of free webinars and training sessions.  For more information or to arrange a free training session please contact customerservice@envirocheck.co.uk