If you do come
across a suspicious item:
Firstly, you should stop all works, and retreat to a safe distance a minimum we would
recommend is 100 metres.
Do not disturb
the object/suspicious item any further than it already has been.
Inform the Police on 999.
Always assume a potential threat is live and dangerous.
Shut down any plant/machinery if safe to do so.
Hopefully nothing, as the impact on the device has already happened, so refer to the previous question for procedures to carry out (as the device may have a time delay etc). The only other risk is with people’s curiosity getting the better of them.
Yes, a UXO specialist can be present on site during ground breaking operations. The operative will ensure all relevant site personnel are aware of the risks of UXO/UXB presence and actively scan areas prior to excavation to ensure everybody is kept safe. This option cannot be carried out during piling; a full survey should be completed prior to breaking ground due to the depths the Piling will achieve.
No, a desktop study only needs to be carried out if you are unsure as to the risk or when common/local knowledge would dictate otherwise, (even the most remote areas of Scotland had “ad-hoc” military training grounds that local knowledge could tell you about). We would always recommend an abandoned bomb search to be carried out though. Just to be safe
This is held by the government and shown where known bombs have landed during the conflict, as reported by air wardens, police and the like. This record is not infallible though, but can assist in determining the risk on your site
Yes, if you do not address this issue you could be putting the public and your workforce at risk, and can be deemed illegal under certain circumstances. The potential downtime and penalties incurred would also have to be covered by your company.
Yes, current legislation states that you have a duty of care to your employees and public alike and ensures that works are conducted in a safe and appropriate manner. As such, if you have any suspicions about a potential UXO/UXB risk on site this needs to be addressed pior to works commencing
Quite the opposite in fact, Apart from keeping both your employees and public safe, a specialist UXO presence on site can greatly save you money in the common event your employees incorrectly identify a piece of ordnance, a large site can easily have staffing costs in the £ hundreds of thousands a day stood about waiting, as well as missed target fines imposed due to the worker error. All this can be avoided by a specialist on site to correctly identify the item as a threat or not, allowing works to commence quickly.
The Luftwaffe targeted known infrastructure during WWI &
WWII, most commonly:
Industrial
areas
power
plants
MOD sites
Naval
areas
Docklands
Major
cities
But as well as the risk from those, we also have to consider
the allied threats, these can come from:
Coastal defences
Training
areas
Ex-MOD
bases
Anti-aircraft
batteries
Former and
current airfields
The above lists are not exhaustive and are an example of
risks only!
No, not without any outside interference like Heat, Impact or Friction, after all its been in the ground for 75-80 years+ without detonation.
The actual explosive used in the manufacturing of the Bomb/Device will not deteriorate over time and will be just as deadly/stable today as the day it was produced, with that in mind though Fuses and Gaines being made of either thin copper or steel can oxidise and decay over time making these more unstable.
Get in touch with us, we'd be happy to talk options through with yourself or just to help alleviate worries you may have.