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Uxo (unexploded ordnance) can arise from both hostile and defensive military activity and is often related to World War i and ii. Simon Cooke, 6-Alpha Associates, explains to the March 2015 meeting of the British Tunnelling Society how Uxo can pose a risk to tunnelling activities and how risk can be managed and mitigated to alarp (as low as reasonably practical), in accordance with the law and using best practice
On May 8 1945 Winston Churchill broadcast to the UK that World War II had come to an end, marking an Allied victory in Europe following six years of war. It has been 70 years since the end of WWII yet Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) can still be a serious problem to construction projects throughout the UK. It is estimated that 10 per cent of bombs dropped on London alone failed to detonate and could therefore pose a threat if unearthed.
There has been an increased emphasis on brownfield development, which includes many inner city areas that were targeted during WWII, and therefore it is unlikely that the risk of encountering UXO during the construction phase of projects will diminish in the near future.
Furthermore, there is currently little publicly available guidance to specifically assist construction professionals. Indeed, up until 2007 construction professionals depended solely on UXO disposal contractors and there was no technical guidance. There was also no direct legislation regarding the potential UXO risks encountered by the construction industry.
Construction Industry Research and Information Association (CIRIA), through its research project, "A clients' guide for assessing risk on UXO sites", has produced the first UK good practice guidance to help developers and clients deal with UXO. The guide enables these professionals to understand the different approaches and how to appoint specialist contractors, and the second half of this feature will look at the risk and how to mitigate it in more detail.
"There is definitely limited knowledge of UXO by many developers, even ground workers might never encounter unexploded ordinance unless they are working in areas that are heavily contaminated such as London or Coventry," says Simon Cooke, managing director, 6-Alpha Associates. "They might only come across it once or twice in their lifetime. In the past, there has been inappropriate advice for...