Unexploded Ordnances on Construction Sites

How to Avoid Costs, Delays and Disputes

Unexploded Ordnances, or UXO’s, are a legacy of military activity affecting many parts of the UK, both rural and urban.¹ Hundreds of thousands of bombs were dropped across Europe during WWI and WWII, of which at least 10% failed to explode and remain buried in land or underwater. UXO’s become more volatile with age and can easily be triggered by heat, shock or vibration. This makes them particularly hazardous for construction works involving any disruption of soil such as piling or earthworks.²

A rare occurrence with severe consequences

In the UK, although the risk of discovering UXO’s on construction sites is low, the potential consequences on health, safety and environment (HSE) and project cost and schedule are significant.³ The key risks include:

injury and material damage
delays and unforeseen costs to projects due to standing time
site evacuations
road closures
reputational damage.⁴

To avoid serious issues down the line, a systematic preliminary risk assessment should be performed wherever the presence of a UXO is suspected on site.⁵

What should you do when you discover a UXO hazard on a construction site?

For construction sites where a UXO hazard has been identified, work should not start until an emergency response plan is in place. This should be included in the project’s HSE plan and briefed to the site teams.⁶

Footnotes:

1: CIRIA C681 https://www.ciria.org/ProductExcerpts/C681.aspx

2: https://www.safelaneglobal.com/en/blogs/the-value-of-uxo-services/

3: CIRIA C681 https://www.ciria.org/ProductExcerpts/C681.aspx

4: https://www.safelaneglobal.com/en/blogs/the-value-of-uxo-services/

5: CIRIA C681 https://www.ciria.org/ProductExcerpts/C681.aspx

6: https://www.fps.org.uk/content/uploads/2017/05/Unexploded-Explosive-Ordnance-UXO.pdf