INTRUSIVE ENGINEERING MAY GENERATE 'SIGNIFICANT RISK' WARNS FIRM
A SPECIALIST company has warned that the Riverhead site earmarked for a new cinema/restaurant development could be vulnerable to unexploded ordnance from World War II.
In a report to North East Lincolnshire Council, the expert risk assessment company, 6 Alpha
Associates, highlights the potential hazard as a result of
disturbance by intrusive works.
It says: “The most probable
threat is posed by German high explosive (HE) bombs, while incendiary bombs (IB) and
British anti-aircraft artillery projectiles (which were used to defend against
German bombing raids) pose a residual threat.
“All types of aggressive
intrusive engineering activities may generate a significant risk pathway.”
During the war, the German Luftwaffe undertook bombing campaigns all over the UK.
During the war, the German Luftwaffe undertook bombing campaigns all over the UK.
HE bombs are comparatively “thick-skinned”.
If they did not detonate after hitting the ground, the force of impact allowed
them to penetrate the ground, leaving behind it an entry hole.
These entry holes were not
always apparent, and some went unreported, leaving the bomb buried and
unrecorded.
The Nazis’ armoury also
included V1 and V2 rockets (thin-skinned, unmanned and inaccurate weapons) and
anti-personnel “bomblets”.
Although they had designated
primary bombing targets across the UK, their high altitude night bombing was not accurate.
As a result, thousands of
buildings were damaged and civilian fatalities were common.
Bombs were also jettisoned
over opportunistic targets, and residential areas were sometimes struck.
During the war, Air Raid Precautions wardens
compiled detailed logs of bomb strikes across their respective districts.
ARP records associated with
the Grimsby area have not recorded any HE bomb
strikes within the development site, but five were recorded nearby, the closest being just 40 metres to the west.
Furthermore, two IB landings were
recorded on-site, as well as several others in the vicinity.
Grimsby was subjected to bomb damage in many areas, and
Clayton House, which is on the site, was damaged by an IB strike.
As the threat of invasion
lingered over Britain, defensive actions were
undertaken.
The British and Allied
Forces requisitioned large areas of land for military training and bomb storage
(including HE bombs, naval shells, artillery and tank projectiles and other explosives).,
Thousands of tonnes of these
munitions were used for the Allied Forces' weapon testing and military
training alone.
It has been estimated that
at least 20 per cent of the UK’s land has been used for military training at some
point.
It is further estimated that approximately
10 per cent of all munitions deployed failed to function as designed.
As a result, unexploded wartime ordnance is still occasionally found
whileconstruction and civil engineering groundwork are being undertaken..
According to 6 Alpha, in exceptional
circumstances, such ordnance may be discovered unexpectedly and without
apparent rational explanation.
Says the consultancy: "Ways in which this
might occur include:
• When Luftwaffe aircraft wished to escape swiftly escape from an aerial attack, they would jettison some or all of their bombs and flee. This is commonly referred to as tip-and-run and it has resulted in bombs being found in unexpected locations
• Transportation of sediment
containing munitions to an area that was previously free of unexploded ordnance usually
related to construction activities employing aggregate that may have been
dredged from a contaminated offshore borrow area
• Poor precision during targeting (due to high altitude
night bombing and/or poor visibility) resulted in bombs landing off target."
Since the war, the centre of Grimsby has seen extensive demolition and redevelopment, including construction
of new roads, so it is likely that most, if not all, unexploded bombs will have
been safely accounted for.
As a precaution, 6 Alpha has recommended
that all personnel working on the cinema development site should receive a
briefing both on the identification of unexploded ordnance and what actions they should
take to keep people and equipment
away from such a hazard.
It says information
concerning the nature of the threat should be held in the site office and displayed for
general information on notice boards, both for reference and as a reminder
for ground workers.
"Safety awareness
briefing should be an essential part of
the health and safety plan for
the site," it adds.
6 Alpha Associates itself is able to provide an-on call
engineer service in the event of anything dangerous or suspicious being unearthed.
The company, which has offices in Surrey and Suffolk, has extensive expertise across a wide range of projects including assessment and management of the unexploded ordnance risks associated with offshore windfarm projects, especially where there may be wartime wrecks on the seabed.
On January 18 last year, 6 Alpha staff were on hand after a WWII unexploded bomb was removed from the River Thames Both Waterloo Bridge and Westminster Bridge were shut whilst specialists from the Royal Navy attempted to recover it.
In May last year, a 6 Alpha team was again on duty when defusal of British bombs took place in the German city of Hanover - some 50,000 residents had to be temporarily evacuated from their homes.
During the war, the city was heavily bombarded, but almost 10 per cent of some 250,000 bombs that were dropped failed to function properly.
The company, which has offices in Surrey and Suffolk, has extensive expertise across a wide range of projects including assessment and management of the unexploded ordnance risks associated with offshore windfarm projects, especially where there may be wartime wrecks on the seabed.
On January 18 last year, 6 Alpha staff were on hand after a WWII unexploded bomb was removed from the River Thames Both Waterloo Bridge and Westminster Bridge were shut whilst specialists from the Royal Navy attempted to recover it.
In May last year, a 6 Alpha team was again on duty when defusal of British bombs took place in the German city of Hanover - some 50,000 residents had to be temporarily evacuated from their homes.
During the war, the city was heavily bombarded, but almost 10 per cent of some 250,000 bombs that were dropped failed to function properly.
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