BombRisk User GuideThe guide to using the SafeLane Global Limited / FindMapsAutomated Online Preliminary UXO Assessment TOOL

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Glossary of Terms

SafeLane Global Limited and Find Mapping Limited2 Report reference: 502241

Glossary of Terms

AAA Anti-Aircraft Artillery

ARP Air-raid Precautions

BDO Bomb Disposal Officer

EOD Explosive Ordnance Disposal (current term for “bomb” disposal)

HE High Explosive

HG Home Guard

IB Incendiary Bomb

kg Kilogram

LCC London County Council

LM Land Mine

LSA Land Service Ammunition (includes grenades, mortars, etc.)

Luftwaffe German Air Force

m bgl Metres Below Ground Level

MoD Ministry of Defence

OB Oil Bomb

PM Parachute Mine

RAF Royal Air Force

SI Site Investigation

SAA Small Arms Ammunition (small calibre cartridges used in rifles & machine guns)

UXB Unexploded Bomb

UXO Unexploded Ordnance

V-1 “Doodlebug” the first cruise type missile, used against London from June 1944. Also known as ‘Flying Bomb’

V-2 The first ballistic missile, used against London from September 1944

WWI First World War (1914 -1918)

WWII Second World War (1939 – 1945)

User Guide

SafeLane Global Limited and Find Mapping Limited3 Report reference: 502241

1 Introduction

The legacy of unexploded ordnance (UXO) contamination remains a problem for many construction and redevelopment projects in the UK. The unexpected encounter on a project not

only exposes personnel to risk from UXO, but it can also lead to delays and increased project costs. An unexpected discovery of an item of UXO may lead to a knee-jerk reaction to UXO risk, incurring unnecessary costs or in some cases the implementation of inappropriate UXO risk mitigation measures.

The potential risk from UXO should be assessed at an early stage of the project with the appropriate risk mitigation measures implemented in a structured manner as required. The Construction Industry Research and Information Association (CIRIA) has developed a set of guidelines for the UK construction industry, enabling a better understanding of UXO risk and how the risk is assessed. This includes guidelines for undertaking UXO risk mitigation in four phases. CIRIA C681 refers.

• PHASE 1: (Preliminary UXO Risk Assessment)An initial review of the potential sources of UXO ensure that an assessment of the UXO risk can be made to determine if further assessment of UXO risk mitigation is required. At this stage the majority of sites will not require any further UXO risk investigation..

• PHASE 2: Detailed Risk AssessmentIf required as a result of Phase 1, a comprehensive review and assessment of the UXO risk will be undertaken using additional site specific detailed information such as aerial photography and local reconnaissance. It is possible that if from the preliminary assessment a risk from UXO is identified, this additional detailed review, could in some circumstances, reduce the risk rating, zoned across larger sites with different levels or discounted altogether.

• PHASE 3: Risk MitigationThe detailed assessment will also include site specific risk mitigation measures as appropriate for the site developed in consultation with the client. These will be designed to either eliminate the risk or reduce the risk to an acceptable and practical level. SafeLane Global Limited has over 25 years of experience assessing and delivering UXO risk mitigation worldwide; the client can be confident that appropriate measures and technology will be recommend..

• PHASE 4: ImplementationIt is vital to any project that the implementation of any UXO risk mitigation measures is conducted at the right time effectively and efficiently. SafeLane Global Limited can provide these services directly.

However, SafeLane Global Limited, in partnership with FindMaps, has developed an online system BombRisk and BombRisk Pro which automates the production of Phase 1 - Preliminary UXO Risk Assessments for any site in the UK. This product conforms to Phase 1 of the CIRIA process. SafeLane Global Limited also produces detailed UXO Risk Assessments that conform to Phase 2 of the CIRIA process.

User Guide

SafeLane Global Limited and Find Mapping Limited4 Report reference: 502241

2 Online Automated Preliminary UXO Risk Assessment - www.bombrisk.com

The following sections outline the methodology behind, how the BombRisk system is accessed and used, and details of the reports which are generated.

The BombRisk system allows users to instantly generate and download a preliminary assessment. The assessment is designed to inform the client of any potential recorded UXO sources in proximity to their site providing a risk level and any recommendations for further work.

2.1 ObjectiveThe purpose of the BombRisk Preliminary Risk Assessment is to enable a non-UXO specialist to place a site in context with the potential risk from UXO and to identify whether or not a more detailed study is required. At this stage most sites in the UK can be screened out, with no further UXO related research or work required.

2.2 UXO Risk FactorsThe assessment looks at indicators of potential UXO contamination.

In the UK, the threat falls into two categories:

• Risk of encountering Unexploded Air-Delivered Bombs UXBs• Risk of encountering Unexploded British/Allied Ordnance UXO

Since 1991, SafeLane Global Limited has developed an extensive database on sources of UXO risk in the UK. This database has been fully geo-referenced and incorporated into the online Preliminary UXO Risk Assessment system-.

2.2.1 Risk from UXBsThe first category of risk is related to weaponry dropped on the UK during WWII by the Luftwaffe. It is commonly accepted that around 10% of the ordnance dropped on the UK during WWII failed to function as designed. Many of these weapons were not observed and dealt with at the time, as evidenced by the number of UXBs which have been encountered in the post-war period.

The most basic assessment of whether or not an area may have been contaminated by air- delivered UXBs is bombing density. SafeLane Global Limited’s preliminary UXO risk assessment uses the bombing statistics compiled by the Home Office for every available borough and district in England and Wales (see example table on next page).

User Guide

SafeLane Global Limited and Find Mapping Limited5 Report reference: 502241

Record of German Ordnance Dropped on the MetropolitanBorough of St Pancras

Area Acreage 2,694

High Explosive Bombs (all types) 641

Parachute Mine 8

Oil Bombs 14

Phosphorus Bombs 11

Pilotless Aircraft (V1) 20

Fire Pot 0

Long Range Rocket (V2) 2

Total 696

Items Per 1,000 Acres 258

Using this data, SafeLane Global Limited has the ability to map areas of higher and lower bombing density across the UK. A higher density of bombs in an area is likely to indicate the presence of significant bombing targets – ports, industrial centers, large areas of population etc. Risk scores from Negligible to High have then been assigned.

It should be noted that for bomb density calculations, items dropped during WWI have not been considered in the SafeLane Global Limited preliminary assessment. Such items are very rarely encountered and were dropped in far fewer numbers than in WWII.

Whilst large scale zoning is considered appropriate as a basic assessment of bomb risk for much of the UK, additional information has been used for the London area; London was the most heavily bombed region of the UK, due to its importance and high number of strategic targets.

Therefore, in addition to bombing statistics for the London boroughs, the locations of known bomb strikes recorded on the consolidated London ARP Bomb Census Maps for the Blitz period have also been included, as has an assessment of bomb damage. Areas of high bombing density which sustained bomb strikes and bomb damage are considered to be at a greater risk from unexploded bombs than areas which sustained low density, low damage and no recorded bomb strikes.

This is the basis for the preliminary assessment of UXB risk in the London area. The system examines and combines information from these three layers and produces a risk score which in turn relates to an assessed level of risk from air-delivered UXBs.

User Guide

SafeLane Global Limited and Find Mapping Limited6 Report reference: 502241

2.2.2 Risk from Land Service Ammunition and Small Arms Ammunition UXOIt is estimated that over 20 per cent of the UK’s land mass has been used for a variety of military purposes. These include training, military establishments, defensive positions, temporary storage of munitions and testing. There is a legacy of encountering UXO in the UK in specific regions where these activities took place.

The key data sets that have been used to derive a comprehensive source of UXO risk for the preliminary guide includes:

• Historical MoD sites• Military training areas• Military installations - airfields, army bases and naval bases• Requisitioned sites for military use• Royal Ordnance Factories• Munitions storage depots• WWII Heavy Anti-Aircraft Batteries• Defensive fortifications• WWII pipe mined locations• Locations of abandoned bombs• Locations of army explosive ordnance clearance tasks• Public reports of UXO discoveries• Over 3,500 SafeLane Global Limited project sites in the UK since 1991• Explosive incidents

3 Preliminary Risk Assessment

The primary function of the BombRisk Online Preliminary Assessment is to determine whether a detailed risk assessment is required for a site. The system will look at the risk scores from both air-delivered UXBs and from British/Allied UXO.

For UXO, risk rating zones of varying size and value have been placed around potential sources or indicators of UXO which reflect the potential UXO risk from that source. For example, a historic military airfield site would be given a higher score weighting than the location of a WWII Pillbox, and cover a larger geographic area.

SafeLane Global Limited has taken these zones and scores and developed a system of assigning potential risk from UXO at any particular site from Negligible to High.

User Guide

SafeLane Global Limited and Find Mapping Limited7 Report reference: 502241

4 Recommendations

For most sites in the UK, the scores will not be high enough to warrant further research, and therefore no further action would be recommended. However, for some sites, there will be enough evidence of potential UXO sources in the area to warrant a recommendation of further research.

In known areas of high bombing density from WWII, particularly the inner city of London, it is likely that further research will be required to provide a more detailed level of UXO risk.

The preliminary assessment does not take into consideration post war redevelopment as there are many factors that need to be considered to assess the effect of the remaining level of UXO risk. A detailed desk study would be able to ascertain this and in most cases the level of UXO risk would be reduced.

In some instances where the risk is considered negligible or low and a more detailed review is not required, lower level UXO risk mitigation may be recommended, such as Explosive Ordnance Safety and Awareness Briefings.

4.1 Quality AssuranceThe system to generate the preliminary reports is fully automated to provide easy access to the required information on potential UXO risk for your project site. The high quality and quantity of information populated into the geo-referenced database along with the quality assurance implemented during the creation of the database means that a manual check is not required before the report is delivered to the client.

As part of SafeLane Global Limited’s internal quality assurance process 10% of reports will

be checked to ensure that the required standards are maintained.

4.2 Generating an Online Preliminary Risk AssessmentThe system is accessed through the website www.bombrisk.com.

• From the welcome screen, the user selects the Location Search to locate the site.• The user enters a UK postcode or address and selects ‘Go’.

A dropdown box is populated with matches to that address or postcode from which the user is able to select a specific property if required.Alternatively, users can use the map to the right of the Location Search screen to navigate to their site of interest.

• Once located, the user may either selects their site by dropping a ‘pinpoint’ on it or by drawing a box or polygon around it.

• Fields are available to add additional details such as the name of the site, who the report is being prepared for, and any reference number.

• The user is then requested to enter their address and payment details before the report is downloaded. Once payment has been confirmed, the user proceeds to the ‘Download Report’ screen to click on the download link. This will generate a PDF document to be opened or saved.

A PDF reader application is required to open the downloaded document. (To download a reader go to http://get.adobe.com/uk/reader/.) 5 Detailed Risk Assessment

User Guide

SafeLane Global Limited and Find Mapping Limited8 Report reference: 502241

5 Detailed Risk Assessment

Detailed assessments are conducted offline by SafeLane Global Limited’s researchers using information such as historical mapping, WWII-era aerial photography, written air raid precaution records, and where necessary local archive research to fully qualify the risk on site. Land use and changes to building layout during WWII will be assessed and local archive information acquired where necessary to fully qualify the risk on site.

It is possible that the UXO risk rating of a site identified in a Preliminary Risk Assessment, may in some circumstances be reduced, or removed altogether following an in-depth further investigation, undertaken in a Detailed Risk Assessment.

The lead time for a detailed assessment will vary between 3-12 working days dependent upon the complexity of the site and the additional site specific information required.

Please contact SafeLane Global Limited to provide a quotation for your site quoting your report reference number at:Email: research@safelaneglobal.com - Tel: 01634 471 340

Accesswww.bombrisk.com

Select ‘Generate a new report’

In Location Search enter postcodeThen select a specific address

Insert a pinpoint or define site with a shape

Provide contact details and payment

Download your report in PDF format

Register or Login Register for an account or login by going to BombRisk Pro or Order Here (single reports)

Generating an Online Preliminary Risk Assessment

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Unit 3 The Courtyard, Campus Way, Gillingham Business Park, Gillingham,Kent, ME8 0NZ, UK info@safelaneglobal.com01634 471 340 www.safelaneglobal.com