Press Release Archive
Thursday 22nd April 2004
BACTEC secures safety for shell shocked developers
Unexploded ordnance clearance specialists,
BACTEC International successfully secured the safety of up
to 50 households this week in a matter of hours when over
30 shells were uncovered on a construction site in Treforest,
Pontypridd.
During the breaking out works of a former
foundry building in the South Wales town, a foreman working
for Aberdare Demolition discovered the first of the shells
and alerted the police who brought in the Hereford-based
army bomb disposal squad. As
a precaution residents of 40-50 neighbouring homes were evacuated
and taken to a local leisure centre.
Following the controlled explosion of one device and the
recovery of 33 others, it was recommended that technical
experts from BACTEC be brought in to certify the site safe
for further development.
With a BACTEC expert on site to monitor the demolition and
respond to the discovery of any other items of ordnance, work
on the demolition of the former foundry resumed. Evacuated
residents returned to their homes and within 24 hours BACTEC
certified the site as safe following the recovery and removal
of a further 125 pieces of ordnance which had the potential
to explode on impact.
Royston Evans, owner of the Treforest site that is being
redeveloped for housing commented:
‘Bomb shells are something we definitely didn’t
expect to find on this site and the find has rather disrupted
our work not to mention the lives of local residents. However,
I have been extremely impressed by the swift and efficient
response in clearing the site and making it safe for us to
continue working. Within 12 hours of my initial phone
call BACTEC had despatched experts who understood the problem
immediately – A first class service ’
The risk of unexploded ordnance is one,
which is often overlooked when sites are developed. Contaminants such as asbestos
and Hexavalent Chromine are often considered to be worst-case
scenario when found on site. With approximately 10%
of bombs dropped on the UK during WWll failing to function,
and considering the fact that some form of ordnance is encountered
every day in the UK, it is surprising that unexploded ordnance
remains an often unexplored risk.
Guy Lucas, Managing Director at BACTEC commented:
‘Contaminated land risk assessments may cover a plethora
of substances but few take into account explosive ordnance
contamination. The possibility of encountering an item
of explosive ordnance is real and the consequences of an explosion
on site are almost unthinkable’.
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