Unexploded grenade unearthed at London building site causes evacuation
Builders dug up an unexploded grenade at The Oaks development in Acton today.
Following closure of the High Street and adjacent shopping centre, an MOD bomb disposal team arrived and removed the weapon.
Acton Park was then temporarily closed as the EOD engineers detonated the item in a controlled explosion.
Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) engineers will not transport live grenades where possible. Items of this small size are usually destroyed on local publicly owned land.
Click here for a news article covering this incident.
The benefit of Detailed UXO Risk Assessment
Acton’s High Street was, like today, an urban commercial centre throughout the 20th Century. Therefore the discovery of a buried grenade in this civilian area is an unusual incident indeed.
Such finds highlight the difficulties faced by risk assessors when researching U.K construction sites. Even locations assessed as having a low risk from explosives contamination, have the potential to throw up an unexpected UXO incident.
The only way to ensure the greatest chance of identifying an unexpected historic military activity is by commissioning a Brimstone Stage 2 Detailed UXO Risk Assessment.