A Day in the life of a UXO Risk Assessor
By Domanic Towers
Introduction
My fiancée confessed the other day that she made three – totally understandable – but mistaken assumptions about my job when we first met. These were:
- I work for the military.
- My job is dangerous.
- I help defuze bombs for a living.
I’ve been an Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) Risk Assessor at Zetica for almost three years. While my role focuses on the critical first phase of our comprehensive UXO pipeline, the most hazardous device I’ve personally handled is a faulty stapler and the greatest danger I’ve faced is a papercut from a bomb census report. This reflects the nature of risk assessment work—it’s largely desk-based, involving meticulous historical research that forms the foundation for thorough site risk evaluation.
My research doesn’t exist in isolation. It serves as the crucial intelligence that guides our integrated service delivery, informing our geophysics specialists who identify targets, directing our field teams to identify potential UXO items, and ultimately enabling our removal experts to work efficiently and safely.
A typical day at Zetica House
They say no two days are the same, but if there was such a thing as a typical day in the office, it looks something like this…
Early morning: Administration and Pre-Desk-Study-Assessments (PDSAs)
With my computer booted up and a coffee ready, I’m starting the day by tackling the business of PDSAs.
PDSAs involve a review of readily available records to provide a summary of potential sources of UXO hazard (if any) that may be present near a site. The conclusion of a PDSA is a simple yes or no answer to this question: Is a more detailed desk-based risk assessment required? As a free service, we receive hundreds of PDSA requests every month and each one is written and proofed by the team. As you might expect, this requires a fair bit of administrative tact to manage.
Today I’m reviewing a PDSA for a remote site in Scotland – always an interesting place, as there was a substantial amount of classified military activity in rural Scotland during WWII. The writer has recommended a detailed desk study after discovering an online source indicating that the site encroaches on a former Special Operations Executive (SOE) training ground.
Given that these locations hosted everything from live fire exercises to explosives training for agents destined for occupied Europe, this recommendation is exactly right. It always surprises me how many quiet Highland glens turn out to have been former military training grounds. What looks like pristine Scottish countryside on modern aerials may well have been crawling with commandos!
Mid-morning: Detailed desk studies
By mid-morning I’m turning my attention to researching and writing detailed desk studies. Today, I’m working on a large pipeline project in rural Essex. The bombing density in the region is fairly high and for the last few days I’ve been going through handwritten air raid reports that recorded incidents in an old style cursive – elegant, but almost indecipherable.
Sifting through our vast collections of incident reports can be time consuming, but the satisfaction you get when you eventually find corroborating evidence makes the meticulous searching worthwhile.
Lunch and afternoon: Ping-pong, the Hazard Chat, and last Inbox check
At lunchtime I like to retreat from my computer into the sanctuary of Zetica’s wild garden. Here, nestled under a wooden pergola, is a ping-pong table. I’ve witnessed triumphs and defeats at that table, but one thing is always certain, fun is had by all.
Returning to the desk and feeling refreshed, I’m now preparing myself for something we colloquially call the ‘Hazard Chat’. This meeting involves presenting all the relevant pieces of information I’ve found over the past week or so to my project reviewer. This ensures that we agree on the UXO hazard level assigned to a site and what risk mitigation (if any) we would recommend.
Fortunately, we both agree the hazard level on the site is low and no further risk mitigation will be required. My next step is to write a summary assessment for the client, giving them a heads-up on what we’ve found so far and what to expect in the full report, which will be issued next week.
With the summary assessment proofed and sent, I glance at my watch and find the day is drawing to a close. Time for the last inbox check, making sure that all PDSA requests are responded to and logged. This has become such a part of my routine that skipping it would feel like forgetting to lock the front door.
Closing remarks
The average day of a UXO risk assessor may not be filled with exhilarating danger, but the role is engaging and important. Confidently assessing the UXO hazard level on a site might well mean I’ve ensured the client’s safety or saved them unnecessary risk mitigation cost.
It’s a role I’m very proud to undertake because it’s not just about uncovering the past, it’s about reducing the risk of the unknown.
