Fugro Completes UXO Survey in Germany

Fugro has completed an unexploded ordnance (UXO) screening project for Siemens AG at the site of a new gas-fired power station in Herne, Germany.

More than 1,300 foundation pile locations were screened for UXO and cleared down to 15 m below ground level without affecting other site preparation activities.

In Germany, any areas that suffered bombing during the Second World War must have a UXO site survey before construction can begin. 

“With Fugro’s UXO solution, the flexibility of using it in parallel with ongoing site-leveling activities and its accuracy in detecting ferromagnetic anomalies at depths up to 15 m,“ said Kevin Engelking, Siemens Construction Manager. “All ferromagnetic objects detected were excavated for verification and approved by the relevant authorities. This allowed us to quickly clear the entire site, maintain our construction schedule and safely install the foundation piles for the power station.”

Conventional survey methods involve drilling boreholes that create ground disturbance, which is intrusive and expensive to remediate. Fugro’s UXO screening solution is based on a magnetometer located behind a standard CPT cone, which allows quick and deep penetration with only minimal ground disturbance. The Magcone delivers a log of the magnetic field with depth and is monitored in real-time; if any magnetic anomalies are observed ahead of the probe then probing is stopped for excavation.