2 David Low Way - Attachment 6 - UXO Assessment - OPEC

                                                                OPEC - 2 David Low Highway, Castaways Beach
                                                                                   Rev 02 – AFU – 10 Aug 2017


‘Routine Orders’ issued by various infantry battalions and brigades who used other military firing
ranges during WWII:
        “Under no circumstances will explosives or live ammunition of any kind be left unguarded
        in any place to which members of the public have access.

        In areas where training with explosives and live ammunition is carried out, the utmost
        care will be exercised to ensure that all blinds [UXO] are searched for and destroyed in
        accordance with the prescribed safety regulations.”

        Example 1: An infantry battalion conducting a 3” mortar shoot at Caloundra in 1944 reported
        that 3 x UXO occurred (out of some 350 total rounds fired). 2 of these were found however
        the other was not found due to excessive depth – this UXO was reported as ‘missing’ however
        it is unclear whether any follow-up ever occurred to locate and dispose of this UXO.
        Example 2: During an infantry battalion’s firing practices at Clear Mountain in 1944, a military
        engineer was on-hand to deal with any UXO that occurred during each day’s live firing.

While no specific information has yet been found regarding how many UXO (or other EO items) were
addressed during or after live firing, evidence indicates that military units generally strived to find
and remove UXO that occurred. However - based on the number of UXO that have been found in
relatively recent years - it is obvious that efforts to locate and dispose of UXO were not
comprehensive. Based on past research of similar sites, it is relatively common (‘likely’) for
occasional ‘live’ munitions to found at military training and live firing areas.

It is more common (‘almost certain’) for non-hazardous or relatively benign munitions items to be
encountered at military training and live firing areas. While these are generally do not cause death
or serious injury, finds of even non-hazardous munitions items may cause work stoppages or raise
concerns within the workforce or local residents.

PLANNED EO/UXO INVESTIGATION/REMEDIATION
No evidence has as yet been found of any planned or systematic EO/UXO investigation or
remediation activities at or near the Site. Based on the lack of development, it is currently assessed
‘unlikely’ that any investigation or remediation was done previously (however some such work may
have been undertaken when the Site was first developed).

AGRICULTURE, CONSTRUCTION, BUSHFIRES, ETC
A number of activities have occurred at the Site which had the potential to uncover munitions or
otherwise result in their removal from the Site:
         Residential Development: Roughly 1/3 of the Site has been developed into residential areas
          with tree-clearing, dwellings, road & tracks and landscaping. These activities had the
          potential to uncover surface or shallow-buried EO/UXO.
          Readers are cautioned that there is no guarantee that all EO items have been found and
          disposed through such activities – there are many reported cases in Qld of residents
          uncovering UXO in their yards after residential developments and associated building, road,
          landscaping etc earthworks have been completed.




For use only in relation to the specified project
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