The issue

Over 100,000 tonnes of unexploded ordnance lie in waters around the UK, left over from the First and Second World Wars.

These bombs, mines and shells need to be cleared for the construction of offshore wind farms and there are an estimated fifty clearances for this reason each year.

Done the existing way, disposals are carried out by blowing up the bomb or mine. This causes huge disruption to marine habitats and threatens the survival of whales and dolphins.

Why is this a problem?

Marine mammals are dependent on their auditory system for navigation, feeding and communication. Any noise trauma can cause permanent hearing loss and can lead to mass stranding events.

In 2011, at the Kyle of Durness in Scotland, 39 long-finned pilot whales were beached following nearby munitions disposals. A government investigation found that the munition clearances were “the only external event with the potential to cause” the mass stranding.

A 2015 study found that 88 ordnance explosions in the North Sea had caused permanent hearing loss in 1,280 harbour porpoises, and just last year, 41 porpoises were found dead on beaches in Germany. Germany’s Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) confirmed that these deaths occurred due to the clearance of WWII mines in a protected marine area.

What can be done?

A technology called low-order deflagration can remove munitions from the sea floor without a damaging explosion. A small magnesium cone is fired against the munition, causing its explosive contents to ‘burn out’ from the inside. The casing of the explosive cracks open, but the munition does not detonate.

A government-funded test by the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) revealed that low-order deflagration can be up to one hundred times quieter than conventional detonations.

Deflagration has been used effectively in military operations since 2005 and is used by the Royal Navy and fifteen other militaries globally.

We believe it is vital to find renewable energy sources to fight climate change. But we also believe that when viable alternatives are available, the devastation of sea life should not come in the name of green energy.

As the Prime Minister recently pledged to expand the UK’s offshore wind capacity, it’s about time that the Government and wind farm developers use deflagration to Stop Sea Blasts needlessly placing marine life at risk.