The Role of Risk Assessment in Promoting Safety Paper 2: Handling of Explosives in Ports

In 1993, large quantities of ammunition were moved through a number of commercial ports in the UK following the implementation of various military drawdown programs. These movements were subject to the normal statutory controls governing the handling of explosives in the UK, and the drawdown programs for the year were completed without incident. The statutory controls have been designed both to guard against accidents and to ensure limited consequences in terms of numbers of fatalities and damage to property in the unlikely event of accidental explosion. The success of these statutory measures applied to commercial ports is demonstrated by an excellent safety record, which shows the occurrence of only one very minor (non-fatal) explosive event m post-war times.