Soil Tax Map Explosive War Remains
The Soil Tax Map Explosive Remnants of War (OO) indicates the locations in Kerkrade where acts of war took place during World War II, which means that unexploded explosives may still be in the soil at those locations.
These are mainly artillery ammunition (grenades), disposable ammunition (aircraft bombs) and small caliber ammunition (hand grenades).
The Soil Contamination Map OO has been created so that anyone in Kerkrade can find out whether there is an increased risk of the presence of Explosive Remnants of War at a particular location. This is especially important for anyone doing work in the soil (e.g. soil testing, excavation or soil drilling). You can find the Map in PDF format at the bottom of this page.
Composition Map
To compile the Soil Tax Map OO, research was conducted based on data from the archives. For the entire municipality it was examined where acts of war took place where explosive remnants of war may have remained in the soil. These locations are indicated on the Soil Tax Map OO. It also indicates the type of war remnants that could be found at that location.
Therefore, the fact that a location is marked on the Map does not mean that explosives are actually there; only that the possibility must be taken into account because acts of war have taken place at that location.
In addition to the Soil Contaminant Map, a "Preliminary investigation of the post-CONFLICTPERIODE - ADDITIONAL RISK MAP OF THE Municipality of KERKRADE" has also been carried out.
This indicates for a number of areas whether and to what depth they are less or not suspect. This is because after the Second World War a lot of soil movement or raising took place in these areas.
You can find this report with maps of those areas in PDF-format at the bottom of this page.
Advice on work
The Map shows that unexploded ordnance may be located throughout Kerkrade and an increased likelihood of firing ammunition or small caliber ammunition is present in a number of locations. One location may contain one or more explosives.
The chance that leftover World War II explosives will spontaneously explode is very small. With ground work (e.g. digging or pile-driving) this chance is slightly higher, but still very small. However, if ground work is planned at suspected locations, an investigation must first be conducted to determine whether explosives are actually in the soil for safety reasons. If explosives are actually found, they are cleared by the Ministry of Defense's Explosives Disposal Service (EODD).
If you plan to carry out excavation work in the ground, please ask the municipality in advance for relevant information of the work area.
Shortly before starting work, always consult the most current version of the Soil Tax Map OO.
If you happen to come across an object during excavation work that you think may be an unexploded explosive, leave it there. Do not move or transport the object, but call the police. If necessary, the police will call in the EODD.
Questions
Have questions or need more information about a specific location on the Map? If so, please contact us at gemeentehuis@kerkrade.nl