Demolition without disturbance (cont.)

For this reason, when a digger is in action, another member of the site team is on hand with a hose to damp down the dust.

To guarantee vibration is kept within acceptable parameters, specialist consultants Ian Farmer Associates, of Newcastle upon Tyne, maintained a technician, Gareth Owens, and his monitoring equipment on site throughout the decommissioning. If vibrations began to build up, Gareth had the power to stop progress until a way could be devised to do the job with less vibration.

To ensure that no contamination is left when a site is handed over to the buyer, sample pits were drilled all over the site by environmental consultants Arcadis Geraghty & Miller International before demolition began. Similar test samples were taken at the bottom of the excavation when the tanks were removed. Once all contamination, if any, is identified and removed, it is also sent to a hazardous waste site.

The job took eight weeks, leaving the site ready for the construction of luxury apartments and underground car parking.

2 August 2005

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