Case Study: Remediation

Project Type: Facility Remediation/Closure
Service Provided: Decontamination of Industrial Site
Project Locations: United States
Client Type: Manufacturers, universities

Description of services:

Corporation is an international manufacturer of metal products of a toxic nature. The primary routes of entry are via inhalation and also absorption through the skin. While in operation, this plant had an elaborate air handling system to reduce worker exposure. This system was present not only in the manufacturing areas but also in offices, laboratories and rest rooms. The air handling system consisted of a number of large roof-mounted bag-houses. One centrally located blower created the required airflow throughout the entire plant.

TIER has provided a variety of services towards the successful decontamination of this closed facility. Those services include waste management (including laboratory chemical packaging), industrial maintenance, electrical transformer removal, wastewater plant decommissioning and demolition.

When this plant closed a variety of waste types in an assortment of forms and containers went unaddressed. TIER combed the entire property (several acres under roof) to locate, inventory, segregate and repackage hazardous, non-hazardous, TSCA and various forms of residual and universal waste. During the collection and identification phase, all of the waste was properly packaged and analyzed (if necessary). Subsequently the waste was shipped to numerous types of disposal and treatment facilities.

The decontamination of the plant started with the removal of all components (filter bags, duct work, bag-houses, vacuum equipment) of the air handling system (where beryllium exposure was likely to be at the greatest level). This was often performed in supplied air breathing equipment. Because much of this equipment was roof-mounted, TIER sub-contracted crane and rigging services. After the metal was decontaminated it was sent off-site to be reclaimed for the steel value. After the equipment was removed, the entire room was vacuumed from ceiling to floor with TIER’s high-power dumping vacuum truck (with high efficiency particulate arrestor filters). This included rafters, tops of lights, conduits and any other surface where beryllium dust might have accumulated during plant operation. This step was followed with a complete washing of all surfaces (horizontal as well as vertical). The contaminated wash water was collected with either floor scrubbing equipment or with TIER’s high-power dumping vacuum truck.