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National Demolition Association Recognizes Top Environmental Projects

The National Demolition Association (NDA) is recognizing a number of projects that the association says help improve the “Quality of Life” of the surrounding community. The NDA, through its Fourth Annual Environmental Excellence Awards, highlighted the successes of 13 companies, who have permitted demolition projects that demonstrate significant environmental conservation and community improvement. The NDA announced the winners during the its 41st annual convention in Las Vegas.
“The Environmental Excellence Awards recognize NDA member companies which are true leaders in the area of environmental stewardship,” says Michael Taylor, NDA’s executive director. “Environmental stewardship is one of the demolition industry’s primary missions and these winning projects help illustrate truly dramatic efforts our members have made to make this a reality and improve the quality of life in their communities. The winning projects are the following:

Armstrong Industries and its nationwide ceiling recycling program, which the company says is the first of its kind in the ceiling industry. The goal of the recycling project is to reduce the environmental impact of new buildings while they are still on the drawing boards. Additionally, Armstrong is encouraging designers to take into consideration everything from product design and raw material selection to how products are manufactured and delivered to the jobsite when weighing their impact on the environment. Since its inception in 1999, the Armstrong Ceiling Recycling Program has recycled more than 123 million square feet of ceiling materials.

Demolition and remediation of the Merck Flint River Plant in Albany, Ga., which was performed by Brandenburg Industrial Service, Chicago. Through the project, Brandenburg cleaned up environmental hazards on the 100-acre site, enabling future development. Brandenburg subcontracted O’Brien & Gere for the demolition, asbestos abatement and environmental remediation of the plant. Work included the demolition and disposal of more than 5,000 tons of hazardous concrete, more than 10,000 gallons of impacted water, incineration of 200 tons of hazardous sludge, decontamination of all equipment, removal of all underground utilities, demolition of the main wastewater treatment plant and the crushing of more than 25,000 tons of concrete and asphalt to be sued as onsite fill. In addition, Brandenburg removed tons of contaminated block and asphalt.

Worcester Clock Tower historic reuse, Worcester, Mass. The project was performed by Costello Dismantling, Wareham, Mass. Through the project, Costello was able to deconstruct the 65-foot historic clock tower built in 1877 at the former Worcester State Hospital by hand, cataloging each piece so that the tower could be rebuilt in a different location on the site. Following the meticulous dismantlement of the clock tower by Costello, it will relocate on site as part of the new $300 million, 300-bed Worcester Recovery Center & Hospital.

Dust Control Program for Doyle Drive removal, San Francisco, Calif., performed by Dust Control Technology, Peoria, Ill. Dust Control Technology developed a model to control dust in large projects. With a 57-hour window for project completion, Dust Control Technology developed a comprehensive dust suppression plan using eight large-scale atomized misting machines to prevent all visible dust from the project area. The Doyle Drive project was a model for large-scale, open-area demolition dust control, which demonstrated the effectiveness of atomized mist technology.

Demolition at Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, conducted by Lloyd’s Construction Services Inc., Savage, Minn. During Lloyd’s Construction Services’ selective demolition of Minneapolis’ Walker Art Center, the company was able to showcase the reuse of materials from the project by Mexican artist Abraham Cruzvillagas that served as a model on how to effectively find outlets for seemingly unwanted materials.

Demolition and remediation of Hunters Point Naval Shipyard in San Francisco. For the demolition of the shipyard, Tetra Tech developed a unique U.S. EPA sampling method, which allowed for a two-day turnaround that produced defensible radiological data using gamma spectrometry. The turnaround sped up the remediation of radiologically contaminated structures and equipment onsite. In all Tetra Tech demolished nine major buildings and structures, 850 feet of railroad track, 700 cubic yards of asphalt, 350 cubic yards of concrete and 1,525 feet of sanitary and drainage and  sewer line.

Decontamination of chemical weapons facility in Anniston, Ala. NDA members involved in the project included URS Corp., San Francisco; and Spirtas Wrecking Co., St. Louis. The decontamination technique used kept thousands of tons of scrap metal out of landfills. Using high-pressure Nitrocision technology, URS Corp. and Spirtas Wrecking decontaminated the ANCDF Chemical Weapons facility. The technology used pressured liquid nitrogen to remove up to a half – inch of internal concrete surfaces that had come in contact with various chemical agents. The effort allowed the recycling of thousands of tons of steel, copper and other alloys rather than disposing of them as hazardous waste.

Decommissioning and demolition of a chemical manufacturing facility, performed by Adamo Demolition Co., Detroit; Bierlein Companies, Midland, Mich.; Louisiana Chemical & Demolition, Kenner, La.; Ontario Specialty Contracting, Buffalo, N.Y.; and Winter Environmental, Norcross, Ga. The project highlighted industry teamwork, safety standards and commitment to environmental stewardship. Since early 2012, general contractor CH2M Hill has orchestrated a project team consisting of Adamo Demolition, Bierlein Companies, Louisiana Chemical & Demolition, Ontario Specialty Contracting and Winter Environmental to decommission and demolish facility units and associated infrastructure deemed obsolete or outmoded. The project team worked safely to decommission, demolish and recycle more than 15,750 tons of ferrous and non-ferrous metals and has expended more than 240,000 man hours while maintaining an excellent record of safety and environmental compliance. http://www.cdrecycler.com/nda-2014-environmental-awards-winners.aspx