REMEDIATION OF A CHEMICAL PLANT

Project:	Reconversion and demolition of buildings in a chemical plant
Duration:	March 1998 to August 2000
Task:	A total of 12 buildings with approx. 170,000 m2 were to be demolished in a chemicals plant in the Rhine/Main are which had manufactured dyes and other chemicals for decades. The buildings were the former production installations and abandoned laboratory, storage and office buildings. The current plant operations were not to be disturbed.
Solution:	To prepare for the demolition the substance of the individual buildings was examined for possible contaminants, in order to make an inventory of the types of waste that might be expected. Using this as a basis, a reconversion and demolition concept was developed and suitable waste disposal possibilities were recommended. In addition, parallel surveys of possible soil contamination in the ground underneath the buildings and in the groundwater were carried out to detect any pollution caused by the buildings' earlier use. The results of the survey and recommendations for action for each building were compiled in a survey report which formed the basis of the application for the demolition permit. After completion of the measure the trenches for the buildings, some of which have basements, were filled and the site was cleared for subsequent use.
Amount of waste disposed:	more than 500 tonnes