Video Exclusive – Portuguese tower falls to blast…

Delair CFD dust suppression technique proves its worth.

On Friday 12 April, we were lucky enough to be on site in Porto in Portugal as a guest of Delair CFD’s Patrick Villard to see the controlled implosion of a 15-storey tower block close to the River Douro and, in particular, the use of the Delair CFD pioneered vertical dust suppression system developed in France.

That system utilises a series of children’s paddling pools filled with water and explosives to fire water up the outside of the structure to coincide with the blast, capturing the dust. At the same time, a series of exploding water bags hidden within the building consume the dust created internally.

The day before the blast, the heavens over Porto had truly opened, leaving the site soggy and external dust trapped below a layer of moisture. However, all the rain in the world could not contain the dust within building itself. So it is a testament to the Delair CFD system that not only were the dust emissions minimal, but an adjacent road running alongside the building was reopened within seconds of the blast, with no additional sweeping or cleaning required.

The exclusive full story of the blast will appear in the next edition of Demolition magazine, out on 31 May 2013. Until then, check out our exclusive video below: