Exploding gas bottles force evacuation of site. An explosive fire that sent “fireballs” flying and plumes of toxic black smoke into the sky was caused by a worker’s blowtorch, which caused gas bottles to explode and forced the evacuation of the site. The Circular Quay inferno, which sent plumes of toxic black smoke and caused…Read moreRead more
Accident
Video – Blowtorch blamed as fire engulfs Sydney site…
Charges to be brought over Didcot disaster
Number of individuals facing corporate manslaughter charges. An evidence file has been passed to prosecutors by police investigating the fatal collapse of Didcot Power Station. At a pre-inquest review hearing at Oxford Coroner’s Court, Det Ch Insp Craig Kirby gave an update in Thames Valley Police’s investigation. He said it was looking at charges of…Read moreRead more
Pre-inquest review imminent at Didcot…
Interim findings from Didcot investigation expected later this month. Pre-inquest reviews will be held for the four men who died in the Didcot Power Station collapse of February 2016. The pre-inquest review will be held at Oxford Coroner’s Court at County Hall in New Road on January 31 from 2pm. It will be in part…Read moreRead more
Video – Divine intervention…?
Chinese authorities struggle to fell Christian church. For the second time in less than a month, Chinese authorities have demolished a Christian church sparking fears of an anti-Christian campaign. But the latest church – known as the Golden Lampstand – did not go without a fight. In fact, the initial implosion merely served to kick…Read moreRead more
Video – Playing into the hands of protestors…
Debris lands in street as protestors watch. Residents in St Peters, an inner-city suburb of Sydney, had gathered to protest against the $17bn+ WestCONnex tollway project during which homes forcibly acquired by the government were being demolished. This video captures the moment when contractors took the roof off a home and sent bricks flying out…Read moreRead more
Video – Pray it falls the right way…
The latest addition to the Holy Crap Files is the stuff of health and safety nightmares. If you’re a health and safety professional, equipment operator, demolition worker or if you have a functioning brain, you might want to look away now. The video (below) from Taiwan is an object lesson in how risk assessments are…Read moreRead more
Contamination escape at plutonium plant…
Demolition workers await medical results. There has been another incident of contamination at the Hanford Site. This one involves worker vehicles that were driven off the nuclear cleanup site in southeast Washington state. Two vehicles that were contaminated with radioactive waste were driven home Friday and then came back to work at Hanford Monday. They…Read moreRead more
Video – When next door knocks on your wall…
Overly-keen operator knocks wall into neighbouring house. It’s bad enough living next door to a demolition site. There’s noise, dust, vibration and additional traffic to contend with. But all of that pales into insignificance when the demolition taking place next door suddenly comes to visit. This video captures the moment an excavator nudges a wall…Read moreRead more
Going under the knife…
We can rebuild him. We have the technology. We can make him better than he was. By the time you get to read this, I will likely be in hospital with my head swathed in bandage. 458 days ago, I was hit in the face with a brick on a demolition site. The impact of…Read moreRead more
Video – Close but no cigar…
Silo falls after implosion. Well, almost. A local TV news camera has captured the moment a disused mine silo was felled by a controlled blast. Almost. Instead, the silo failed to abide by the laws of gravity and has been left upright but at a rather more jaunty angle:
