The following audio broadcast is dedicated to the striking Nova Scotia demolition workers.

A demolition contract in Cankiri, Turkey goes catastrophically wrong.

Having covered the recent Shanghai building collapse that saw a high-rise structure simply lie down, we never cease to be amazed at the resilience of some structures. But this video of a demolition contract gone awry in Cankiri, Turkey just about tops them all:

It took two attempts, the but BASF plant in Virginia is finally no more.

As we reported yesterday, Dykon Explosive Demolition Corporation was about to take a second stab at bringing down the former BASF facility which had only partially fallen during a previous attempt. But, as the following video shows, the second attempt finally got the job done.

Nova Scotia demolition workers strike after being forced to supply own safety gear.

But that is precisely what is happening among a group of unionised and non-unionised demolition operatives in Nova Scotia who have just taken their case to the local labour minister.

According to reports, workers typically pay for hard hats and safety boots, but at least one company is charging workers $4 for dust masks and deducting costs for broken equipment and vehicles from their pay.

“Your first (dust mask) is free, but everything after that you have to pay for,” said Marco Fakkeldy, who has worked for one large demolition company for the past six years. And, he said, “You break anything, you pay for it.”

To read the full story from the ChronicleHerald, please click here.

Alternatively, check out this video – The start of the interview seems unfortunately to have failed to grasp the true purpose of the protest but the union representative being interviewed eventually gets his point across:

In the meantime, Demolition News would like to invite its readers to show their solidarity with these workers by leaving them a message using the Comments link below. In our opinion, demolition workers are no different to firefighters and no-one would expect a firefighter to pay for his own safety equipment. We look forward to reading your comments.

A hydraulic “impact hammer” makes light work of a concrete bridge deck.

The development of the hydrauluc hammer has come a long way since they first became an integral part of the demolition man’s armoury some 30 years ago. Today, they’re lighter, more powerful, more productive and a whole lot quieter than their predecessors.

But sometimes, just sometimes, most demolition professionals would gladly swap the luxury of low noise, low dust, and low vibration tools with something that simply delivers brute power. Something a bit like the unit shown in this video from Surestrike.

The impact hammer is a pretty ugly specimen and looks like something the A-Team threw together in their garage. But what it lacks in looks it more than makes up in sheer grunt. Check it out.

Dykon explosives team to take second stab at BASF plant later today.

It’s chemical plant implosion Take 2 in Portsmouth, Virginia later today as the explosives engineers from Dykon Explosive Demolition Corporation take a second stab at felling the former BASF facility.

As this news video from WAVY.com explains, the first implosion last week succeeded in bringing down just half the plant. Engineers and local residents are hoping that it’s second time lucky later today.

It’s worth noting the critical review of the first implosion by five-year old local resident Bobby Scott 50 seconds into this news video.

New demolition-specific clamp bucket from SUI Manufacturing.

When you watch as many demolition-related videos as we do, it soon becomes clear that demolition contractors across the world might share a universal language but each country tends to do things in their own way.

A fine example of this is the widespread use of clamp bucket attachments on US demolition and recycling sites, like the one shown here from SUI Manufacturing.

The company has very kindly also provided us with some information on their products, which you can read or downloaded by clicking the link below..

quick_clamp

Advertising Standards Authority upholds complaint by Kubota over Kosran advert.

UK trade magazine Contract Journal is reporting that the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld a complaint by Kubota about a Kosran advert in which the immobiliser manufacturer claimed Kubota’s immobilisation system could be overcome in 90 seconds.

In its defence Kosran submitted a DVD showing a Kubota machine apparently being ‘hot wired’ in 74 seconds but the ASA dismissed this saying: “…there was no independent verification to show whether the immobiliser had been operating correctly or that the process shown was accurate of real-life conditions.”

Read the full story here.

Demolition firms to carry out risk assessments in wake of Corby birth defects case.

UK trade magazine Contract Journal reports that a judge ruled this week that reclamation works on the former British Steel complex in Corby between 1985 and 1999 led to 17 children being born with underdeveloped fingers and webbed feet.

A group of local mothers won their case against Corby Borough Council following a three month trial.

Read the full story here.

Demolition News and Building Health’s Nichola Elvy look discuss drug and alcohol abuse in demolition.

With an increasing number of major contractors, utility and transport infrastructure companies now insisting that subcontractors conduct compulsory health monitoring and screening as part of their pre-qualification systems, many demolition companies are now having to face up to drugs and alcohol abuse within their workforce for the first time.

In this exclusive podcast (which is scheduled to be the first of two parts), we look at this issue with Nichola Elvy whose company, Building Health, is at the forefront of drugs and alcohol testing in this industry sector.