Voluntary redundancies cut staff numbers at nuclear power station site.

The company leading the demolition of the Dounreay nuclear site is cutting 102 posts this year and planning to shed a further 80 jobs by 2013.

Dounreay Site Restoration Limited (DSRL) said 93 posts at the Caithness site have been identified so far.

Thirty more jobs are to be cut over 2011-12 and 50 over 2012-13.

DSRL also plans plans to seek a cheaper alternative to a proposed £100m treatment plant and store for most of the complex’s intermediate-level waste.

Read more here.

Zanesville High School demolition contractor deemed in compliance with EPA

The demolition contractor on the Zanesville High School project was deemed in compliance with environmental regulations.

In a letter dated Aug. 18 to Maiher Demolition, Trevor Irwin, an environmental specialist with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency Division of Solid and Infectious Waste Management, said it appears Maiher is in compliance with regard to the state’s clean hard fill regulations.

And in regard to another complaint, measures to control air pollution also are in compliance, Irwin said.

Irwin and Chad Winebrenner from the Ohio EPA’s Division of Air Pollution Control met with Brian Maiher of the contractor on Aug. 10. The meeting was in regard to complaints about air emissions during the school demolition and the disposal of fill materials on the Adamsville Road property of Dow Cameron that had come to light the previous week.

Irwin said Maiher told him fill material consisting of concrete from the demolition of footers at the high school site was taken to Cameron’s property. And smaller loads of fill were being taken to a property on the West Pike.

Irwin determined that the materials at both dump sites did not violate state regulations.

Read more here.

Former workers gather to witness plant implosion.

Dozens of former workers turned out to see the demolition of two smokestacks and a boiler building at the Knight-Celotex Plant in Sunbury. The smokestack could be seen from most places in Sunbury. After all, it was the tallest structure in the city, located at the center of the former Knight-Celotex Plant.

The smokestack, an adjacent boiler building and a shorter smokestack were leveled.

“There’s about 160 pounds of dynamite and 42 pounds of shape charges, so it’s going to be a very, very loud bang,” said former employee Bruce Rea.

The plant dates back to around 1900 and throughout the years has employed countless local people. Some of those former employees came out to see the end of an era.

“There was 120 to 130 employees who lost their jobs in June, 2009. Sad to see it come down. It’s been part of the city for 50 plus years, maybe longer,” said former employee Kevin Troup. He added the plant made fiber board for homes and fell on hard times when the housing market slumped. Now, another company plans to buy the property and develop it for the booming natural gas industry. “What are you going to do? People all over the country are doing the same thing we’re doing here.”

Read more here or view the video below:

Wrong sections of building destroyed by wrecking companies, suit claims

An investment group has filed suit against the wrecking companies that it claims wrongly destroyed sections of its property.

Green Investment Group claims it owned about 400,000 square feet of buildings and related facilities at 10 Cut St. in Alton when it decided to sell certain portions of its property on July 18, 2008.

Green entered into a sales contract with defendant AGM in which AGM agreed to pay $4 million to acquire some of Green’s property and to demolish certain buildings, according to the complaint filed Aug. 13 in Madison County Circuit Court.

In the contract, Green specified which buildings could be demolished, the suit states.

Later, AGM sold 100 percent of the property it acquired from Green to defendant Alton Recovery, the complaint says. In the sale, the terms of AGM’s original sales contract should have been included, Green claims.

Alton Recovery decided to demolish buildings at the site and hired defendants RMR Group, Titan Wrecking and Environmental and Acme Refining Group to perform the work, according to the complaint.

However, the demolition groups destroyed property not listed in the contract, the suit states.

Read more here.

Watch as protestors gather at Stuttgart Central Station.

We followed this link to watch the demolition of Stuttgart’s Central Railway station (you have to scroll down, hit the play button and endure a brief advertisement).

But while the demolition is going on, the cameras seem rather more interested n the hundreds of protestors gathered at the site; and the activities of the police that are dragging them away.

Quincy demolition crew fears asbestos exposure will cause cancer

Four men claim they fear they will develop cancer after they helped demolish a building containing asbestos that they had been told contained none.

Jaime Chier, Mark Uzzetta, John Schilly and Myrna Bomkamp filed a lawsuit Aug. 13 in Madison County Circuit Court against Alter Trading Corp., Environmental Consultants, Midwest Asbestos Abatement Corporation doing business as Midwest Service Group, Envirotech and Talbert Industrial Commercial Services.

The plaintiffs claim they worked for Premier Demolition and began dismantling a structure at 901 South Front St. in Quincy on Aug. 13, 2008. Before the plaintiffs’ work began, the defendants inspected the premises and promised it had been cleared of asbestos-containing materials, according to the complaint.

If asbestos remains on the premises when demolition begins, it can cause workers to become exposed to significant amounts of the fibers, the suit states.

“When asbestos fibers from disturbed asbestos-containing materials become airborne, such as during renovations or demolitions, they can be inhaled; the fibers then become lodged in the lung tissues,” the complaint says. “Once in the lung tissues, asbestos has been known to cause cancer, mesothelioma, asbestosis, pleural plaques, and other very serious health conditions in humans.”

The plaintiffs claim they now fear such diseases because they became exposed to asbestos fibers when they demolished the Quincy building.

The defendants’ representations that the building was asbestos-free were wrong, the plaintiffs say, and as a result, the plaintiffs have been damaged beyond repair, have suffered severe emotional distress, fear, anxiety, aggravation, inconvenience and mental anguish, according to the complaint.

Read more here.

Clever photography or the beginning of a major blaster celebration? You decide.

How Hurricane Katrina blew one woman down a seemingly unusual career path.

But it’s an ill wind that blows nobody any good and out of the devastation, one unusual demotion company has emerged. And, as the rebuilding of New Orleans continues, this company is growing in both size and reputation.

We spoke to the owner to find out more. Just hit the play button (below) to hear her inspirational story.

Demolition of Welsh mine rescue station could be heading for the courts.

Legal action is being considered by Wrexham council over the “unauthorised demolition” of the town’s former Mines Rescue Station.

Key parts of the Grade-II listed building were destroyed on Friday, two days after it was awarded protected status by historic monuments body Cadw. Wrexham council said the maximum fine in such cases was £20,000 and/or six months imprisonment.

The owner, businessman Neville Dickens, has been unavailable for comment. It is understood Mr Dickens is on holiday and a spokesperson at his office said they did not know when he would be available.

He was granted planning permission three years ago to knock down the building and construct flats. However, some local people have been campaigning to save the 1913 building because of its historical significance.

It was listed by Cadw on 18 August after heavy machinery was used to demolish some of the most historically-important sections. Two days later the machines were back, and contractors continued demolition work.

Read the full story here.

Some locals missed the long-awaited implosion as crews blasted early in weather window.

There was still much talk yesterday about how Cape Town City Council bosses mistimed the demolition of the Athlone cooling towers on Sunday morning by nearly four minutes.

A number of spectators have complained that they missed the moment of the blast, which was meant to take place at noon.

The City’s Pieter Cronje has apologised and said those responsible for setting off the implosion did so because the weather conditions changed briefly.

“There was a break in the weather. We had drizzle; there was a big downpour and a thunderstorm coming along. The wind speed changed, which affects the implosion and the dust. So with all of those factors the blaster made the decision to blow when he did.”

Read more here.