Excavator operator walks away unharmed from fallen excavator.

Ron Marsh, the owner of Dixonville-based Marsh Contracting, has walked away unharmed from an accident that saw the excavator he was driving fall into an underground vault. The incident required the assistance of local firefighters who assisted in the rescue of Marsh and who also oversaw the preservation of overhead power lines that were in danger of being brought down my the excavator’s raised boom.

“If (the machine) had kept going, it would have come down on Miller Avenue and taken out every pole from there to Yellow Creek Street in a domino effect,” said Assistant Fire Chief Joe Iezzi of the Homer City fire company.

Read the full story here.

Health directorate calls for measures to mitigate dust, noise and vibration.

The Environmental Health Section of the Cape Town’s Health Directorate has reviewed the Contractors Environmental Management Plan, including a Specialist Dust, Noise and Vibration Plan, regarding the possible health risks that the implosion of the two Athlone towers on 22 August may hold, and have called for various mitigation measures to be implemented to minimise these risks. Possible risks include noise pollution, as well as large amounts of dust that can pose a risk to especially those who have chronic lung and heart conditions.

Dr. Ivan Bromfield, Executive Director: City Health, said: “The City is taking all necessary precautions to ensure that the demolition of the towers does not have an adverse effect on the residents of surrounding communities and on those watching the historic event. We also want to encourage the public to follow the guidelines we have provided in order to ensure that they observe the demolition of the towers in a safe environment and that those with medical conditions will not be exposed to the possible health risks.”

Since February 2010 when it was decided that the towers must be demolished, many people raised concerns about the presence of asbestos in the towers which could pose a health risk when the towers are imploded. This issue was also a concern for City Health as the presence of asbestos in the towers would lead to the distribution of wind-blown asbestos dust, during and after the implosion. The City therefore asked an accredited inspection authority to determine whether there is asbestos on the site, and is pleased to report that the inspection authority has issued a certificate to confirm that the site is asbestos free. This will therefore not pose a health risk during the demolition of the towers.

Read the full story here.

South Park Bridge comes down in August; another $15 million designated

Demolition will begin in August on Seattle’s old South Park Bridge that was closed to traffic June 30.

The spans will be removed first by mid-September. The foundation and both ends of the road deck will be removed some time between 2011 and 2013, said Frank Abe, spokesman for King County Executive Dow Constantine.

Board members of the Puget Sound Regional Council voted Thursday to use $15 million of the region’s federal highway money to remove the 79-year-old crossing, which served industries and a working-class residential neighborhood on the south fringe of Seattle.

Read more here.

Podcast follows newly-redundant demolition man on his quest for a new job.

Just over a week ago, DemolitionNews.com reported that the Wakefield-based contractor – Controlled Group – had gone into administration. Ever since then, we have been doing our level best to help the employees impacted by this unexpected collapse to find alternative employment.

As part of this effort to help find new jobs for those affected by the demise of the Controlled Group, and to hopefully help guide others through the demolition recruitment minefield, we have decided to follow a former Controlled employee as he tries to find alternative employment.

Colin Hiscock joined Controlled Group as Head of Contaminated Land earlier this year, bringing with him some 10 years experience in the demolition industry. We caught up with Colin as he is began his job search.

To listen to the podcast, please click the play button below. If you would like to view Colin’s CV, please click here. And if you’d like to contact Colin via LinkedIn, please hit this link.

We are, of course, hoping that Colin soon finds a job, making this the shortest podcast series int he history of audio. But Colin’s agreed that we can follow him every step of the way until then so look out for more episodes in the coming weeks.

Queensland companies struggle to stay afloat while others pay bribes.

Some Queensland building contractors say they are on the verge of collapse because they cannot compete with big companies cutting corners, wages and paying bribes to win contracts.

There are claims that “outside contractors” are cutting corners and underpaying wages to win contracts on major infrastructure developments.

Queensland Infrastructure Minister Stirling Hinchliffe says any concerns about work practices on Brisbane’s airport tunnel project should be referred to the authorities.

Brisbane hire company DIY Heavy Equipment is calling for an investigation into alleged corrupt practices within the industry.

Read more or view the video here.

Iowa demolition crew unearths what they fear to be a bomb at munitions plant.

Waterloo police have asked the military for advice in disposing of a suspected bomb found in a former munitions plant.

Workers with Active Thermal Concepts, which is involved in the demolition of the former Chamberlain Manufacturing compound, found the suspected bomb Wednesday afternoon.

The device was found out in the open on what appeared to be a water heater in the northern section of the plant. Authorities say the workers moved it an area by a door so they could see it better.

Work is underway to demolish a number of grain silos in King’s Lynn.

Derelict grain silos that are considered “a blot on King’s Lynn’s landscape” are being knocked down.
Work to demolish the silos and associated buildings on South Quay in the Norfolk town began on Monday.

West Norfolk Council said the buildings had deteriorated and become a haven for rough sleeping and “undesirable activity”.

A Section 215 notice was issued last year, requiring the site to be tidied up with various areas demolished.

Jason Law, the council’s cabinet member for regeneration, said: “The site has become a real eyesore and the buildings have become unsafe, resulting in Devils Alley being fenced off.

“This will tidy up the site and make the whole area along the waterfront more attractive for visitors and more pleasant for local residents.”

Read the full story here.

Building collapse kills demolition worker in New Delhi.

A demolition operative was killed on Tuesday while demolishing a dangerous building in the Mori Gate area. The incident occurred when labourers working for a private contractor who had been engaged by Municipal Corporation of Delhi were demolishing a two-storey building in the area. Meanwhile, police has registered a case of death due to negligence and are investigating the matter.

According to eyewitnesses, while the demolition action was on, the victim, Ramvir, toppled over something and fell down. Said an eyewitness, Hira Singh, (name changed), “Before he got a chance to get up, a part of the building collapsed on him.” He was then rushed to the Aruna Asaf Ali Hospital at Tara Chand Mathur Marg, where he died.”

Soon after the incident, MCD announced a probe into the matter.

Read the full story here.

You can now send us your demolition photos via Facebook.

With a growing and thriving community of fans over on our Facebook page, we are now offering DemolitionNews.com readers to share their demolition photos with the world.

For those familiar with Facebook, it’s simply a matter of visiting www.facebook.com/demolitionnews, hitting the wall tab and then selecting the photo option. You will then be allowed to upload photos direct from your computer’s hard drive.

If, however, you’re less familiar with the inner workings of the world’s largest social media website, then the video below might prove useful.

Either way, please send us your best demolition photos (and any of you on a demolition site) and we’ll chose the best and feature them here on DemolitionNews.com.

22 August named as the date Cape Town cooling towers will come down.

After extensive consultation and planning, South Africa’s Athlone cooling towers are to be demolished on Sunday 22 August 2010 at 12:00.

Both towers, which are nearly 20 years old, form part of the decommissioned Athlone coal-fired power station and have become unsafe following the collapse of the strengthening rings around one of them in February. They now need to be demolished in the interests of public safety.

The City’s Disaster Risk Management team is monitoring wind speeds, which could cause the towers to collapse, on a daily basis and has a plan in place should they become excessive.

It was decided last week that the towers will come down on Sunday 22 August, as this is a realistic date by which all safety measures can be in place and by when Jet Demolition indicated they will have all their preparation work for the demolition completed. The demolition is not weather dependent and can go ahead even if it rains on the day.

Various City Departments have worked together closely to ensure the demolition will be safe for the public, the surrounding areas and City services.

All the required permits and approvals have been obtained and the necessary site preparation is underway, with particular attention being given to the protection of existing services and safety of both the public and workers involved.

Read more here.