Dust Control Equipment Comes to the Rescue of a Demolition Job with an Abundance of Coal Dust

October 30th, 2013

When an emergency happens, most people will dial 9-1-1. But when that emergency has to do with a huge plume of dust on a demolition site, a different type of response is needed. When a massive cloud of dust formed during the demolition of a coal-fired power plant in Elizabethton, Tenn., it caused quite a disturbance that brought the project to an immediate halt. The demolition company, Meredith Environmental of Birmingham, Ala., needed a solution and needed it fast.

The power plant being demolished was part of the former North American Rayon Co. During World War II, the company made rayon for parachutes used by the military. The five-story building was constructed in the 1920s and contained 12 large boilers that extended the entire five floors. At the top of the building was a coal bin which stood one story in height. Six electrical steam- powered generators at the side of the building provided power to the rayon manufacturer as well as to the town of Elizabethton.

Tommy Read of Read Technical Services, Cumming, Ga., is the industrial hygienist on the job site. He performs daily air testing outside of the work area to make sure no hazardous materials are released. Read monitored asbestos removal at the site, which took approximately three months. But it wasn’t until demolition started that he says is “where we hit the problem.”

In late May, as crews were bringing down the first of several ducts, a large cloud of dark grey dust spewed out of the building. The coal dust from the duct created concerns for workers and nearby businesses, including a Walmart and a Lowe’s. The dust cloud received attention from state environmental agencies and the local media. A passerby caught the incident on video and posted it to YouTube. The story even made the evening news on CBS affiliate WJHL-TV.

“We immediately stopped everything,” recalls Read. Workers had soaked the area ahead of time with fire hoses to try to prevent dust. Even when the dust cloud came out of the building, two hoses were spraying. It became instantly apparent that a different approach was needed to stop the dust.

When Meredith Environmental’s Hammond Snook heard about what happened, he sprung into action. He called Sean Mehaffey, Alabama territory manager for Carroll, Ohio-based Company Wrench. According to Snook, Mehaffey drove to Company Wrench’s Aiken, S.C., branch, picked up a Dust Destroyer and had it at the job site in Elizabethton the next day.

Unlike fire hoses that spray massive amounts of water, the Dust Destroyer has dozens of nozzles that itemize the water, creating tiny drops of water that are the same size as the dust. Read describes the mist it creates as a wall that the dust cannot penetrate.

The Dust Destroyer has been operating at the job site for the past two months. Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) has been paying close attention. TDEC inspects the site two to three times per week, and according to Read, the inspectors have been pleased with the results. “We haven’t had a dust cloud since the first day we put it in operation,” says Read. “They [TDEC] would have stopped us if we hadn’t have had this thing. It has been an absolute treasure. That Dust [Destroyer] really saved our backside”

The Dust Destroyer has worked so well that TDEC has even brought people out to the job site from area quarries to see if the equipment might be a solution for their dust issues. “TDEC couldn’t be happier with what we are doing to manage dust,” says Snook.

Meredith Environmental has about another month of work at the Elizabethton job site and plans to use the Dust Destroyer on future jobs.