The Mack Group, LLC recently completed the unique and challenging asbestos abatement of a 400 ft high concrete coal-fired power plant stack in northeastern Pennsylvania. Complicating the project was the requirement that the stack was to remain in operation through the entire asbestos removal operations.
The aging stack of the power plant was in dire need of repairs and a structural carbon fiber shell was proposed for the stack to give it a new life. The advantages of this carbon fiber shell was that it could be installed while the stack remained active and would also allow the stack to be refurbished instead of having to be completely demolished and then rebuilt. In order for this carbon fiber shell to be put in place, all of the exterior asbestos containing paint needed to be removed from the stack.
The Mack Group was contacted by the client to safely remove the asbestos containing paint while adhering to a strict project schedule as well as compliance with all safety, environmental and health rules and regulations. The project specifications required the asbestos abatement of 20,000 sq ft of asbestos containing rubberized paint 1/8-inch thick on the exterior of the stack while the stack remained in operation.
Prior to starting the work, the company’s asbestos trained workforce was put through additional project specific safety training. Training included safety requirements specific to working on a power plant as well as refresher training in fall protection and proper use of hand tools.
To tackle this project, Mack had three 400 ft high pump jack tower platforms surrounding the stack installed. These tower platforms were then enclosed with plastic sheeting and put under HEPA negative air filtration. Then workers used specialized HEPA equipped powered hand tools to remove the rubberized asbestos paint. A third party consultant was used for daily monitoring and to ascertain when all ACM had been removed and abatement completed.
During the abatement work, The Mack Group used internet-based weather monitoring programs to determine if severe weather conditions were approaching the work site. If any signs of approaching sustained winds or the potential for lightning showed, Mack would immediately initiate a work stoppage until the weather cleared. Another issue during abatement was the presence of stack gases. Since the stack was still in operation during abatement operations, the top 50 ft of the stack posed a significant issue to Mack’s workers due to the presence of emitted gases. While in the top 50 ft zone of the smoke stack, abatement workers increased the level of PPE to Type C supplied air.
Following abatement of the painted surface, the abated materials were then properly containerized and sent offsite for disposal in an EPA approved landfill. All records and documents were properly secured and archived. The Mack Group’s PA-licensed asbestos workers brought this project in on schedule and without injury.