UK agrochems rejig nears completion

Kent, UK – Agricultural chemicals company Nufarm UK Ltd is nearing completion of a project to decommission and clear its 12 acre site in Belvedere, Kent following the relocation of its UK operation to West Yorkshire.

Australian-owned Nufarm decided to close the Belvedere plant last year. This was part of a plan to consolidate its UK activities at Wyke, near Bradford, where it will continue to manufacture agrochemical products for the protection of grassland, arable and horticultural crops.

Less than a year later the former top-tier COMAH site at Crabtree Manorway North, which had an extensive chemicals processing and manufacturing history even before the arrival of Nufarm in 1994, is almost cleared and ready to be placed on the market.

Nufarm’s European operations manager Wigbold Nieuwenhuis said: “Having made the decision to progress to demolition, our primary concern throughout has been for the safety of all operatives.

“The project has also required intense planning and stringent management to minimise disruption to the numerous commercial properties bordering the site. Continuous effective liaison with neighbouring occupants and public services has ensured everyone has remained in the communication loop.

“As we near the final stages, I’m pleased to say that the demolition has progressed without incident and I am informed that it is scheduled to finish on time and to budget.”

Clearance of the five hectare site has been a gruelling 14-week process for main contractor EDS but the meticulous planning - orchestrated by specialist engineering consultants and construction design management (CDM) co-ordinators RVA Group - commenced months ago.

RVA Group managing director Richard Vann explained: “Our involvement actually began in March 2009 when we worked with Nufarm to assess the most commercially viable option going forward, in terms of selling the site with equipment intact or widening its market appeal by clearing it.

“Once the decision to demolish was made, we advised Nufarm of decontamination best practice, helped devise isolation strategies and audited compliance.

“As work has progressed, our role has further involved providing our full scope of services from CDM co-ordination and project management, to compiling tender documentation and supporting the established Nufarm team in the demolition contractor selection process and control of the subsequent site operations.”

The works themselves have comprised asbestos removal, decontamination, dismantling, demolition and full site clearance of the process plant equipment and buildings - 30 structures in total of concrete, brick, steel and timber construction.

Vann explained the often simultaneous nature of the project processes: “When heavy demolition of the four-storey steel frame chlorination building began for example, the meticulous recovery of 30 high-value chemical reactors was underway elsewhere on the site.

“This delicate and precise asset recovery operation was carried out by a specialist team of dismantlers working to RVA-approved methodology. The greatest degree of care, co-ordination and concentration was necessary to ensure the vessels were re-salvaged without damage, for installation at Nufarm UK’s Wyke plant.”

The fact that many of these processes were being carried out concurrently was potentially problematic. However the complex nature of the job posed no discernable difficulty for the RVA engineering team, which has worked on some of the largest industrial process plant demolition projects in the UK over the past two years, including the decommissioning of the former Bayer CropScience plant at Widnes, and GrowHow UK Ltd’s 100-acre Severnside site.

RVA will maintain its specialist consulting role on the Belvedere site, managing contracts for the removal, processing and storage of the over-site slab, and for the remediation of known soils and groundwater contamination to acceptable levels for industrial development.

Waste (all tonnages are approximate):
1800te Concrete, brick and blockwork all recycled.
2te glass and glassware all recycled.
35te non biodegradable plastics all recycled.
15te of gypsum based plasterboard all recycled.
10te of timber all recycled.
4te of cardboard and paper all recycled.
2te of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment all recycled.
1160te of ferrous and non-ferrous metals all recycled.
30te of Fibreglass to landfill.
100te of general waste to landfill.
82te of bonded asbestos to landfill.
15te of fibrous asbestos to landfill.
8te of roofing felt to landfill.
10te of Chemical residues to treatment and recovery plants.
3te of CFC blown expanded foam insulation to treatment plant.
92% of Waste Recycled.
 
Additional Stats:
- All concrete, brick and blockwork waste materials recycled for reuse within 5 mile radius.
- 15,642 manhours worked in total on the project with no reportable accidents/injuries.
- Average of three demolition excavators and a long reach configuration machine used through the duration of the project, with Komatsu PC450 machine being the largest deployed.
- Approximately 15 crane working days through project with a maximum of three cranes on site at once.
- No complaints from local neighbours including commercial and residential areas.