Chemical plant cleans up
Soil remediation in a tent
Royal Haskoning is conducting soil clean-up in a tent at a chemical plant. The huge tent effectively protects the surroundings and employees from odours and substances. The application of this method on this scale is unique.
Bram Woltjer, HSSE consultant in the Philippines, talks about the project. ‘The activities in the chemical plant are being run down. The organisation has a good and strict environment policy that complies with Philippines environmental management legislation, and it also applies European and American standards. The contractor called in Royal Haskoning in order to achieve this level of safety. The organisation is providing a health, safety, security and environment consultant (HSSE officer) and a quality consultant for the clean-up (QAQC officer). The local experts are well versed in their work. They want to keep and reuse anything that is still serviceable. We can learn from them here. And they’re learning a different safety approach from us. Machinery is also being modified to meet higher standards. This calls for different operating procedures.’
Royal Haskoning designed a health, safety, security and environment management system before excavation work started. In the interests of limiting the risks of emissions of odours and substances to the surroundings it was decided to do the work inside a huge tent with an effective air extraction system. ‘The tent that contains odours is actually two tents, each covering an area of 35 x 25 metres and 9 metres high. People live in the immediate vicinity and they must not suffer any nuisance as a result of our work. We’re also facilitating a safe work environment because any substances that are released are extracted immediately. We are therefore also monitoring the logistics process. The soil is removed straightaway under a covering. However, we take climatic conditions into account. The hotter it is, the greater the odour. If the wind is in the wrong direction for the residential neighbourhood, no soil is removed,’ explains . ‘We expect to complete the project in February. But we are at the mercy of the weather to some extent.’
Contactpersoon: Bram Woltjer
+31 6 12965383
b.woltjer@royalhaskoning.nl
