Decontamination and Dismantling of Manufacturing Equipment and Facility Contaminated with Explosive Residues

Client required full decontamination and dismantling of an obsolete manufacturing process in a dedicated facility, 100ft x 40ft x 18ft, that was to be repurposed. The facility was a metal structure with concrete floor and with vinyl backed fiberglass insulation on walls and ceiling

The facility had a history of operational problems and safety issues. The manufacturing process had been shut down after a serious and dangerous mechanical failure of the steel structure. 

The following equipment had to be decontaminated to MDAS (5X), removed and sold as scrap:

• Melting-pouring process in a mezzanine structure
• Floor pit
• Conveyors
• External scrubber and boiling tank
• Air ducting
• Services (electrical, pneumatic, hydraulic, HVAC)

The remaining services and the building itself had to be rendered safe for future use for manufacturing.

Client advised that the following contamination was present:

• Pentolite
• PETN
• TNT
• Comp B (RDX 60%, TNT 40%)
• Comp A5 (99% RDX / 1% Stearic Acid)

Explosives contamination (hard chunks and dust) was visible in most equipment and parts of the plant. Much of the air ducting system had not been cleaned from sublimed TNT and pentolite dust. Most of the most of hidden parts of the equipment, building and sumps contained explosives accumulation.

A team of MuniRem UXO technicians mobilized to the site where they worked in conjunction with a demolition subcontractor to carry out the project. MuniRem-R811E reagent was used to render equipment safe for dismantling, typically by spraying MuniRem Reagent solution continuously during the mechanical dismantling. All removed metal components were then soaked in MuniRem Solution to insure full decontamination to MDAS (5X), and then taken off-site for recycling. Likewise the walls, ceiling and structure of the building were sprayed with MuniRem Solution and rendered safe (MDAS). The entire project was carried out over four months.