Harrisburg Facility Incinerator
The Harrisburg Authority decided it was time to replace their incinerator. NADC member Empire Services once again was out to prove that they are the company to call and had the team to perform the necessary work for the project. Prove it they did! The Harrisburg Materials, Energy, Recycling and Recovery Facility has been engaged in the business of combusting municipal solid waste for over thirty years. The facility was originally constructed and placed into commercial operation in 1972. The original plant consisted of two mass burn combustion units, each designed to combust 360 tons per day
Only 44 calendar days were given to complete the project which consisted of the removal of two large percipitator units, dismantlement of two 90’ incinerators, removal of two overhead cranes from inside of the building, demolition of the cooling tower, ash building, sludge bins, turbines and mechanicals throughout the incinerator and turbine buildings. With this time frame, it was necessary for Empire Services to create scheduling that would allow the crew to handle this difficult project in the most efficient and safe manner possible. Empire determined the work schedule would be to have two ten hour shifts with twenty men on each shift. It was also decided that the roof and steel beams were to be left in place to avoid any possible loss of time due to weather problems. This decision assisted in providing temporary lighting and a location for the workers to tie off when doing high work. With this workforce, Empire was able to meet the required number of days to complete the project. This is due in no small part to the crew assigned to this job and their dedication to getting the job done.
Prior to the start of the work, Empire was required to develop a dust control plan to deal with the enormous amount of ash build up throughout the building which had to be approved by DEP. This was accomplished through Empire’s sister company, Elk Environmental which washed down the entire facility and filtering all the water to prevent sludge and ash from entering the sanitary sewer system. Air monitoring was done in the facility and employees themselves were checked with hand held monitoring devices. A genuine concern of Empire is to provide a safe working environment for their employees. Any and all safety issues were addressed with the presence of Empire’s Safety Officer onsite. There were weekly Safety Meetings held as well as continuous onsite safety inspections.
One of the many hurdles Empire had to overcome was that the main building had to remain intact in preparation for the new incinerator. The first step was to remove the precipitators which were 40 feet above the roof of the one building and 30 feet below into the basement. The percipitators were removed using our 95’ long boom Hitachi 450 equipped with a LaBounty MS15 shear. The use of specialized equipment and trained employees allowed Empire to perform within the confines of the job site.
The next step was to insert a twenty foot wide corridor within the concrete walls to allow access into the building. With the percipitators removed, Empire installed a ramp to gain access into the basement at which time all the conveyors and mechanicals were removed. This allowed the workers room to attack the main incinerators. The north wall was removed and the dismantlement could begin.
The top ten feet of the incinerator pressure vessels had to be burned out by hand so that the long reach could be used for the removal of the remaining portion of the structure. The main dismantlement of the incinerators required the Hitachi 450 with 95’ long boom and the Hitachi 300 with 70’long boom and LaBounty UP20 shear and grapples. The entire height of the incinerators reached 95’.
During this time, several crews were working throughout the two buildings removing mechanicals, numerous tanks, the turbine, and the entire concrete and steel second floor in the turbine building.
Upon completing the incinerator the 8” thick concrete roof and steel needed to be removed. Due to tight working conditions, Empire decided to mobilize our Brokk machine equipped with a hammer. This made quick work of the process. This machine was also used to remove the roof area over the loading bins where Empire needed to remove and reinstall the concrete, steel and decking to gain access to the overhead cranes. The overhead cranes weighing 45,000 lbs each were removed using a 150 ton Omega crane. The Brokk machine was also used in removing the entire second floor deck in the turbine building.
As the project ended, Empire had removed in excess of 2000 tons of scrap, and 1200 tons of ash.
From the beginning to the end of this project, Empire was responsible for all aspects of this job including safety barriers, OSHA railings, laydown area fencing and all utility disconnects.
The entire Empire team was commended by the GC on this particular project for their coordination of the various stages and the working well together on a difficult endeavor.
If it is a demolition project of any size requiring expertise and skill, Empire Services is the company to contact.
