Tanks Containing Leaded Petrol Decontaminated with Low Waste
Environmental conditions met during petrochemical clean
Summary
Although the days of leaded vehicle fuel are over, the tanks in which petrol containing lead was once stored still present problems to the petro-chemical industry. Lead decontamination to make the tanks ready for environmentally-sound disposal was a new challenge for Tube Tech International.
Challenge
- Three horizontal, 10 metres x 3 metres, cylindrical tanks at an oil refinery on the south coast of England required decontamination prior to demolition.
- The contamination was in the form of lead deposits from the pre environmentally-aware days when petrol had a high lead content.
- Removing this contamination was a potentially-hazardous operation and entry of workers into the tank was highly undesirable.
- Before being awarded the contract Tube Tech had to satisfy the client that all safety precautions were met if not exceeded.
- Blood tests were carried out on all operatives before, during and after the decontamination operation.
Solution
- A dual-purpose, low-flow pump plus a remotely controlled Fury-Head was used.
- A remote extendable, indexing arm was implemented to remove contamination from all surfaces within the three vessels.
- The contaminated solution was taken away by tankers for safe disposal.
- The tanks were then in a clean condition to enable cutting and disposal operations to begin.
- The process was so fast that very little waste was created and no man entry was involved.
- The 360-degree visible air suits the operators wore allowed ease of movement and uninterrupted visibility.
- The speed and efficiency of clean enabled other contractors to quickly carry out the next phase of the operation- removal of the tanks.
Tube Tech Comment
Ken McMahon, Senior Foreman said: “There were a number of extremely, stringent safety conditions that had to be adhered to when working with such a hazardous substance. The decontamination exercise was a testament to team work and the right equipment being used for the right job.”
Clients can be contacted via Tube Tech for references.
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