LINDE FUSRAP SITE REMEDIATION, UTILITY TUNNEL REPLACEMENT, AND INDUSTRY OPERATIONS: A CASE STUDY OF CHALLENGES MET IN WESTERN NEW YORK

摘要

Building 14 was a radiologically impacted Manhattan Engineer District-era (MED) structure at the Linde Formerly Utilized Site Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP) remediation site in Tonawanda, New York that required dismantlement in 2004. Remedial action at the Linde Site required simultaneous radioactive contamination cleanup, active industrial facility infrastructure relocation and uninterrupted facility operations. The challenge was to design and construct a replacement subsurface utility tunnel, relocate numerous active utilities, and remove all radioactive contamination within the new tunnel’s footprint within 16 months to allow Building 14 dismantlement to start on time. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Buffalo District (USACE) and Shaw Environmental, Inc. (Shaw) worked in close cooperation with the facility owner to design and execute the work. Meeting the challenge involved design and construction of a new structure, a large open excavation between closely spaced steel and masonry buildings, and of several utility systems including high-pressure steam, high voltage electric, and fiber optic communications concurrent with removal of several thousand tons of uranium-238 (U-238), radium-226 (Ra-226), and thorium-230 (Th-230) impacted material. Design started in February 2003 and construction was completed in June 2004 to meet the Building 14 dismantlement start date.