Dust & Vibration Monitoring of Demolition

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SERVICES DELIVERED:

SCOPE:  Deliver a unique hardware and software monitoring solution to minimize potential environmental impact during the removal of four decommissioned generating units at the Haynes Generating Station in Long Beach, California.

As site work was considered to have a potential environmental impact on the surrounding area, perimeter monitoring for dust, noise and vibration was deployed.

PROJECT OVERVIEW:

The Problem

• TRC is a global consulting firm for the oil and gas, power, environmental and infrastructure markets. They provide end-to-end engineering, consulting and construction management solutions fueled by innovative technology. As part of their services, TRC conducts environmental monitoring programs to minimize the potential impact on the local community.
• TRC was engaged by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) to remove four decommissioned generating units at the Haynes Generating Station in Long Beach, California.
• The project includes the demolition of natural gas boilers and steam turbine generators including removal of six 240-foot stacks. As site work was considered to have a potential environmental impact on the surrounding area, perimeter monitoring for dust, noise and vibration was requested by LADWP.

The Solution

• David Lennon, TRC Project Manager, and his team investigated several monitoring options before selecting the Aeroqual Dust Sentry PM10 monitor, which allowed him to remotely monitor the site during demolition activities using Aeroqual’s cloud-based data management solution.
• Working with our channel partner Specto Technology, TRC located four Dust Sentry systems on each boundary of the site, equipped with four integrated Class 1 sound level meters and a weather station. Specto Technology also provided TRC with vibration monitoring equipment and a complete solar power solution to meet the requirements of the Site Monitoring Plan.
• The integration of a weather station to the monitoring system allowed for real-time calculation of source contribution for comparison with dust action levels using custom software designed by Specto Technology.
• Air, noise, weather and vibration data was sent from Aeroqual Cloud to the eagle.io data management software and displayed together on a site dashboard for TRC to share with stakeholders and evaluate in real-time. Email alerts were configured to allow TRC to adjust control protocols as required.

UNIQUE CHALLENGES:

Evaluation

• TRC commissioned four portable environmental monitoring stations, powered by the Aeroqual Dust Sentry PM10 at the Haynes Generating Station in Long Beach, California.
• The resulting data allowed TRC to notify their client in the event that criteria was exceeded and undertake actions to minimize the potential off-site impacts of fugitive dust, noise and vibration during demolition activities.

THE RESULT:

• Client minimizes the potential off-site impacts of fugitive dust, noise and vibration during demolition activities.
• David Lennon was very satisfied with the solution saying “When we saw the level of technological sophistication that Aeroqual/Specto would bring to the project, they were the obvious choice for TRC to partner with for a critical component of the project’s success.  Setup and installation were hassle-free and the real-time, web-based access to the monitoring data set a new standard for us on these types of projects.”