Serving Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida
Location: Confidential
Client: Manufacture of Hydroelectric Turbines
Contract Amount: $412,000
PROBLEM
Remtech Engineers was engaged by one of the largest hydroelectric turbine manufactures to investigate, provide emergency PPE and decontamination procedures, and remediate a production facility mercury release. Mercury was found on concrete and metal surfaces. The source of mercury was due to failure of a bearing in the hydraulic reactor loop and test lab. Remedial measures included draining and cleaning the reactor and reservoir, cleaning floors under the test loop, elemental mercury recovery from tanks, test loop, and production equipment components.
Turbine Manufacturing Facility
Turbine Reactor Mercury Decontamination
MERCURY REMEDIATION
- Continuous monitoring of surfaces and building mercury vapor concentrations with a Lumex meter to determine exclusion zones, PPE zones, and clean zones
- Cleaning surfaces with HgX solution to convert elemental mercury to mercuric salts that stops mercury vaporization
- Steam cleaning & high pressure washing
- Mechanical removal of mercury bound in rust and debris from concrete and metal surfaces
- Controlled ventilation to exhaust mercury vapors
- Forced air heaters to increase building temperatures to 85 F to volatilize mercury
- Circulation of 15,000 gallons of HGX solution through reactors and pipes
- Rinsing reactors and pipes with 40,000 gallons of clean water
- Collecting and disposing of mercury waste residues