Decommissioning Industrial Sites - More Than Switching Off The Lights

All commercial and industrial sites have a finite lifetime and at some point must be decommissioned or redeveloped to keep up with changes in technology and legislation on environmental impact. Sometimes these changes take place because a product is no longer in demand or the raw materials are no longer available, reducing the viability of maintaining operations at an industrial plant. Decommissioning industrial sites requires a strategy that spans many disciplines and in many heavy industries, closing the doors at the end of a business day is not an option.

An initial site assessment needs to be undertaken before an acquisition is made and a change of site usage is proposed. Environmental assessments are a key part of the due diligence process and ensure that all surveys and assessments identify potential decommissioning hazards and risks and how to conserve resources and reduce the instances of environmental liability. In extreme situations, the decommissioning process may involve the safe handling and disposal of extremely hazardous nuclear, chemical, etc., materials and waste and the cleanup of a site that has been contaminated by previous operations.

Recent urban redevelopment proposals by the Government deal with the reclamation and regeneration of ex-industrial areas known as Brownfield Sites. Brownfield Sites have previously been used for heavy industry, often including the use of u toxic substances, which may have left the land to be reclaimed contaminated. Many Brownfield Sites have been dormant for many years and at the time of decommissioning there was little in the way of legislation regarding the environmental impact of such industries. Some of these buildings still have hazardous substances on the premises and some of the buildings themselves are constructed from hazardous materials like asbestos.

Media reports on the presence of lead and asbestos in older buildings raises widespread awareness of how common these dangerous substances are. It is essential that the presence of any such contaminant is identified prior to the commencement of work as there can be serious effects on the health of the workforce involved in these projects. Exposure to asbestos may be fatal: the fibres can lodge in the lungs, thus causing the onset of a number of types of lung cancer. This may be prevented if asbestos is identified as being on site and suitable protective clothing is worn.

Some industrial sites carry more risks through the decommissioning process. For example, decommissioning nuclear power plants is a challenging, long-term undertaking. The vital components are so toxic that the entire decommissioning process may take up to 60 years before the site is legally declared safe for other purposes. The cost of nuclear decommissioning is high, but the safety implications of contamination are so severe that each step of the process needs to be planned and executed to perfection.

Ultimately, the purpose of decommissioning industrial sites is to reclaim the land, making it safe for people and wildlife. The reintroduction of an industry to the site is less likely to have such a severe impact as its predecessor because the ways in which today's environmental engineers understand the complexity and connectivity of environmental systems have positively changed working practices.

The completion of impact assessments ensures that environmentally responsible decommissioning and redevelopment is a priority and that reintroduction of native wildlife species offsets any damage that may have been previously caused. For a bright future, you can't just switch off the lights when you leave. The regeneration of Brownfield Sites aims to protect the health of the people that work on or live near the site and provide protection for the land for future developments with minimal negative impact.