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Demolition/Environmental Engineering

March 18, 2008

Next month’s demolition will begin construction process at 1 Bloor condo project

Demolition is expected to get under way next month at the southeast corner of Yonge and Bloor streets to accommodate construction of the 1 Bloor condo-hotel-retail project in Toronto.

March 13, 2008

Old tires may do protective duty during John Wayne Airport demolition job

In order to protect a baggage-screening room during demolition of a parking garage, officials are considering covering the room, which is inside the garage, with 30,000 old tires to help cushion the blow of falling chunks of concrete, The Orange County Register reports.

March 3, 2008

Insitu Contractors Inc. primes the pump for growth

Guelph-based water treatment contractor is priming itself for more business by asking the Ministry of the Environment to approve its use of six mobile sewage works for the treatment of groundwater at sites that require excavation.

February 26, 2008

Murray Demolition assists clean-up efforts after Queen Street West fire

Equipment and operators from Murray Demolition were called in to move debris while emergency personnel looked for hot spots in the unstable buildings left after a six-alarm blaze on Toronto’s Queen Street West gutted six businesses and brought down an entire three-storey building last week.

February 22, 2008

Atlanta Green-Roof renovation

Strong design geometry combining a fully landscaped garden roof, outdoor dining terraces, two new 56-foot dome skylights and a walkway connection to the office tower highlight the recently completed green roof renovation project at Atlanta’s Northpark 500, leased and managed by CB Richard Ellis.

February 21, 2008

Urban Land Institute panel debates future of stand-alone malls

The stand-alone mall isn’t dead. It’s just dysfunctional. That was one of the sentiments expressed at an Urban Land Institute panel that tackled the question, “Can stand-alone malls survive?”

February 15, 2008

ProGreen Demolition Ltd. takes down former Molson Canada brewery in Barrie

No stranger to Molson Canada sites, Concord-headquartered ProGreen Demolition Ltd. is in the midst of demolishing half of a former Molson Canada brewery in Barrie, Ontario.

February 15, 2008

Tampa Museum of Art salvage becomes art in the hands of Florida’s Rocky Bridges

Florida artist Rocky Bridges will salvage materials from the demolition site of the Tampa Museum of Art to create a work of art for the new museum.

February 15, 2008

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers finds no environmental health risk to concrete-recycling workers who follow protocols

A study conducted under the aegis of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has found that there is no environmental or health risk to workers involved in the crushing and recycling of concrete containing LBP as long as they follow certain lead-compliance work protocols. A free copy of this study is now available from the National Demolition Association.

February 15, 2008

Greenspoon Specialty Contracting faces tough challenges in Rideau Centre parking garage deconstruction

Ottawa aesthetes are cheering the demolition of downtown’s Rideau Centre parking garage, a six-storey concrete structure on Nicholas Street that’s seen better days. The demolition is part of a multi-million dollar reconstruction of a new six-storey garage to serve shoppers.

November 10, 2006

Strong structure no match for detonations

An explosion that took down three outside walls of the old Woodward’s department store created a mighty bang, a fitting last salute to the downtown Vancouver landmark store that had served generations.

November 10, 2006

Stakeholders fight misconceptions about demolition

Building demolition is commonplace, yet the industry is associated with major misconceptions. A prime example: despite the slow demise of the wrecking ball, the public still associates it with modern demolition efforts.

November 10, 2006

Perception influences recycling program's success

Between mountains of debris, water pools in trenches churned by loaders, trucks and excavators.

November 10, 2006

Bay Street smash

Three Murray Demolition excavators help to bring down the exterior walls on two 12-storey buildings at 335 and 347 Bay Street in downtown Toronto

November 10, 2006

Brownfields can become beautiful spaces

In the normal course of events, a site with a potential of 1,110 linear feet of downtown urban waterfront would have most developers elbowing each other out of the way to ink a deal.

November 10, 2006

LEEDing the way in Regent Park demo

Achieving Gold standard in LEED at Regent Park in Toronto started with the wrecking ball, as Restoration Environmental Contractors (REC) Demolition keeps in mind the environmental concerns for the two-year project.

November 10, 2006

Water treatment plant cleans up Howe Sound

A discovery of copper on Canada’s west coast in 1888 spurred the establishment of the Britannia Mine. By 1929 the mine was the largest copper producer in the British Commonwealth — and also one of the largest heavy-metal pollution sources on the continent.

November 10, 2006

Workplace education

After 12 years with vinyl products producer Royal Group Technologies, Stuart Clark got a good look at the amount of plastic waste being generated at construction sites.

November 10, 2006

Demo contractors keen on emergency response

Immediately after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, police, firefighters, and emergency medical technicians (EMTs) arrived on the disaster scene to begin rescue efforts. Much of the work, however, couldn’t take place until heavy equipment had been moved in to lift debris, shore up unstable structures and demolish buildings facing imminent collapse.

November 10, 2006

Partial demos

When only partial demolition was required at Toronto landmark hotel Inn on the Park, Greenspoon Specialty Contracting had to look for unique solutions to preserve segments of the building which remained open.

November 10, 2006

Industry's evolution spurs association change

The demolition industry has experienced tremendous growth and dramatic change over the last 30-plus years. Images of unskilled, untrained laborers and swinging wrecking balls can rightly be considered relics of the past.

November 10, 2006

Economic forces best motivator for source separation

The ancient Romans understood the economic aspects of construction and demolition (C&D) recycling, re-using stones left over from old roads to build new ones. While regulation can enforce recycling activities, economic advantage tends to be the best motivator.

November 10, 2006

Training requirements for those working with asbestos

As of Nov. 1, 2007 workers and supervisors in Type 3 Asbestos Abatement sites in Ontario will be required to have completed a Training Program approved by the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities (MTCU). The specific wording in Ontario Regulation 278/05 reads as follows: