Detailed planning for the excavation of contaminated soil from the on-site landfill is currently underway.
Landfill planning
The site infrastructure originally included an on-site landfill which was initially licensed by the local authority and subsequently by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The requirement for a landfill was linked to the fact that waste emanating from Roche’s on-site manufacturing activities could not be sent to municipal landfills, hence it was placed in the landfill.
In 2006, a higher focus on recycling resulted in the landfill being capped and closed. Non-recyclable waste was sent to off-site waste management facilities designed specifically for handling waste generated from the site
When Roche announced its the decision to cease operations in Clarecastle and to fully remediate the site to enable it to have a sustainable future, the removal and remediation of waste deposited in the on-site landfill was an intrinsic part of this decision.
The landfill comprises seven (7) engineered cells where the waste was placed. It covers an area of approximately 24,000 sq. meters and contains an estimated 150,000 tonnes of waste, which will be removed during the remediation of this area. All the major activities associated with the remediation will be carried out in enclosures. Waste will be transported off-site in sealed containers as was done with AEC1.
Detailed planning for the remediation of the landfill is currently underway.
Piling Works to facilitate construction of enclosures commence
The site infrastructure originally included an on-site landfill which was initially licensed by the local authority and subsequently by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The requirement for a landfill was linked to the fact that waste emanating from Roche’s on-site manufacturing activities could not be sent to municipal landfills, hence it was placed in the landfill.
In 2006, a higher focus on recycling resulted in the landfill being capped and closed. Non-recyclable waste was sent to off-site waste management facilities designed specifically for handling waste generated from the site
When Roche announced its the decision to cease operations in Clarecastle and to fully remediate the site to enable it to have a sustainable future, the removal and remediation of waste deposited in the on-site landfill was an intrinsic part of this decision.
The landfill comprises seven (7) engineered cells where the waste was placed. It covers an area of approximately 24,000 sq. meters and contains an estimated 150,000 tonnes of waste, which will be removed during the remediation of this area. All the major activities associated with the remediation will be carried out in enclosures. Waste will be transported off-site in sealed containers as was done with AEC1.
Detailed planning for the remediation of the landfill is currently underway.
Following the successful completion of the remediation of the first affected area on-site (AEC 1) with minimal disruption to the community, we are now preparing for the more complex element of the overall decommissioning project – the remediation on the on-site landfill.
The landfill comprises an area of 24,000 sq. metres and is a fundamental element of Roche’s pledge to restore the site to a brownfield status, capable of attracting new investment.
The excavation of waste from the landfill will be undertaken within negative pressure enclosures; these enclosures require the installation of foundations. We are currently boring pile foundations into the ground to support the enclosure structures. This technique avoids the requirement to use large quantities of concrete, thereby significantly reducing truck movements to and from the site during this phase of construction. This piling is scheduled to be complete by the end of November.
One of the challenges with piling activities relates to nuisance noise that occurs during the piling process. Given our commitment to undertake the remediation project with minimal disruption to the community, the project team is taking every precaution to minimise noise levels while the piling operation is underway.
The following steps have been taken:
- Piling work is being undertaken intermittently between the hours of 8am and 5pm, for short durations of time and with many stoppages in any one hour.
- The best available machinery is being used to drive the piles into the ground and minimise noise levels.
- Physical noise barriers have been installed at the piling site to dampen the noise around the work area and to ensure that noise levels are non-disruptive.
Minimising the impact on the community is a key consideration in carrying out the remediation works on-site.
Noise levels are monitored continuously to ensure that they are within the limits permitted in the Industrial Emissions (IE) licence issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the remediation works.
Noise levels to date conform to the licence requirements. This careful attention to working to permitted noise limits will continue until the piling works are completed.