St Modwen Developments
South Wales

Barry Zeon

The project involved the demolition of the Zeon Chemicals Europe Ltd facility in Barry, South Wales, which stood on a 8.84 ha site that operated as a facility for the storage, blending and use of various hazardous substances to produce synthetic rubbers.  The facility formed part of the wider chemicals site in Barry, which was adjacent to a site with Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) status.  The works needed to be planned in conjunction with the Hexion Chemicals operation, through whose premises access was needed.

Construction work involved the demolition of all approved above ground structures down to slab level (including the removal of all licensable and non-licensable asbestos) and the backfill of any voids/undergrounds tanks.  The 40-week long project completed in March 2018.  SFD worked alongside SMD, Prosurv Consult and Cuddy Demolition Limited.

Design issues that had to be overcome included the removal of a water tower containing arsenic-impregnated timber, a chemical tank farm and the associated pipe gantries with height restrictions and a number of voids, whilst retaining a number of features including an existing rail track.