Blasting project at nuclear plant
Published 2010-01-16 08:14:50 | Updated 2010-01-29 14:39:18
Blasting just nearby a nuclear plant is an extremely delicate task, in which safety cannot be jeopardised in any way. When OKG decided to upgrade and modernise the turbine hall at the Oskarshamn 2 power plant, they turned to Bergsäker for assistance with blasting technology and risk analysis.
The surrounding environment is affected by all types of construction projects. This can involve everything from increased construction traffic to vibrations from explosions. In worst case, the environmental impact of construction can cause damage, for example to buildings as a result of settlements or in the environment through pollution of the groundwater.
This is the area in which Bergsäker works. Bergsäker has developed its own products for remotely controlled environmental monitoring, which enables construction projects to be carried out safely without unwanted environmental consequences.
OKG owns and operates three nuclear reactor units in Sweden – Oskarshamn 1, 2 and 3. The company is taking several measures in the reactor safety area to meet modern requirements. Among other things, a new reactor protection system is being installed and improvements are being made in the reactor’s peripheral systems.
The foundation of the northern building, with a depth of 11 meters and a total area of 15,000 cubic meters, was to be blasted out in the immediate vicinity of Oskarshamn 2. In view of the nearby tanks of radioactive water, extremely low limit values (2.5 m/s2) were set for vibrations and acceleration – a difficult task using traditional blasting techniques.
Bergsäker was given the responsibility for the blasting work. Experienced blasting engineers prepared the blasting plan proposal and performed the risk analysis. The Bergsäker Ava95 vibration recorder was used for measurements at 10 different locations in the plant and the Bergsäker AvaNet® Web system was used to process and analyse the collected measurement data.
Read the full project description at www.bergsaker.se/eng/okg.
