A frame from EM West Valley Demonstration Project’s new animation of the Main Plant Process Building demolition depicts how the facility will be taken down one area at a time to ensure safety and stability of the building.

A frame from EM West Valley Demonstration Project’s new animation of the Main Plant Process Building demolition depicts how the facility will be taken down one area at a time to ensure safety and stability of the building. This five-minute video details how the project will progress as each of more than 70 areas of the Main Plant are torn down.

WEST VALLEY, N. Y. – Click here to watch a new animated video showing how EM and cleanup contractor CH2M HILL BWXT West Valley (CHBWV) will safely take down the Main Plant Process Building at the West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP).

The EM team at West Valley wanted to easily convey the project to the public, and they believe the animation accomplishes that goal, according to Stephen Bousquet, EM WVDP federal project director for the Main Plant Deconstruction Project.

“An animation is an excellent visual tool for showing how this project will be accomplished safely and in compliance with local, state and federal regulations,” said Bousquet, who helped create the animation. “Our engineered approach is designed to safely deconstruct this facility at a deliberate rate and sequence while maintaining the building’s structural integrity.”

CHBWV President John Rendall said removal and disposal of the Main Plant is the contractor’s remaining primary task at the site.

“More than 98 percent of the contamination has been removed from the building, and we have a state-of-the-science monitoring system that verifies the protective measures and safeguards in place continue to be protective of employees, the public and the environment.”

Animation: Watch How West Valley Will Deconstruct the Main Plant

The animation was created using images from a 3D engineering model developed during the planning process for the Main Plant demolition.

“DOE’s carefully planned approach for deconstructing the Main Plant incorporates best practices and lessons learned from the WVDP and across the DOE complex,” Bousquet said. “This approach includes the use of deliberately planned and sequenced demolition, the implementation of robust work controls and the use of specialized tools and techniques to safely deconstruct the building.”

The EM workforce at West Valley has completed significant work over the past two decades to prepare the Main Plant for the demolition, which began in September, achieving an EM 2022 priority. The project is expected to take more than 30 months to complete.