Date: Fri 26-Jan-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

Noranda-collapse-weather

Full Text:

with cut: Large Section Of Vacant Industrial Building Collapses

B Y A NDREW G OROSKO

On the afternoon of January 19, Newtown Hook and Ladder firefighters went to

the scene of a building collapse, finding that the roof on an approximately

5,000-square-foot section of a vacant factory had fallen in, causing the

building's walls to tilt outward.

About one-third of the former Noranda Metal Industries, Inc, on Prospect Drive

fell in on itself in the collapse.

No one was in the structure at the time of the collapse, and no one was

injured, said Hook and Ladder Fire Chief Steve Murphy.

The vacant metals factory had been designated by the US Environmental

Protection Agency (EPA) as a site of chemical contamination caused by the

industrial use of toxic chemicals.

In a January 19 letter to Noranda, Newtown Building Inspector R. Allen Brinley

informed the company that a portion of the building had collapsed and that the

section of the structure that is partially standing must be demolished and

hauled away at once because it is considered an "unsafe structure" under the

terms of the state building code.

Noranda is located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Mr Brinley asked the firm to contact him within 10 days of its receipt of his

notice to explain what it will do to correct the problem. Noranda would need a

demolition permit from the town to demolish the collapsed factory section.

Noranda President Roderick L. Henry said January 24 the company learned of the

building section's collapse the day it happened. The firm has contacted its

insurance company to learn the comparative costs of restoring the collapsed

building section and demolishing the entire factory, he said.

Mr Henry said it appears that demolishing the entire building appears to be

the route the company will take, but he added that the final decision which

will be made soon will be based on information provided by Noranda's insurance

company.

"We want to make sure there's no danger," Mr Henry said.

Mr Henry said that chemical contamination had existed in the building before

Noranda owned it. Although Noranda inherited the contamination problem from a

previous owner, it may have contributed to the problem while it operated the

factory, he added.

"We're very conscious of environmental matters," he said, adding that the

company believes that any contamination problems can be resolved successfully.

If the company doesn't contact the town and explain how it will deal with the

factory collapse, the town could take steps to demolish the damaged section of

the factory, according to the building inspector.

Mr Brinley said the accumulated weight of heavy snow on the building's roof

coupled with other factors may have led to the structure's collapse.

Maurice Hamel, a geologist who works as an environmental analyst for the state

Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), said that contamination issues

that had been posed by the presence of "heavy metals" at the Noranda site have

been resolved.

Some chlorinated solvents remain on the site, he said. That contamination

problem exists beneath the ground's surface, he noted.

Mr Hamel said there are no environmental hazards present in the section of the

vacant factory that collapsed January 19.

If the building is demolished, taking down the superstructure should pose no

environmental problems, Mr Hamel said. However, demolition workers would have

to exercise care in removing the concrete slab foundation of the building due

to the subsurface presence of chlorinated solvents, he said.

Environmental consultants employed by Noranda to address chemical

contamination issues would have to inform the demolition contractor of

precautions to take in removing the concrete slab, he said.

Environmental studies have shown that toxic chemicals which have left the

factory site in groundwater have traveled eastward, not westward toward nearby

houses, Mr Hamel said.

Noranda formerly used the factory to make parts for heat exchangers such as

those used in refrigerators and heat pumps.

The contamination problems at Noranda were described in a 1986 environmental

study.