Decommissioning and Demolition of an Ammonium Nitrate Fertiliser Complex

Keywords: Ammonium nitrate, fertiliser plant demolition, prill tower, ammonium nitrate hazard, fertiliser plant decommissioning.

Ammonium nitrate fertiliser complex situated at Severnside near Bristol (U.K.) was permanently closed down in 2008 by its owners GrowHow (UK) Limited. The main producing facility included two ammonia plants, two nitric acid plants and an ammonium nitrate prilling plant. This paper deals with the decommissioning and demolition operations of the ammonium nitrate plant and its associated activities with focus on the issues relating to ammonium nitrate safety. It describes the management structure set up by the company to carry out this project, various procedures put in place and programmes such as a workshop and training undertaken to identify potential problem areas and appropriate solutions. The paper describes the management systems established and followed to carry out risk assessments, to develop safe job methods and to keep decommissioning records. It summarises specific issues and their resolution for certain individual plant areas. It describes the investigation carried out to establish the safety of use of explosives for demolition of the prill tower.

K D Shah MBE BSc (Eng), CEng, CSci, FIChemE, CMIOSH, Shah4SHE, Yarm, Stockton-on-Tees, TS15 9NU, UK.

C Blackman BSc (Hons), GrowHow UK Limited, Ince, Cheshire CH2 4LB, UK.

24 pages, 6 figures, 5 references.