Tender issued to demolish buildings at
former incinerator complex
By Wes Stewart
Cape Breton Post
Fri., Apr. 2, 2004
Sydney Steel Corp. is tendering the
demolition of three buildings on the
site of the former incinerator complex.
The $55-million incinerator, built
in 1994 to burn 700,000 tons of tar
ponds sludge, was maintained at an
annual cost of $400,000.
The province, earlier this month,
decided to abandon the mothballed
operation and include it in the overall
demolition of structures on the
steel plant site.
Sysco receiver Ernst & Young is
advertising for interested companies
to demolish the harbour pumps
building, the boiler house building
and the No. 3 power house building.
Interested companies have until
April 14 to submit an application.
Sysco spokesman Alf MacLeod
said the buildings were part of the
incinerator complex built to burn tar
ponds sludge. On-site incineration
has been ruled out as an option
to remediate the tar
ponds.
MacLeod
said there has
already been
some interest
in purchasing
equipment,
like motors
and pumps
and parts of
the fluidized
bed combustion incinerator.
"The buildings not part of
the actual
incinerator
will be demolished right
away and the
rest will go
when the
equipment is
sold, " he said.
The site on
the steel plant
property
includes the
incinerator,
power house,
boiler house,
bag house,
stack, pipe
line, and water
treatment
facility.
Cape Breton South
MLA Manning
MacDonald
has been arguing for more
local involvement
in the demolition
and lobbied for
a tender call
on the site. He
said the incinerator was not
part of the original contract
to demolish the steel plant.
"We struck a cord with them,"
said the Liberals' Sysco critic, when
asked about the tender call.
"There is no reason why Sysco
should go off-island looking for
contractors and labourers to demolish
the incinerator. We have the expertise
to do it," MacDonald said.
"E&Y owes this work to local
labour and I hope they are given fair
consideration."
Almost a year ago, a community-driven
process endorsed the removal
and destruction of the contaminated
waste from the tar ponds and coke
ovens sites. It favoured a process of
pretreating and co-burning the toxic
sludge at an off-site power plant or
cement kiln.
The province last week
announced it will contribute its $120
million share to the cleanup and
wants the federal government to
commit the remaining 70 per cent as
its share of the remediation.
wstewart@cbpost.com
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