BossTek’s essential role in hospital demolition
15 March 2023
A leading USA-based dust control technology company has helped the Methodist University Hospital (MUH) in Memphis prepare for a $275 million facility upgrade by controlling dust emissions while demolishing its facility on the University of Tennessee campus.
The $275 million upgrade plan is transforming MUH into a more modern and efficient health care campus. (Photo: BossTek)
DT Specialized Services (DTSS) employed BossTek’s DustBoss DB-60 Fusion to mitigate harmful particulates during the teardown and recycling of the eight-storey, 9,290 sq m (100,000 sq ft) structure.
The company said that using atomised mist resulted in no reports, complaints, or violations regarding dust emissions from demolition activities, recycling/transportation of construction and demolition (C&D) materials or finishing ground cover efforts.
The building was a steel skeleton, wrapped in precast concrete and brick. For much of the exterior demolition work, DTSS used a Volvo EC380 mid-level excavator with a bucket and thumb, as well as a Volvo EC480 high-reach excavator to access the upper floors.
The company also used a third excavator with a shear attachment and a concrete processor that crushed the brick and concrete and readied it for loadout.
The DB-60 Fusion in operation during the demolition. (Photo: BossTek)
“Implosion wasn’t a viable option on this project, due to the possibility that airborne particles could migrate to the air intakes of the other buildings,” said DTSS general superintendent Seth Herber.
“Because there was asbestos fireproofing material used in the original construction, the floors were encapsulated one at a time with plastic wrap, so negative air pressure could be created.”
Mounted on a roadworthy trailer, the DB-60 Fusion system uses a specialised barrel design with a powerful 18.6 kW (25 hp) industrial fan on the back end and a misting ring on the front.
On this project, the 7.5 kW (10 hp) booster pump drew water from a metered city hydrant and increased pressure to as much as 17.2 bar (250 psi), supplying the circular manifold fitted with atomising nozzles.
The nozzles fracture the water into an engineered mist, and the fan throws millions of tiny droplets in a 60 m(200 ft) cone, covering up to 5,834 sq m (62,800 sq ft) when using the 180° oscillator. The unit is powered by a 45 KW generator with a John Deere diesel Tier IV Final-compliant engine.
BossTek has also designed atomised mist cannons for indoor applications and for outdoor jobs in unfavourable weather conditions in the past 12 months.
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