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Dismantling
The process of dismantling a chemical plant, oil & gas facility or a pharam plant, starts with selection of a proper contractor (who has experience in dismantling plants in stages) for the facility and infrastructure. The contractor should have requisite number of staff & supervisors to check the quality of work. Many times, the dismantling work would be need to be done in stages, as after the first stage of dismantling, the equipment may need to be given for secondary decontamination. After this is over, it may be dismantled further into its component parts.
The contractor should have sufficient engineering expertise to carry out surveys, make as built drawings, track the dismantled parts and carry out associated jobs, so that nothing gets lost or misplaced, especially if the same plant is to be assembled again at another location.
The dismantled equipment has to be secured with special protective packing e.g. a reactor with stirrer can be transported provided the stirrer is locked. A separate packing arrangement is needed for different types of equipment.
Disposal
The disposal process may consist of either complete disposal of the dismantled plant, or complete shifting of the dismantled plant to another location, or a partial disposal of old equipment (the rest can be salvaged for use in the new plant being assembled at the second location). So there are several variations possible in the break up of equipment that is to be disposed off outright versus the equipment that is to be re-used.
Disposal of effluent and waste should be carried out only after ensuring that a valid consent from the environmental authorities is available and the characteristics of effluent and waste are well within the norms specified in the consent order.
Risk Assessment
The processes involved in decontamination, dismantling and disposal are not routine processes and considerable deviations take place in carrying out the last batches in equipment and the cleaning operations that follow. A thorough risk assessment study is needed for each of the procedures. It is recommended that such exercise be planned well in advance to mitigate the effects of the activities on safety of people and environment.
In case this is not done properly, some unfortunate incidents may occur, for which normally company managements are held liable for prosecution, by the authorities.
Internal support from various departments
The decommissioning project should involve members from other departments too, whose expertise would be necessary in carrying out the project. These are people from Finance & Accounting, Taxation, Purchasing, IT and HR who would be helping the core team from Production/Plant Operations, Engineering/Maintenance & Safety / Environmental services, to complete the project. Involving the corporate audit team is also recommended since a lot of asset disposal, asset modifications, scrap sales and so on are involved. The site administration team is also important since these people will be getting the necessary permissions from regulatory authorities, tax authorities and local communities who may be adversely affected by the shifting.
Conclusion
As can be seen from above, the decommissioning process for a manufacturing plant or a site is complex in nature; it is not a simple "demolish and exit" job. Hence, a structured approach is essential for success. However, each decommissioning may have certain unique features that require special procedures to be developed. It is a good idea to get help from experts (who have plant decommissioning expertise) wherever necessary. The project can be as complex (or even more so), as compared to setting up a new plant or facility.
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