Work has started on two environmentally-geared projects at Teck Trail Operations, the No. 4 furnace project and the No. 1 acid plant.
Several access roads are being prepared on the Southeast corner of Teck’s property, overlooking downtown and the Columbia River, while some vegetation is being removed for preparation of on-site construction.
Excavation and demolition work began this week, and concrete removal is expected to take roughly three weeks. Work is scheduled to take place Monday to Friday between 7 a.m. to 3 a.m. to minimize noise in West Trail.
“Currently, Trail processes end-of-life electronics in the No. 2 Slag Fuming Furnace and in August 2011, we celebrated processing 50,000 tonnes of e-waste since the process started in 2006,” said Catherine Adair, the community engagement co-coordinator at Teck Trail Operations. “Having a new furnace will triple the capacity we have currently.”
Sulfur dioxide emissions could be reduced at Teck Trail Operations by nearly 20 per cent annually by using new technology to upgrade the No. 4 furnace project.
The furnace project is estimated to demand 500,00 hours of construction labour over a two year period, resulting in roughly 200 jobs. The upgrades include construction for a new Baghouse to filter gas from the furnaces to maintain the quality of air.
In addition, the No. 1 acid plant requires 300,000 hours of work to completed and will create another 150 employment opportunities.
The projects are expected to be wrapping up by 2014.