FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 24, 2006
Contact: Carolyn Casey, Port of Bellingham, 360-676-2500, 303-0518 (cell)
Dick Perry, Georgia Pacific, 360-441-0259
Two Towers on GP Site Will Be Demolished Thursday
[Bellingham, Wash.] People near the central waterfront should expect to hear a very loud crash, see a big cloud of dust and feel a thud when two tall towers are demolished alongside the old brick digester building sometime after 2 p.m. Thursday.
A special crew from Vancouver, Wash., will detonate explosive charges into the holes they have drilled in the support structures. They anticipate that the towers will fall once the explosions weaken the support.
Each of the cream-colored towers weighs between 400 and 500 tons, estimated Dick Perry, who is overseeing the demolition work for GP. As part of the purchase and sale agreement with the port, Georgia Pacific agreed to perform about $6 million of demolition of buildings and structures as determined by the port.
The towers originally were used to create a cooking acid that was used in the pulp mill. The tanks were cleaned about five years ago and do not present a hazard to the public. The towers are located within the center area of the site and are not easily viewed from offsite.
The Whatcom Waterway will be closed to boat traffic to ensure the safety of mariners during this controlled explosion and demolition operation. The local Coast Guard station will have boats assigned to enforce the safety zone.
These explosions are planned and people should not call 9-1-1 when they hear the crash or see the dust it creates. The exact time of the explosion is not known, but it is likely to occur sometime between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. Thursday.
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Timing Notice: Demolition will not occur before 2 p.m., but could occur anytime afterward and could be delayed by several hours if there are complications.
