TRANSPORT AND TECHNICAL SERVICES
BELLOZANNE INCINERATOR – CONDITION ASSESSMENT
Purpose of the Report
To update the Minister on the current status of the Bellozanne incinerator plant and the remedial action taken following failures of all three boilers and the overhead crane system during week commencing 12th November 2007.
Introduction
The original incinerator was commissioned in 1979 which comprised of the main refuse bunker, overhead crane system and two x 5 tonne per hour waste incinerator streams, the turbine generator and all ancillary plant. This plant became severely overloaded by the mid-1990s and a third 7.5 tonne per hour stream was built and commissioned in 1992. This third stream is served by the original crane and general infrastructure.
In the late 1990’s discussions were held with the previous Policy and Resources Committee and Finance and Economics Committee concerning a major refurbishment of the old plant to install flue gas cleaning which, following lengthy discussion resulted in the previous Committee being requested to prepare a new Solid Waste Strategy. The first Solid Waste Strategy was presented to the old Public Services Committee in April 2000, the main recommendations being for the replacement of the existing incinerator plant together with enhanced recycling. Following considerable debate, the option was again confirmed by the newly appointed consultants, Babtie Fichtner and in July 2005, the States approved the Solid Waste Strategy. A year later the States further agreed to the location of the new Energy from Waste plant forming part of the Waste Strategy to be at La Collette.
The plant as originally constructed can be expected to operate for 25 years and if major capital investment is made to the key infrastructure a further 10 – 15 years is probable. In the case of the Bellozanne incinerator, it is now 28 years old and it has not benefited from any major investment. For the past 5 years the plant has had an annual minor capital allocation of about £300,000 to repair ageing and worn components within the boilers together with the normal operating revenue budget. For 2008 and beyond until a new facility is commissioned, the Department had earmarked £500,000 per annum to allow for enhanced replacement of key components within the plant.
A report published by the UK Health and Safety Executive – Plant Ageing – Management of Equipment Containing Hazardous Fluids or Pressure 2006, highlights some of the issues surrounding the maintenance of old plant if it is continuing in service beyond normally projected lifecycle.
The Bellozanne plant now falls into this category and if a further 3 – 4 years operation is to be achieved, the level of inspection and survey and subsequent repair is going to increase significantly. Shown in Appendix 1 is a graph of a typical process plant such as the Bellozanne incinerator which considers probability of failure against age. Given the age, condition and frequency of failures now occurring, it is reasonable to assume that the Bellozanne plant is now in Stage 4 as shown.
Current Position
Throughout 2007, the operating staff have had a number of major component failures within the plant that have required major repair and replacement which not only uses up the allocated budget but results in considerable downtime for the plant. The knock-on effect of this downtime is to reduce the throughput of the plant to the extent that by the end of 2007, there will be a backlog of about 8,000 tonnes of material stockpiled in pits at La Collette.
During 2007, the main generator suffered from a major breakdown requiring it to be shipped to Holland for repair. The cost of the repair was £110,000 which was partly funded by the insurance company in the sum of £76,000. Not only did the repair require funding from the maintenance budget but the loss of income from the sale of electricity to the Jersey Electricity Company resulted in the Department having to buy in electricity from the JEC at an approximate cost of £400,000 of which this Department is pursuing a claim with the insurance company for £260,000..
In the last few weeks the level of repair and number of outages of the plant has increased significantly and by Saturday 17th November 2007, the entire plant was out of service. All three streams were out of service due to leaks in the boilers and the overhead crane system had suffered from a major structural failure of its steelwork.
Repairs were completed on number 3 stream by Tuesday 20th November 2007 which was then brought on line that day. Number 2 stream was available for service by Saturday 24th November 2007. Number 1 boiler suffered from a major failure and will not be available for service until early December 2007 at the earliest. Given the unreliable nature of the plant, it is highly unlikely that all three streams will be available for continuous operation to clear the backlog as further breakdowns can be anticipated.
The overhead crane system suffered a major structural failure of a large supporting steel “I beam” and has been temporarily repaired to allow the plant to operate again. The nature of the failure indicates that it is a fatigue failure of the structure and is of a similar type to two others that have occurred. The cranes are covered by “Statutory Regulation” and as such, it is a requirement that they assessed by a competent person. The Department has advised the States insurers of the failure and has also taken the decision to call in a structural expert to assess the condition of the steelwork and advise whether it remains fit for continued operation.
An outcome from this inspection could be an immediate shutdown of the plant until the beams have been replaced. Alternatively an improvement notice could be placed on the plant requiring the steelwork to be replaced within a specified period of time. It is possible, but highly unlikely that they would be allowed to continue in service for a further four years without further major remedial work.
Impact on the Operation of the Bellozanne Incinerator
This report has so far highlighted some of the more recent serious events and indicated that about 8,000 tonnes of crushed industrial bulky waste will be stored in pits at La Collette by the end of 2007.
The severity and nature of recent breakdowns and the problem with the cranes clearly indicate that this type of outage is going to continue for the next 3 – 4 years until a new plant is commissioned and the old one shutdown. As there is only limited space at La Collette it will not be possible to safely store waste for a further 3 – 4 years. In addition, if the crane requires major work, the entire plant could be out of action for several weeks.
To accommodate such an outage contingency plans have been drawn up that are robust and will meet the needs of the regulatory authorities and above all, will provide the Island with a safe and environmentally acceptable solution for the next 3 – 4 years to cope with any surpluses.
The Department has worked with the Waste Regulator and Planning Department and devised the following emergency contingency plan.
1: Waste Disposal – Off Island
To consider the export of waste under international convention, the Island has to demonstrate to relevant authorities that it has considered and applied “best practicable environmental option” before a licence will be granted for the export of waste. Whilst satisfactory and safe on Island storage facilities exist, it is unlikely that such a licence would be granted unless an emergency condition applied to the Island. However, the Waste Regulator has agreed to commence negotiations with UK authorities to establish and put in place the protocols required for the Island to be granted a licence in short order in the event of a major problem with storage of waste.
2: Waste Storage – On Island
The current system of storing crushed bulky waste in pits at La Collette is effective although it is expensive in terms of manpower, vehicles and machinery to transfer the waste from Bellozanne to La Collette.
Consideration has been given to the availability of space at La Collette and land required for green waste reception, composting, aggregate recycling, asbestos storage, ash storage and the new Energy from Waste plant. There is therefore limited space available for any large scale waste storage facility. In addition, given the proximity of the fuel farm, the Fire and Rescue service is concerned about the storage of large quantities of combustible waste at La Collette.
Although very difficult to quantify, by 2011 there could be a requirement to store in the order of 20,000 tonnes of baled waste. This would be bulky crushed waste that does not have any putrescible element in it.
i) Putrescible Waste
In the event of a full shutdown of the existing plant for several weeks there will be a requirement to store putrescible waste as the reception bunker at Bellozanne only has one week’s capacity. The safe storage of this waste has to be carefully managed due to its putrescible and organic content. The Department has considered the options available for the storage of this type of waste and recommends the use of lined pits at La Collette to store baled and wrapped putrescible waste. The bales would be covered on a daily basis using heavy plastic sheeting to prevent attack from seagulls, etc.
ii) Non-putrescible Waste
Bale and wrap this waste and store at an approved site(s) on Island. The site(s) will require Planning and Environmental approval. Wrapped bales can be safely stored for several years until the new plant has capacity.
iii) Site Selection
Apart from La Collette, the Department in conjunction with Planning Officers have identified a number of sites in States ownership that could be used for this purpose. Depending on location, the site(s) might require lining however, if it is only non-putrescible baled and wrapped waste that is to be stored, this reduces the likelihood of requiring an expensive geo-textile liner. Recommended sites will be brought forward for approval in the next two weeks and will be fully evaluated with the Planning and Environment Department as well as Health Protection.
3: Baling and Waste Handling
From the above, it is evident that large quantities of waste might have to be baled in the next 3 – 4 years. The Department has a baler that is over 30 years old and whilst operational and used for baling small quantities of waste, it does not have a wrapping facility and if used in anger to bale several thousand tonnes of putrescible / non-putrescible waste, it is unlikely to cope.
Investigations have taken place with the suppliers of specialist waste balers and new machines suitable for this type of operation are available but have to be specially manufactured with a lead time of about 30 weeks.
To provide a trailer mounted baler and shrink wrapper together with mobile generator will cost about £600,000. Whilst expensive it is seen as a strategic backup for the Island and given the condition of the current incinerator it is now considered essential if the Island is to maintain a safe and acceptable storage route for its waste until a new plant is commissioned.
The transport and handling logistics for this quantity of waste will require specialist vehicles and the use of additional TTS staff, local contractors or more likely, a combination of the two. The additional costs associated with this prolonged type of operation are being prepared based on current experience.
When a new facility has been commissioned all baled and stored waste would be disposed of through the new Energy from Waste plant. If the baler proves surplus to requirements, there appears to be a market for these machines given the difficulty the Department has had in locating one.
Cranes
As outlined, there is now serious concern over the future use of the overhead waste handling cranes in the incinerator. A structural expert has been commissioned to survey the cranes and report on their condition for further operation. If they have to be taken out of service it is likely that the outage would be for several weeks. During this period the proposal is to use the existing old baler at Bellozanne to bale the putrescible waste and transport the bales in sealed vehicles to La Collette where they will be placed in sealed pits and covered to minimise odour and gull problems. When the new baler with its wrapper arrives, the bales will be recovered and re-baled and wrapped for longer-term storage or, if the incinerator has capacity, disposed of.
The cost of the repair to the cranes is unknown at this stage however it is clear that significant structural repairs could be required and cost in the order of £300,000.
Incinerator Steam Plant
With the recent spate of failures and their nature, especially the major failure of number 1 boiler on 17th November 2007, the integrity of the plant requires investigation to ensure it is safe to operate and does not constitute an unacceptable hazard to the operating staff.
The Department’s Health and Safety Officer, together with technical experts will be undertaking an audit of the plant over the next few weeks to assess any further work required to ensure it remains compliant with standards for the next 3 – 4 years. The costs of the inspection will not be high but any significant remedial work to the steam system could be expensive.
Conclusion
- This report sets out the current status of the Bellozanne Energy from Waste plant following a year of continual failure culminating in a total shutdown following major steam leaks and crane failure.
- The plant has to remain operational for the next 3 – 4 years to dispose of the Island’s waste. Initial indications are that repair / refurbishment over and above that originally planned will be required and it is highly likely that further outages of the entire plant or significant parts of the plant will occur.
- To ensure that the Island has an acceptable processing route, a large waste baler and wrapper should be purchased as a strategic backup to the incinerator.
- Further site(s) should be identified now and all relevant planning approvals obtained and the site(s) prepared to accept baled non-putrescible waste. The Waste Regulator will also seek relevant approvals for the export of waste in an emergency.
- A lined pit should be prepared at La Collette to accept baled putrescible waste. Until the wrapper is available any waste placed in this pit will be covered. As soon as the baler / wrapper arrives the waste should be removed, re-baled and wrapped and placed back in the pit.
- The cranes must be inspected for structural integrity and if required, provision made to replace the main steel support beams.
- The steam plant should be inspected to ensure its integrity.
Recommendation
The Minister is recommended to:
- Endorse the conclusions in this report.
- Request funding to be made available from the Treasury capital risk reserve to meet these totally unforeseen failures. Although not quantified yet, early indications are that costs in the order of £1.3 million could be required to provide the baler / wrapper, repairs to the cranes, prepare the site(s) and lined pit at La Collette and provide for the required transport and logistics to handle large quantities of baled waste.
- Until such new funding provision has been agreed, approve the use of the Transport and Technical Services Capital Infrastructure Vote to enable the orders to be placed for the baler, wrapper and generator.
Reason(s) for Decision
To ensure that:
- the Island has a safe and robust mechanism to treat the waste arriving at Bellozanne for incineration for the next 3 – 4 years, and
- adequate provision is made now for the provision of suitable sites to safely store baled waste.
Action Required
Seek the required funds from the Treasury and Resources Minister to purchase a new baler and wrapper and to allow the Department to undertake repairs to the ageing Bellozanne Incinerator Plant.
Written by: | John Richardson, Chief Officer |
Approved by: | John Richardson, Chief Officer |
| |
Endorsed by: | [If other department involved -Director’s name and Directorate] |
Attachments: Appendix 1 - Graph of a typical process plant
39/4 JDR:PAF
28th November 2007
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