Although the decommissioning of the project is probably the last thing on your mind at this point, it is prudent to develop a project with its eventual demise. After all, a building is just one part of the ecosystem that will become inefficient and in time will need to return to the material and energy cycles of the surrounding environment.



By viewing the project over the entire lifecycle, designers become more aware of the impacts of design decisions and are assisted by a perspective that sees a project as part of the ecosystem, rather than a construction without the consequences of its eventual demise.

ENVIROMENTAL DESIGN ISSUE
Waste Management

The most energy and resource efficient means of dealing with waste is to reuse the material or product without the need to re-manufacture or alter it. Products that have multiple uses (i.e. coffee grounds to make coffee and compost) provide the most economic and environmental benefits.

ENVIROMENTAL DESIGN ELEMENT
Building Decommissioning

Prior to any building decommissioning, the following steps should be taken.

1. Initial Investigation

     Environmental assessment

     Regulatory review

     Equipment inventory

     Building inspection

The first phase of any decommissioning project defines the current conditions, regulatory requirements, areas of concern, and alternatives for future action. The initial investigation provides the information to base future technical and financial project decisions.

An environmental assessment needs to be performed to identify and determine the nature and extent of any hazardous building materials or environmental contaminants in the building. Use existing information to direct the environmental investigation efforts rather than starting out with a widespread sampling program. The environmental sampling activities then can be directed toward the potential sources of concern.

Available information sources should be reviewed as the first step of the environmental assessment. Potential sources of existing information that may be helpful to direct subsequent phases of the environmental assessment include current site conditions based on observations, operational reports, information regarding past maintenance practices, interviews with senior facility staff,
previous environmental investigation and management reports, and regulatory Agency inspections, reports and files.

If known or suspected hazardous building materials or environmental constituents of concern are believed to be present based on the results of the information collection efforts, sampling should be performed to define the full nature and extent of these materials. Considerations for the differences between indoor and outdoor areas need to be made during planning for the environmental sampling activities.

A regulatory review is another component of the initial investigation phase of work that should be performed concurrent with the environmental investigation activities. The regulatory review should identify applicable regulations relating to the constituents of concern, required analytical methods and minimum detection levels for sampling, and target cleanup levels for any required remediation.

An equipment inventory is another component of the initial assessment as it is important to determine the equipment and materials present inside a building before it can be decommissioned. The level of detail for an equipment inventory can vary greatly, from a simplistic assessment describing that there is a building of a certain size filled with a particular type of equipment, to a
detailed listing of every piece and size of item in place.

A building inspection is another component of the initial assessment that also can provide valuable information for deciding on alternatives for future use. Inspection of the facility design, materials of construction, and current condition can provide useful information to help direct other portions of the environmental assessment. The structural integrity of the building is an important factor to consider in evaluating whether the buildings should be reused or demolished.

2. Evaluation of Alternatives

     Financial issues

     Environmental goals

     Engineering considerations

     Anticipated future use

The results of the initial investigation is used to develop alternative response actions with their associated estimated costs. This assessment leads to the selection of the desired approach and formulation of the plan for its implementation in the following phase. The general alternatives for decommissioning a building are:

Mothball – take no further action and leave the facility in place, as is. Hazardous building materials and environmental contaminants, if any, would be left in place to be dealt with at a later time, possibly during a future demolition project.

Remediate and Mothball – remediate the immediate environmental concerns and leave the rest of the building as is.

Remediate and Dismantle Equipment – remediate all the environmental concerns and dismantle all the equipment inside the building leaving the shell of the building.

Demolish – complete demolition of the building to what is often referred to as a “greenfield” condition. This includes removal of the building and all associated infrastructure to a depth of 1 metre below grade. Environmental remediation may also be required. The option exists to send contaminated building debris to the appropriate landfill in lieu of cleanup or decontamination of those building materials. Depending on the level of existing contamination and the extent of remediation, this approach may result in a “brownfield” rather than a greenfield condition.

3. Facility Decommissioning

     Environmental remediation

     Equipment dismantling

     Building demolition

The decommissioning phase of the project can begin when all of the assessment and planning activities are completed. Facility decommissioning may include environmental remediation, equipment dismantling, or building demolition based on the results of the initial investigation and the selected response action.

4. Adaptive Reuse

Once the building has been decommissioned, the search for recycling and reuses can begin. If the building was completely demolished, the remaining property may be suited for new construction or rehabilitated green space. If the shell of the original building remains, it is now ready for modifications to prepare it for its new intended use. The choice of the new function is highly dependent upon the combination of factors investigated above including the location, architectural design, local demographics, public and/or private interest, and available funding.

ENVIROMENTAL DESIGN ISSUE
Waste Management

The most energy and resource efficient means of dealing with waste is to reuse the material or product without the need to re-manufacture or alter it. Products that have multiple uses (i.e. coffee grounds to make coffee and compost) provide the most economic and environmental benefits.

ENVIROMENTAL DESIGN ELEMENT
Building Decommissioning

Prior to any building decommissioning, the following steps should be taken.

1. Initial Investigation

     Environmental assessment

     Regulatory review

     Equipment inventory

     Building inspection

The first phase of any decommissioning project defines the current conditions, regulatory requirements, areas of concern, and alternatives for future action. The initial investigation provides the information to base future technical and financial project decisions.

An environmental assessment needs to be performed to identify and determine the nature and extent of any hazardous building materials or environmental contaminants in the building. Use existing information to direct the environmental investigation efforts rather than starting out with a widespread sampling program. The environmental sampling activities then can be directed toward the potential sources of concern.

Available information sources should be reviewed as the first step of the environmental assessment. Potential sources of existing information that may be helpful to direct subsequent phases of the environmental assessment include current site conditions based on observations, operational reports, information regarding past maintenance practices, interviews with senior facility staff,
previous environmental investigation and management reports, and regulatory Agency inspections, reports and files.

If known or suspected hazardous building materials or environmental constituents of concern are believed to be present based on the results of the information collection efforts, sampling should be performed to define the full nature and extent of these materials. Considerations for the differences between indoor and outdoor areas need to be made during planning for the environmental sampling activities.

A regulatory review is another component of the initial investigation phase of work that should be performed concurrent with the environmental investigation activities. The regulatory review should identify applicable regulations relating to the constituents of concern, required analytical methods and minimum detection levels for sampling, and target cleanup levels for any required remediation.

An equipment inventory is another component of the initial assessment as it is important to determine the equipment and materials present inside a building before it can be decommissioned. The level of detail for an equipment inventory can vary greatly, from a simplistic assessment describing that there is a building of a certain size filled with a particular type of equipment, to a
detailed listing of every piece and size of item in place.

A building inspection is another component of the initial assessment that also can provide valuable information for deciding on alternatives for future use. Inspection of the facility design, materials of construction, and current condition can provide useful information to help direct other portions of the environmental assessment. The structural integrity of the building is an important factor to consider in evaluating whether the buildings should be reused or demolished.

2. Evaluation of Alternatives

     Financial issues

     Environmental goals

     Engineering considerations

     Anticipated future use

The results of the initial investigation is used to develop alternative response actions with their associated estimated costs. This assessment leads to the selection of the desired approach and formulation of the plan for its implementation in the following phase. The general alternatives for decommissioning a building are:

Mothball – take no further action and leave the facility in place, as is. Hazardous building materials and environmental contaminants, if any, would be left in place to be dealt with at a later time, possibly during a future demolition project.

Remediate and Mothball – remediate the immediate environmental concerns and leave the rest of the building as is.

Remediate and Dismantle Equipment – remediate all the environmental concerns and dismantle all the equipment inside the building leaving the shell of the building.

Demolish – complete demolition of the building to what is often referred to as a “greenfield” condition. This includes removal of the building and all associated infrastructure to a depth of 1 metre below grade. Environmental remediation may also be required. The option exists to send contaminated building debris to the appropriate landfill in lieu of cleanup or decontamination of those building materials. Depending on the level of existing contamination and the extent of remediation, this approach may result in a “brownfield” rather than a greenfield condition.

3. Facility Decommissioning

     Environmental remediation

     Equipment dismantling

     Building demolition

The decommissioning phase of the project can begin when all of the assessment and planning activities are completed. Facility decommissioning may include environmental remediation, equipment dismantling, or building demolition based on the results of the initial investigation and the selected response action.

4. Adaptive Reuse

Once the building has been decommissioned, the search for recycling and reuses can begin. If the building was completely demolished, the remaining property may be suited for new construction or rehabilitated green space. If the shell of the original building remains, it is now ready for modifications to prepare it for its new intended use. The choice of the new function is highly dependent upon the combination of factors investigated above including the location, architectural design, local demographics, public and/or private interest, and available funding.