100 million tons of debris expected in the earthquake zone

Demolition experts predict that the amount of rubble that will flow from buildings destroyed or to be demolished in the earthquakes that took place in 11 Kahramanmaraş provinces, according to the latest figures, will reach 100 million tons.

Although damage assessment work is being carried out in the earthquake zone, debris removal work is also being carried out.

Former Chairman of the Association of Demolition Contractors, MAB Destroy İnşaat ve Yıkım Hizmetleri Limited Şirketi (MAB Demolition) Chairman of the Board Mehmet Ali Bulut stated that there are 480 companies in Turkey that have a certificate of “Demolition Contractors”, their certificate has not yet been approved, they have not applied for a certificate or are doing similar work, he said that together with companies, the number has reached 2,000.

Pointing out that the number of buildings to be demolished in the earthquake zone is very high and that the sector will have a hard time catching up, Bulut said: “Currently, it does not seem possible for demolition contractors in Turkey to demolish these buildings quickly with tools conventional. methods. The destruction of these buildings can take up to 2 years. The process could be much faster with explosive demolition here, but we don’t have many explosives engineers in this area either. We were not able to develop this area much in Turkey. Explosives demolition must be done and we must train explosives engineers.” he said.

‘DEEDS CAN BE USED TO REPAIR ROADS’

While giving warnings about the demolition process, Bulut continued his words as follows:

“Work safety experts must be present during demolitions. No new casualties should be caused. Old buildings contain dangerous carcinogenic asbestos materials. Asbestos removal specialists must inspect and mark them on site. These areas must be dismantled by experts. The order of traffic must be well established to easily transport the remains in question. Earthmoving trucks must work comfortably. There is a lot of dust in the area. Tanker trucks that exceed the water in the hands of municipalities should be sent to the region immediately, and continuous irrigation should be carried out. Dust masks should be distributed to people. We demolished the building and there was debris. It is very important how to recycle this wreck in the most useful way. The pieces of rubble can be broken up in stone crushers, which we call ‘crushing’, and the stabilized material can be manufactured and used in the repair and filling of damaged roads”.

Noting that there is scrap in the material obtained after the demolition of the buildings, which will be recycled for the economy, Bulut said: “These need to pass through a sieve to be recycled. Even 1 gram of iron should not go to waste, it should return to the country’s economy as income. If we consider the 61,722 buildings that will be demolished recently, there will be 89 million tons of rubble. Together with the buildings already destroyed, 100 million tons of rubble will come out. The steel scrap that will be obtained from all the collapsed and badly damaged buildings will be 1 million 750 thousand tons. The contribution of scrap iron to recover from rubble to recycling reaches 6,600 million lira. This value will be contributed to the economy. There will be enough rubble from the area to fill 660 stadiums.” saying.

Bulut stated that the buildings would be demolished with lifeless dummies being placed to determine safe spots in the buildings: “We can do tests for this. Where dummies take little damage gives us data on where to survive in buildings. The demolition teams must be included in the process with the coordination of AFAD”. he said.

‘IN EACH PROVINCE A SEPARATE DESCRIPTION POINT SHOULD BE DETERMINED’

Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Istanbul Technical University (ITU) Prof. Dr. Stating that the metals in the rubble to be removed from the field in Levent Trabzon must be separated and the other rubble must be decomposed, he said: “The materials in the rubble must be classified and the rubble must be reduced in volume. Necessary precautions should be taken at the place where the debris will be transported, and measures should not be placed to mix it with groundwater on agricultural land or store it in areas that cause environmental contamination. When removing debris, you must not create a problem that creates a secondary disaster. These should be paid attention to. The iron from the remains must be returned to the industry and the concrete must be a filling material. Organic waste in the rubble must be separated.” saying.

Noting that separate rubble points should be determined for each province, Trabzon said, “Rubble should also not be stored in bulk in these areas. The remains of shipwrecks should not be thrown on the seashore. he used the phrase. (AA)