Effective Management of Hazardous Asbestos Waste Within a Confined Water Main Pipeline Construction Project: Multiple Case Study Review

Abstract

As urban sprawl continues to put pressure on cities across the globe, so too is the need to service those who live and work within these regions. The need to provide fresh, clean drinking water to each person is becoming increasing difficult and somewhat unsustainable. In the context of Ireland, this is no different, particularly with ageing and leaking services. To counteract such issues, there is a need to replace old and often hazardous asbestos water main pipelines with more durable solutions. However, in doing so, the process unearths particularly hazardous material to those whom have the task of replacing it. There is an ever-growing need for advanced methods of materials management and space scheduling on confined construction sites with a considerable gap in literature accounting for the management and removal of hazardous waste. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the effective management of such hazardous waste, within what is invariably a confined construction site environment. To achieve this aim, three case studies are identified, all of which involve the removal of old asbestos water main, in a confined city centre environment. Three individuals on each case study are interviewed, using a semi-structured approach, to investigate how they effectively manage and mitigate the risks associated with the decommissioning, packaging and removal of hazardous asbestos waste from each of their respective projects. The findings indicate that, in order of importance, Space Scheduling, Critical Space Analysis, and Supply Chain Management are critical in the safe identification, decommissioning, excavation, extraction, packaging and ultimate removal and disposal of hazardous asbestos waste water main. This research is conducted with the ultimate viewpoint of increasing the efficiency of pipeline construction where hazardous waste is present, reducing costs on-site and, ultimately, improving the health and safety, both of those working on-site and also those in the vicinity of the removal of this hazardous waste.