03 May 2007

Brunner Mond is to carry out the controlled demolition of a redundant power station as part of an ongoing initiative to generate a ‘greener’ electricity supply for its operations.

The soda ash company will carry out the ‘blow down’ at 1pm on May 15 during its Winnington plant’s annual maintenance shutdown.

And local residents are being assured that everything is being done to ensure disruption is kept to a minimum.

Managing Director, John Kerrigan, said: “In 2000 we switched to a much more efficient, gas-fired Combined Heat and Power plant to generate steam and power for our chemical plant operations. This has meant we’ve managed to reduce our annual greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 17 per cent – even though an additional 100MW of electricity is generated by the new plant.”

“This means our three former coal, oil and gas stations are no longer needed, so we’re currently in the process of carefully carrying out their demolition.”

The ‘blow down’ will use explosives to demolish a high-level bunker structure and two boilers at the former Winnington power station. All remaining materials will then be safely processed for reclaim.

A large exclusion zone within Brunner Mond’s site will be created on the day – though no major disruption is expected for the factory’s neighbours or local highways.

John added: “There will of course be a loud noise from the explosion so it’s important residents, particularly those with pets or young children, are aware of this. We also anticipate that a plume of dust will be created – although every effort is being taken to ensure this is minimised by damping down.

“I’d like to assure local people that our extensive planning for this event has involved considerable emphasis on minimising disruption to them. We pride ourselves on being a good neighbour to the people of Cheshire and we’re confident this important work will have minimum impact on them.”

The £130million investment in the CHP Plant has resulted in one of the most efficient power plants in Europe, demonstrating Brunner Mond’s strong commitment to reducing the environmental impact of its operations.

You are invited to send a photographer/reporter to witness the demolition, the best view of which is from the public car park by the Anderton Boat Lift.

Date: Tuesday 15 May Time:
Meet at 12.40 to set up ahead of 1pm blow down
Where: Report to the car park at Anderton Boat Lift, Lift Lane, Anderton, Northwich, CW9 6FW

For further information contact Mark Chitty at Brunner Mond on 01610 724000 or Linda Isted/Alison Hardy at Staniforth\ on 0161 919 8495

Brunner Mond is one of the world’s leading manufacturers and suppliers of soda ash and associated alkaline products. The company has manufacturing plants in Northwich, Cheshire, where it has its headquarters; in Delfzijl, The Netherlands and at Lake Magadi in Kenya. The Company also operates a transportation terminal at Durban, South Africa. The Company is wholly owned by Tata Chemicals Limited, part of the Tata Group of India.

Brunner Mond’s principal product is soda ash, of which it is one of Europe’s largest producers, and the UK’s sole manufacturer. The combined Brunner Mond/Tata Chemicals Group is the third largest producer of soda ash in the world. Brunner Mond is also one of the world’s leading producers of refined sodium bicarbonate and Europe’s second largest producer of calcium chloride liquor.