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Preparations
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Controlled
Demolition Group first set about drilling 360 holes at the
50-foot elevation of the smaller stack. The holes were then
loaded with 150 pounds of 80% gelatin and covered with strips
of conveyor belting to contain debris from the initial blast.
While this was occurring, workers from Brown & Mason
began stacking large container bins three-high, eventually
building a 30 by 300-foot-long protective wall in front
of the adjacent active power station. This wall would prevent
debris generated by the stack's ground-slap from striking
the station's operating transformers. |
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the larger concrete stack proved far more arduous, as hand
drills and other cutting equipment had to be carried up
through the inside of the giant shaft to the 350-foot level.
Aside from the usual drilling and loading, workers used
blow-torches to pre-cut each of the four steel ducts, as
well as stairwells and various other items to insure that
the top half of the structure would separate quickly upon
detonation.
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Explosives
engineer Holly Bennett carries a load of detonators
onto the blast site
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Once
the high elevation was fully prepared, work began on the
stack's base, with over 200 holes being drilled in a wedge-shaped
pattern that extended 120 feet around and more than 30 feet
high. A total of 400 pounds of explosives were loaded into
the 725-foot stack, and like its shorter 350-foot counterpart,
conveyor belting was then placed over the charges to help
contain any initial blast debris. |
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