Shannon Airport Authority owns an aviation fuel storage facility at Shannon Airport which is operated on their behalf by Tedcastles Aviation Fuels.  The fuel storage bund contains 10no. tanks which store Jet A1 fuel (Kerosene) for fuelling aircraft at the airport.

The project involved the removal of concrete locally around 9no. tanks within a concrete bund, and installation of replacement concrete at a lower level to allow inspection of the bottom of the tank walls previously obscured by the concrete.

The facility is an upper tier Seveso site and operations at the facility needed to remain uninterrupted during the remedial works.  This placed very significant restrictions on methodologies used and all methodologies were vetted by TAF prior to implementation. For instance, cutting of concrete slabs into removable sections was done by hydrodemolition to avoid the risk of sparks, and all equipment within the bund was ATEX rated.  The removal work was carried out manually with cranage provided from outside the bund.  Replacement concrete and seals provide an impermeable seal between the bottom of the tanks and the rest of the concrete bund.

Project management and contract administration were carried out by Byrne O’Cleirigh Consulting Engineers and PUNCH Consulting Engineers.