Power station left standing after demolition attempt

SOMETHING appears to have gone wrong with the demolition of the Anglesea power station, with explosives detonated yesterday (Wednesday) failing to topple the main structure.

In the days leading up to the demolition, Alcoa announced that the main power station building was scheduled to be felled using controlled explosives between 9am and noon, subject to favourable weather conditions.

However, bystanders reported the explosives were not set off until 12.36pm.

“We were in the shop when we heard it – it sounded like a clap of thunder, really, but it didn’t quite shake the town,” Corinne Nigro from Anglesea News and Lotto said.

The explosion created a large dust cloud, but the main power station was still standing in the immediate aftermath.

Alcoa contracted Industrial Demolition Services to carry out the demolition and said it had worked with government agencies including EPA Victoria, Worksafe and emergency services such as Victoria Police, SES and CFA to ensure all safety and environmental standards related to the demolition were met.

Preparations for the demolition took some time and included a comprehensive 12-month asbestos removal program. The remaining structure is predominantly steel, which will be recycled.

The demolition did not include the removal of the industrial stack at the power station, which has been earmarked to stay under the Alcoa Freehold Concept Master Plan.

A 400-metre exclusion zone was in place around the power station site during the demolition, with security officers stationed along the perimeter and all tracks in and around the site closed.

Alcoa had not returned calls by the time this newspaper had gone to press.