Mercury Decontamination of a Chloralkali Plant
in Alexandria, Egypt
T. MESCIIEDE and R. VOGELSBERGER
A description is given of the decontamination of a chi or alkali plant which became contaminated with
mercury during more than 30 years of production. The project comprises the clean-up of the
contaminated areas, the dismantling and demolition of equipment and buildings, and the disposal of
contaminated materials in a specially designed landfill. Extensive high-level health and safety
measures have been applied in order to protect workers and the environment.
1
Introduction
The Misr Chemical Industry (MCI) chlor alkali facility, located in an industrial
suburb west of Alexandria, Egypt, is the nation's primary source of caustic soda
and chlorine, with the latter being used for the disinfection of drinking water in
cities and villages throughout Egypt and the surrounding countries. The facility
was originally built in the 1950'S and comprised two production lines utilizing the
mercury-amalgam electrolysis process. As a result of over 30 years of operation,
several portions of the production and by-product units have become contaminated with mercury to various degrees.
MCI has initialized a major modernization effort comprising two major
undertakings: the mercury decontamination and partial demolition of the
existing electrolysis facilities, and the construction of a new electrolysis unit
using mercury-free membrane technology.
The bank which finances the project specified that the environmental
decontamination activities must be an integral part of the overall project, and
that cleanup procedures and standards typical for Germany and the USA should
be utilized where possible. In particular, exposure of workers and the
surrounding neighborhood to mercury emissions during decontamination
activities must be minimized. In addition, the timing of the decontamination
of the existing facilities and the construction of the new unit had to be
coordinated such that there was no interruption in the chlorine production.
This project represents one of the few major decontamination efforts at a
mercury-amalgam facility, and is one of the most sophisticated environmental
remediation projects ever undertaken in this part of the world.
Environmental Science
Mercury Contaminated Sites (ed. by R. Ebinghaus et al.)
© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 1999
in Alexandria, Egypt
T. MESCIIEDE and R. VOGELSBERGER
A description is given of the decontamination of a chi or alkali plant which became contaminated with
mercury during more than 30 years of production. The project comprises the clean-up of the
contaminated areas, the dismantling and demolition of equipment and buildings, and the disposal of
contaminated materials in a specially designed landfill. Extensive high-level health and safety
measures have been applied in order to protect workers and the environment.
1
Introduction
The Misr Chemical Industry (MCI) chlor alkali facility, located in an industrial
suburb west of Alexandria, Egypt, is the nation's primary source of caustic soda
and chlorine, with the latter being used for the disinfection of drinking water in
cities and villages throughout Egypt and the surrounding countries. The facility
was originally built in the 1950'S and comprised two production lines utilizing the
mercury-amalgam electrolysis process. As a result of over 30 years of operation,
several portions of the production and by-product units have become contaminated with mercury to various degrees.
MCI has initialized a major modernization effort comprising two major
undertakings: the mercury decontamination and partial demolition of the
existing electrolysis facilities, and the construction of a new electrolysis unit
using mercury-free membrane technology.
The bank which finances the project specified that the environmental
decontamination activities must be an integral part of the overall project, and
that cleanup procedures and standards typical for Germany and the USA should
be utilized where possible. In particular, exposure of workers and the
surrounding neighborhood to mercury emissions during decontamination
activities must be minimized. In addition, the timing of the decontamination
of the existing facilities and the construction of the new unit had to be
coordinated such that there was no interruption in the chlorine production.
This project represents one of the few major decontamination efforts at a
mercury-amalgam facility, and is one of the most sophisticated environmental
remediation projects ever undertaken in this part of the world.
Environmental Science
Mercury Contaminated Sites (ed. by R. Ebinghaus et al.)
© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 1999