[FONT=Verdana]A stack removal project is set to begin later this month at Plant Branch. Four of the five stacks currently located at the plant will either be removed or lowered. The four stacks scheduled for demolition have not been in service since the 1970s and require periodic maintenance and inspections.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana] Stacks 1 & 2 will be completely removed and stacks 3 & 4 will be lowered from 500 feet to 150 feet. Structural steel and duct work are supported from the base of stacks 3 & 4, and therefore they cannot be completely removed. A metal roof will be placed over stacks 3 & 4. [/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]Stack 5, the tallest stack at 1,000 feet and the only one currently being used, will remain in service. [/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]It will take Oak Park Chimney Corporation, the contractor hired to perform the work, approximately 18 months to complete the project. The demolition will begin in early August. [/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]In an effort to protect the environment and plant equipment surrounding the stacks, explosives will not be used during the demolition. Instead, contractors will build scaffolding around the stacks and cut away sections of the stack which will drop through the stack's center. The debris will be hauled off from the bottom of the stack.[/FONT]