World Demolition Summit recognizes Chapman demolition of MA at the World Demolition Summit in Great Britain, Nov. 12.

Costello Dismantling efforts might receive a recycling environmental demolition award at the World Demolition Summit in Great Britain, Nov. 12.

WEYMOUTH- The demolishing of Chapman Middle School required the removal of 14,000 tons of bricks with asbestos by Costello Dismantling during the past few months. As a result, Costello Dismantling might receive a recycling environmental demolition award at the World Demolition Summit in Great Britain, Nov. 12.

The Wareham-based firm’s work was among 200 projects that were evaluated by World Demolition Summit judges.
“It is a pretty elite company to be in,” said Daniel Costello, company president. “There were hundreds of applicants that submitted projects in various categories of demolition. We submitted our application for the environmental and recycling category because we thought it was most appropriate. We try to promote environmental stewardship every day.”

Costello Dismantling was among companies from Africa, Europe, Singapore, Mexico, Canada, and the U.S. that submitted an awards application to the World Demolition Summit. “It was a very encompassing global event,” Costello said. The company was among 29 companies that initially qualified for the Demolition Summit’s short awards consideration list, which was recently reduced to three finalists.

According to Demolition Summit judges, the recycling and environmental demolition award will be given to a company that “best demonstrates” a commitment to reducing the environmental impact of its operations.
The judges also consider a company’s ability to reduce noise, pollution disturbances, in addition to having environmental protection and recycling strategies at a site, According to a town summary, the removal of the 57-year-old Chapman School was challenging because much of the structure had heavy asbestos that contained paint. Costello said most of Chapman’s distinctive architectural style had asbestos-laden paint. “It was good stuff back in the day,” he said. “It lasted 50 years, but it was asbestos paint that was on all the exterior surfaces of the building.” Costello said the school’s structure with asbestos paint was encapsulated with polyethylene tarps to prevent contaminants from being blown into nearby neighborhoods.

“We were able to encapsulate the building’s wings so that all the work of removing the coating was done under containment and was completely enclosed,” he said. “That allowed us to go from one section of the building to the next. We finished the abatements in those areas to make them available for demolition. We had a well-choreographed sequence through the various segments of the building. We were able to do two things at once. We did not fall behind on our schedule.”

Town officials stated Costello purchased a dustless vapor blasting system with a vacuum collection that uses recycled glass to remove the coating while leaving the substrate clean. “They also became highly efficient in utilizing and installing heat‐shrink‐polyethylene tarps (shrink wrap) to enclose entire wings of the school at a time in air-tight work areas to comply with,… (state) Asbestos Abatement Containment Regulations,” town officials stated.

Costello said workers initially tried to remove the paint but were unable to do so in the “vast majority” of Chapman’s structure. “We were able to remove 10,000 tons and make it available for recycling,” he said.
Costello said the materials would be brought to recycling centers in Massachusetts for eventual reuse.“By being able to recycle the materials locally versus being out of state, involved looking at the whole story,” he said. “We are very proud of what we are able to accomplish along with the estimated (costs) insights our crews provided.” Costello said the recycling of the materials saved Weymouth $100,000 in disposal costs, and the remaining 4,000 tons of asbestos-coated concrete would be transported to licensed landfills in New Hampshire or Ohio.

The removal of the asbestos was assisted by the Bond Building, which is managing the construction of a new $164.2 million Chapman Middle School.“Bond was happy to partner with Costello Dismantling for the demolition and abatement scope on this project,” stated Brendan O’Malley, a Bond senior project manager. “Their pre-planning and efficient execution of the work helped set the rest of the project up for success,”

Mayor Robert Hedlund stated he appreciates the efforts of the entire Chapman construction team.
“I appreciate the efforts of our entire Chapman team to ensure taxpayer money is being used as efficiently and effectively as possible while also keeping the aggressively-scheduled project on-time and on budget,” he stated.

Chapman School Building Committee Chairman Ted Langill stated the demolition of the school’s architecture, which received an award in 1963 and World Demolition Summit’s recognition of the building’s removal is “somewhat bittersweet. ” “While somewhat bittersweet, it seems fitting that the history of the Maria Weston Chapman School be bookended with awards for architectural excellence at its beginning and demolition excellence at its end,” he stated.

ebaker@wickedlocal.com