In February 2010, NEO Corporation was contracted by the City of Chester located in South Carolina for the asbestos removal, hazardous chemical removal and demolition of the historic Springsteen Mill. This mill had been the subject of several failed salvage operations, fires, water run off/Erosion issues and various other safety concerns. The city leaders saw it as a draw for vagrants and unsafe activity. The City officials had previously contracted a consultant to conduct a Phase One survey on this site. The survey confirmed the presence of asbestos in the 100-plus year old structure plus several other environmental contaminates. These officials worked with the EPA to obtain a grant to rid the site of the remaining and/or partially collapsed structures and the above ground contaminates.

NEO cleared the site of the asbestos containing insulation, roofing materials, flashings and several containers/drums filled with petroleum, acids and other corrosives prior to any demolition activities. The demolition process was difficult due the owner’s requirement to salvage/save the historic smoke stack which was located in the center of the building complex. NEO took extra safety precautions to protect and shore up the smoke stack during the demolition.

This project consisted of the removal of 4216 tons of construction and demolition debris. The final waste totals included 612 tons of creosote containing wood.

Upon the completion of the abatement and demolition activities NEO properly graded the site for water drainage and seeded the area for future below grade soil contamination abatement in the next phase for this site.