Applying Innovative Laser Paint-Removal Technology Rescued the Renovation of an 80-Year-Old Navy Hangar
Workers atop multiple lifts use a laser to remove lead-contaminated paint in Hangar 101 at NAS Jacksonville during an extensive renovation of the 80-year-old building.
Leveraging problem-solving abilities and new technologies allows Best-Tec to perform discreet lead abatement.
Hangar 101 at Naval Air Station Jacksonville was one of the original buildings when the facility was officially commissioned in October 1940. After almost 80 years and numerous additions and internal modifications, the U.S Navy chose Haskell for the design-build project to undertake major repairs and renovation of the historic structure. Haskell subcontracted Best-Tec for the abatement and demolition portions of the job.
The U.S. Navy dictated that normal operations were to continue and the massive building remain occupied throughout the project. But when testing revealed lead-based paint, safety protocols precluded the use of accustomed paint-removal methods.
We faced the challenge of removing lead-based paint from approximately 25,000 individual spots down to bare metal inside of the occupied Hangar 101 at Naval Air Station (NAS) Jacksonville. The hangar is 600 feet by 165 feet wide with a clear ceiling height of 45 feet and an overall height of 78 feet. This posed specific challenges using traditional paint-stripping or needle-gun or abrasive-blasting methods inside an occupied building.
The biggest challenge we face daily is public health. Our work involves the cleaning and disposal of multiple types of hazardous and regulated materials, which, if dealt with improperly, can cause health issues to our employees and the general public. Using abrasive blasting would require construction of multiple elaborate containments to capture the blast medium and lead paint chips. Using a traditional hand grinder generates a substantial amount of lead dust and is impractical in an occupied building.
A large curtain helped with containment and proper air flow during laser paint removal in Hangar 101 at NAS Jacksonville.
Our most employed option is chemical paint stripping, and this method would have been the most feasible for the project. The downside, though, was the dwell time of approximately 12 hours the product takes to remove the paint. Because the thickness of the paint was more than 20 mils, this would have required employees to return to the location at least three times – first for chemical application, again for removal and a second application, then again for a second removal. Additionally, chemical paint stripping can be performed safely only when employees wear extensive PPE, and this, in turn, leads to the generation of hazardous waste generated and increased risk to employees and clients. So, while feasible, the time required and the health risk associated with chemical stripping rendered it unviable for this project.
Using a high-powered laser was an option we had seen online. The NAS Jax hangar project seemed to present the perfect opportunity. We rounded up some sample pieces of steel with comparable coatings, and Best-Tec Vice President Greg Kleinrichert Jr flew to Adapt Laser, the equipment maker located in Kansas City, Mo., for an in-person demonstration. The results were nothing less than stunning. The paint literally vaporized in front of his eyes.
Extracting the fumes created by vaporized lead-based paint is a key safety aspect of laser removal. Throughout testing, it was determined that the top cause for employee exposure could be mitigated by proper airflow and placement of the fume-extractor nozzle, if it is not built in.
Because portable high-powered lasers are not commonplace at a job site, Haskell and Best-Tec presented the Navy existing data, technical specs and video tools to demonstrate the method’s feasibility.
“What we found was that the laser, when used properly, produced lower lead readings than hand-scraping.”
Ultimately, based on prior studies with positive data, we received the go-ahead. We outlined our laser work plan and put together a “Laser Containment,” which consisted of fabricating laser curtain supports attached to our scissor lift/boom lift and existing structural elements. Additionally, continuous air testing was performed daily to monitor the laser worker’s breathing zone, the fume-extraction exhaust port and area sampling to measure lead exposure throughout the workday in multiple conditions. What we found was that the laser, when used properly, produced lower lead readings than hand-scraping.
Performing the actual removal and ensuring all environmental controls were working was the next challenge. When doing an in-person demonstration, the environment is usually quite stable. Temperature is regulated, access limited, work conditions ideal and air flow regulated. Without practical field experience, we were not sure what to expect.
The first step was getting the laser to the areas where removal would take place. The interior of the hangar has structural beams that start 45 feet off the ground and extend up to 78 feet. The zone from the lowest and highest points is composed of various pieces of structural steel, ranging from 1-foot-by-2-foot I-beams to 2-inch steel plates crisscrossing from truss to truss. Removing the spots would mean lifting the laser and all necessary accessories, such as an air compressor and fume extractor, roughly 60 feet in the air. Once the machine was in place, the laser operator would retrieve the laser optic from the scissor lift via boom lift and begin the cleaning process. The boom lift allowed the operator to move roughly 30 feet in all directions around the Laser platform. This was the process we ultimately settled on and are continuing to update as we proceed.
Working atop a scissor lift, employees used a laser to remove lead-contaminated paint.
This technology has been immensely beneficial to our project, and we foresee wider application in other settings. It is align with our sustainability efforts, as well. We estimate that we have saved roughly 275 gallons of hazardous lead waste by using the laser and are on track to see a realized waste reduction of approximately 2,200 gallons over the course of the project. And since electricity runs the entire operation, we can utilize the laser in practically any environment using our Clean-Diesel generator with a custom power transformer and distribution panel.
We believe laser technology is the future for the environmental industry. With the constant push to improve work practices and minimize hazardous waste, we see laser technology as the No. 1 tool moving forward.
In this demonstration video, a laser is used in a 1-square-foot area to remove paint that is about 3 mils thick. In many places throughout Hangar 101, paint was as thick as 20 mils after decades of accumulation.