Posted By Robert K Lewis
Steve

You have not said anything about location and substrate. My last experience of this was for a grade 2 listed derelict hotel that was being refurbished. All woodwork, internal and external was lead painted along with much of the remaining plaster. We chemical stripped the woodwork and removed all affected plaster that we were permitted to remove and overpainted the rest. H&S File then took up the slack.

Needle gunning and similar are possible in some areas but require high levels of operative and possibly public protection. Such operations are also potentially problematic with regards to vibration and this does need to be added to the mix.

You will need to consider health surveillance matters when setting up your protocols. But this will be about ensuring your contractor is taking the problems into account. I would certainly not advise using anything other than a competent contractor for the work

Bob

Posted By steve e ashton
The project is for refurb and partial rebuild of a (large) estuarine bridge (Not the Forth rail or road bridge(s) but not a million miles away).

Its a large quantity of paint and none of it can be allowed to fall into the estuary.
Chemical stripping is likely to be expensive, and would require some very unusual scaffolding to allow for tidal rise and fall (and surge). Abrasive blasting similarly plus close sheeting and the cost of increased volume / weight of waste for disposal.

I agree that whoever is eventually contracted to do any part of the project will have to be competent specialists of one sort or another... But there are different sorts of paint stripping and surface coating specialists out there, and they don't necessarily say nice things about each other.. We need to keep options as wide as possible at this stage. As client advisors and CDM co-ordinator, and given that this is still 'very early days' in the project, I am keen to get some understanding of the possible options as early as possible, and hoped someone here might have direct experience?

To paraphrase Donald Rumsfeld (or was it Bush?)- its the things you don't know you don't know that can be a problem. Until I read CIRIA report C664 I didn't know how much I didn't know about modern bridge paint systems. Now that I have a vague idea of how much there is to know (that I don't know) I want to learn a little bit more so I at least have some measure of my own ignorance (I will know what I don't know).

Sorry folks - it must be Friday.

Steve

Posted By Robert K Lewis
In this situation I would even consider hot removal as the ventilation/dilution rates will be rather higher than most areas.

Bob

Posted By Gary Malone
Lyndsay Contractors who used to do the forth bridge had a high pressure water /vacum system that was used (robotic System that was bolted on and traveled along striping the paint). This was mid 90's the company is now non-existant but I do know the guys who worked on it and could put you in touch with them to find the exact system.