Atlas Copco Rental compressed air supports safe San Francisco Bay implosion

Atlas Copco compressors were used at implosion of San Francisco pier to protect marine life. Brian Ford, Atlas Copco Rental Area Sales Manager out of Livermore, Calif., said assembling a fleet of so many 1,600 cfm compressors for a job is not a small undertaking. “We were confident we could provide what they needed,” Ford said. “We have the largest fleet of 100% oil-free air compressors that are both diesel powered and CARB-permitted in North America.” Ford said the high-volume Atlas Copco Rental models were particularly well suited to an environmentally sensitive project because they introduce 100 percent oil-free air into the water. As an added measure of safety, each compressor’s base provides fluid containment.

The demonstration was streamed live online and given live coverage on television. The compressors maintained the curtain without problem. “This pier implosion was the culmination of years of collaborative preparation and planning,” Leah Robinson-Leach, Bay Bridge spokesperson from the California Department of Transportation. “The combination of science, technology and engineering with environmental stewardship is historical.” For six seconds, a sequential series of blasts from 600 explosive charges rumbled through the structure, fracturing the reinforced concrete, which collapsed into the pier’s own honeycomb-like base below the bay floor. It left nothing to retrieve but the blast covers floating in the foam, which had been placed over the structure to protect against potentially flying rock. CalTrans reported: “Initial studies including three days of round-the-clock observation after the blast have determined no injuries or deaths to aquatic wildlife.”

The successful demonstration of blasting in the bay may now be used on the other piers, all that remains of the Bay Bridge after construction of a new Skyway between San Francisco and Oakland.

Written by Olivia Gambin