Shield was appointed by Hydrock Ltd to undertake the safe remediation of asbestos contaminated land at Hinkley Point Nuclear Power Station Point C, located in Somerset.

The asbestos materials found in the land had been left over from constructing the A and B stations in the 1960s and 1970s, and included fibrous asbestos insulation, asbestos rope and asbestos cement debris.

Over 250,000 tons of asbestos-contaminated soil was removed, processed and taken off site for safe disposal during the project, which ran from May 2011 to December 2012. Other items of construction debris such as wood, plastic and metal were also segregated.

This project required due diligence and great care to be taken due to environmental constraints and the location of the site within wildlife and nature conservation areas. Shield remained in close communication with environmental groups including the British Wildlife Trust and the National Trust.

Following further investigations at the pre-planning stage, circa 1,800m2 of Asbestos Insulating Board (AIB) panels were also identified, in the rear frame housing of the façade, forming part of the original fabric of the building. This was also included as a part of Shield’s scope of removal.

The project ran from July 2021 through to December 2023.