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Former R.E. Burger Plant Stack Demolition Could Cause ‘Shockwave’ in Belmont County

Photo by Casey Junkins FirstEnergy Corp. officials plan to demolish the 854-foot tall concrete smoke stack at the former R.E. Burger plant in Dilles Bottom around 8:30 a.m. Friday.

DILLES BOTTOM — Residents in the vicinity of the former R.E. Burger plant may experience a “shockwave” similar to a sonic boom — and tremors that could be felt as far as 5 miles away — during demolition of the plant’s 854-foot-tall smokestack Friday morning.

“There is a possibility you could feel it four or five miles away,” said Ron McDowell, senior geology researcher for the West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey. “There will be a shockwave in the air. It ends up being like a sonic boom.”

FirstEnergy Corp. owns the former Burger plant, which could be part of the site for the planned multi-billion-dollar PTT Global Chemical ethane cracker. FirstEnergy spokeswoman Jennifer Young said Wednesday the company did not know the weight of the concrete smokestack.

Without knowing the weight, McDowell said he could only offer a rough estimate of the impact.

“My guess is the explosives will do more of the ground shaking than the actual collapse of the smokestack,” McDowell said. “My gut feeling is that to break up the material, you would need a great deal of explosives.”

McDowell said the type of surface on which the stack sits is also a factor. If there is more soil where the stack falls, for example, this will help cushion the impact.

“For an earthquake or anything resembling an earthquake, it depends on how much energy there is and what the ground is like,” he said.

Additionally, law enforcement will close certain areas on both sides of the Ohio River Friday morning for safety purposes. Marshall County Sheriff Kevin Cecil urged motorists to prepare for delays, as the city of Moundsville sits just across the Ohio River from the Burger site.

Cecil and Marshall County Emergency Management Director Tom Hart said Wednesday officials will shut down W.Va. 2 at approximately 8 a.m. Friday for the planned 8:30 a.m. blast. The closure will affect W.Va. 2 from 12th Street south to the traffic signal at the Williams Energy plant.

The Moundsville Bridge will also be closed, as well as Roberts Ridge Road.

Cecil and Hart said officials do not know precisely how long the roads will be closed, so motorists should plan accordingly.

Cecil also said the airspace near the stack will be closed, while the CSX Corp. railroad will also shut down.

He recommends anyone who wishes to view the demolition go to Moundsville Riverfront Park in the area of 13th Street.

Similar traffic restrictions will take place on Ohio 7 in the Dilles Bottom area around 8 a.m. Friday, but officials could not provide specific information Wednesday.

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