The team at McElligotts recently had the pleasure of working on several penstocks located in Tumut 1 Power Station – a part of the Snowy Mountains Hydro Scheme in New South Wales. This job saw our team removing hazardous lead based paint and corrosion from the external penstocks 3 & 4 – each 2.5 metres in diameter.
We carried out the work during a scheduled power outage, giving us a tight window to complete the task. Our team began by erecting scaffolding access systems around the penstocks, along with a full encapsulation frame to support air monitoring and waste containment. Once the area was sealed, we used a HEPA-filter dust extraction unit to safely manage any lead dust generated during the abrasive blasting and painting process. These precautions were essential to protect both our workers and the station crew.
With the abrasive blasting complete and the penstocks’ exteriors returned to their original surface, we used a vacuum unit to thoroughly remove any lead waste that was left over. Our final task was then to apply a primer, intermediate and final protective coating of paint per the Snowy Hydro paint specifications.
We would like to thank Snowy Hydro Limited for giving us the opportunity to work on this important project. On average, the Snowy Hydro power stations produce 4,500 gigawatt hours of renewable energy each year. Maintaining the penstocks is an essential step in ensuring that Snowy Hydro can continue operating at full capacity and provide power for the one million homes and businesses that they service.
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Check out our projects map to view more protective coatings projects that our team have completed throughout all of Australia.
