PROJECT STORY
The challenge
At its production site in Ludwigshafen, chemical company BASF is required to comply with strict regulations on the maintenance of sealing surfaces to protect the soil and groundwater from contamination.
Evaluation and restoration of sealing surfaces — AwSV places new responsibilities on operators
Secure foundations for environmentally sound chemical production
The solution
By systematically investigating, recording, documenting and analyzing the current situation, compiling damage reports and developing suggestions and plans for restoration, the company can ensure proper compliance with the regulations of the German ordinance on facilities for handling substances that are hazardous to water (AwSV).
The impact
Safe sealing surfaces lay the foundations for long-term environmental protection, legal compliance and business continuity at the main factory of chemical company BASF.
The challenge
The national German ordinance on facilities for handling substances that are hazardous to water (AwSV), which came into force in August 2017, created new responsibilities for many plant operators. Companies face particular challenges in the implementation of the new regulations. For a chemical production site like the BASF plant in Ludwigshafen, compliance is critical — not only for its survival under the new system, but also for the long-term protection of the environment.
The solution
Arcadis is one of a number of partner companies that supports the BASF Sealing Surfaces Taskforce, founded in 2015, with inspections of sealing surfaces, documenting damage and drafting the relevant restoration plans. The size and technical complexity of the BASF plant at Ludwigshafen required a systematic, efficient and digitalized approach to the recording, documentation and analysis of the condition of each sealing surface and the required restoration work.
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For each sealing surface to be analyzed, Arcadis was provided with a dataset reflecting the target status of the area, including construction plans, waste water protection concepts, operating instructions and information on the media stored/used in the area. At the site, the actual status of each sealing surface was investigated and any damage (cracks in the surface, damaged coatings, fixing components in the concrete, expansion joints) was recorded on the construction plans, listed in tables and photographed. The subsequent evaluation of the sealing surface was then compiled in accordance with TRwS 786 (technical rule for substances that are hazardous to water).
All of the information was digitalized and the damage assessment was used to generate a damage log and a restoration concept containing product suggestions and an idea of quantities and costs for the proposed restoration work. With this integrated complete package of services, BASF was able to hand over responsibility for tackling the challenges of sealing surfaces to the Taskforce and Arcadis with complete confidence.
Thanks to the intelligent and fully digitalized management of its sealing surfaces, our customer was able to check off three objectives at once: environmental protection, legal compliance and economic efficiency.
The impact
Through its role in the BASF Sealing Surfaces Taskforce, Arcadis made a significant contribution to ensuring that one of the world's largest chemical production sites was operating in full compliance with the law and without harming the environment. The generated database serves as the basis for the long-term monitoring of the sealing surfaces, ensuring that all maintenance and repair work can be managed with maximum efficiency.
