BOS Plant on Redcar Teesworks site to be demolished in huge explosion

About 1.6 tonnes of explosives are set to be used to bring down a steelmaking plant in what will be one of the largest single explosive demolition operations in the last 75 years.

The Basic Oxygen Steelmaking (BOS) plant on the former steelworks site in Redcar is scheduled to come down on Saturday 1 October.

The Teesworks site is being prepared for future regeneration, with many of its old structures being demolished.

The 65-metre building will be levelled with about 1.6 tonnes of explosives.

When operational, molten iron from the Redcar blast furnace was transported to the BOS Plant via brick-lined “torpedo” tubes, where it was then refined to produce steel.

To prepare the parcel of land for the blowdown, a £25million project has been carried out over the past 12 months to pull down a series of large industrial shed buildings and seven tall chimney stacks that made up part of the 30-acre steelmaking facility.

Major plant items and equipment have also been stripped out from the facility to prepare it for demolition.

The demolition will take place between 8am and noon, with three blasts over a seven second period bringing the 60,000-tonne structure down.

Tees Dock Road will be closed for a short time prior to and following the activity.

Dust suppression measures will be in place.

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said: “We’ve already brought down a lot of massive iron and steelmaking structures that remained on the Teesworks site, but this is going to be the biggest demolition yet.

“This is demolishing to deliver – it’s only by bringing old structures down that we can build new opportunity, just as we’ve seen this year with construction beginning on SeAH Wind’s £400m offshore wind monopile factory, and as we’ll soon see with Net Zero Teesside and Circular Fuels.

“We’re unlocking yet more land and making the site an even more attractive prospect for all of the international investors we’re working to bring to Teesworks.

“As ever, I’d like to thank local people and businesses for their understanding and patience as we go further, faster, to bring the good-quality, well-paid jobs of the future to Teesside.”

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