L-453 erects absorber, ductwork at Knoxville power plant

This is just one of 125 truckloads of structural components Boilermakers will need to complete a job at one of TVA’s 11 coal-fired fossil plants.

Bull Run is just one of TVA’s 11 coal-fired fossil plants that must meet new clean-air standards

MEMBERS OF LOCAL 453, Knoxville, Tenn., are working hard to clean up the air by erecting a new absorber and ductwork for CBI Services Inc. at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) Bull Run Fossil Power Plant, near Knoxville.

On behalf of TVA, CBI contracted with Advatech to perform the work. The job includes the absorber, five medium-to-large absorber buildings, and the associated large ductwork. The project will bring the plant into compliance with recent federal clean-air mandates that regulate allowable emission levels from existing fossil fuel power plants in the United States.

CBI’s portion of the work started in Oct. 2006 and is scheduled to be completed in July. Local 453 members are erecting the multiple-alloy absorber vessel box that is 73-feet wide, 107-feet long, and approximately 100-feet high. They are also erecting about 300 feet of 19-foot-wide by 42-foot-high ASTM A588 Grade B duct, with structural supports.