CODE removed 100 cy of PCB contaminated stone and soil from a rail yard located 70 feet below a New York City street.

Rather than lowering personnel and drums into the railyard to remove the material by hand, CODE implemented an alternate remedial action plan which lowered an excavator and roll-off boxes into the railyard. Not only did this limit the number of personnel required to enter the railyard, it drastically reduced the length of time to complete the project. This was an important consideration due to the site's location: it was situated below a major traffic artery leading into the Lincoln Tunnel (9th Avenue between 31st and 33rd Streets). CODE's approach required that the city street be closed only over the Easter holiday weekend thereby reducing the impact of the project on the traveling public.

Utilizing a 125 ton crane, CODE lowered the equipment and roll-offs, each approximately eight feet wide, through parallel catenary wires with a span of ten feet into the railyard. The operation required considerable expertise on the part of both project management and the crane operator as the equipment was lowered in what is known as a "blind pick". In other words, the operator could not see what he was doing and had to rely solely on radio guidance from the site supervisors.

Once the contaminated material was placed into the roll-offs, the equipment was raised back up to street level and shipped off-site for disposal.

CODE successfully completed this project without incident to the complete satisfaction of the client and involved governmental agencies.