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For decades, the so-called PX area, a shopping and service centre of the US Army, was operated near the railway station in Heidelberg. Prior to this, the site had a long history of use. Following the withdrawal of the US Army in 2014, the various buildings were gradually demolished. Following the departure of a grocery store that had been located there in the meantime, work began in summer 2020 to clear the last building on the site in order to make way for the new "Kopernikus-Quartier" residential and commercial area. The new development is located to the south of Heidelberg's main railway station in the immediate vicinity of the new "Bahnstadt" district.
To clear the construction site, MuP Umwelttechnik carried out a waste investigation of the building, analysed the analytical tests and drew up the specifications for the demolition. Once the tenders had been evaluated and the contract awarded, the first step was to gut the building and separate the various components containing hazardous substances, which was carried out under intensive labour and emission protection measures.
In addition to the separation of pollutants, the demolition of numerous old, extensive building remains, sewers and concrete foundations found in the subsoil was also a challenge.
The recovery of the underground components was carried out in cooperation with a company specialising in explosive ordnance detection. In addition to sampling from excavator chutes, samples were also taken from the backfill material from bomb craters for the environmental investigation of the subsoil. The analytical test results were evaluated on the basis of waste management and soil protection aspects.
Following completion of the demolition work and explosive ordnance drilling, the construction sites were handed over to the new owners for redevelopment in July 2021.
