One of the world’s largest air dome structures built in WA

One of the world’s largest air dome structures has been built at Tellus Holdings’ Sandy Ridge facility in Western Australia, as part of developing the first commercial geological repository for hazardous waste in the country.

The structure is 180 metres long, 90 metres wide and 28 metres at its highest point, Tellus Holdings CEO Duncan van der Merwe said, covering 16,200 metres squared.

“The air dome structure is a state-of-the-art engineered barrier that protects the environment and human health, and allows for all-year, all-weather waste management services,” he said.

Collaboratively developed by Arizon Building Systems and Perth-based GR Engineering Services, Mr van der Merwe said the air dome structure is incremental in the development of Tellus Holding’s commercial geological hazardous waste repository.

“It will provide an innovative infrastructure solution unsurpassed in the storage of hazardous waste in Australia today,” he said.

“What was essential for Tellus in the development of this air dome structure was its ability to take into account environmental factors, and in particular, the health and wellbeing of the team of people who work at the facility.”

According to Tellus Holdings General Manager Project Development Stephen Hosking, the permanent isolation system for hazardous waste in Sandy Ridge will be the first commercial scale repository in Australia.

“The air dome is perfectly suited to our requirements at Sandy Ridge, and the team worked tirelessly to ensure it was delivered incident free,” he said.

“At Tellus, our endeavour to provide engineering excellence across all areas of construction have been paramount to this innovative installation that has set a benchmark for others to follow.”

Key features of the air dome structure include a relocatable anchor foundation system, air handling units, vehicle air interlock, wind sensors, digital command controllers, full bias cable system and heavy-duty membrane, air quality and ventilation monitoring.

“The innovative custom air supported structure incorporates a unique anchor system, with the capital cost of the final installed solution approximately 30 per cent of the equivalent conventional building solution,” Mr Hosking said.

“The dome took just three hours to inflate, becoming the first of its type commissioned in the Southern Hemisphere.”

To subscribe to Waste Management Review with free home delivery click here

Related stories:

Send this to a friend