# Building implosions: why don't they try to contain the dust? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 22, 2008, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-implosions-why-dont-they-try-to-contain-the-dust/434506 "2008-01-22T15:13:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-implosions-why-dont-they-try-to-contain-the-dust/434506/1 "2008-01-22T15:13:28Z")
I’ve been watching a series of building implosions on Youtube. One thing that caught my eye was the huge cloud of dust that accompanied each implosion. [For example](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79sJ1bMR6VQ&feature=related). Now, in built-up areas like in the example, I’m wondering, why they don’t try to contain the dust? Surely it would be a relatively simple (admittedly not cheap) matter to put up scaffolding and boarding or plastic sheeting between the nearby buildings to contain the dust? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-implosions-why-dont-they-try-to-contain-the-dust/434506/2 "2008-01-22T15:18:08Z")
[QUOTE=Quartz] Surely it would be a relatively simple (admittedly not cheap) matter to put up scaffolding and boarding or plastic sheeting between the nearby buildings to contain the dust? [/QUOTE] The energy generated by the building collapse generates a gust of wind that is powerful enough to knock down such a flimsy barrier. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-implosions-why-dont-they-try-to-contain-the-dust/434506/3 "2008-01-22T16:09:28Z")
Really? They don’t seem to protect neighbouring buildings - not even boarding up windows. ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-implosions-why-dont-they-try-to-contain-the-dust/434506/4 "2008-01-22T16:21:42Z")
Although there’s a gust of wind, there’s not really an overpressure (since the shock waves are very localized). At only .5psi, “probability of breakage” of windows above 2’ x 2’ is at 100%. Basically, if the overpressure is going to be strong enough to break windows, it’s going to rip plastic sheeting to shreds, and it won’t contain any dust. The public is always cordoned off from the blast site, so the dust really shouldn’t affect anybody. Any broken windows are likely going to be due to debris, and it would probably be easier and cheaper to replace any busted windows than to protect all of them. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-implosions-why-dont-they-try-to-contain-the-dust/434506/5 "2008-01-22T16:52:10Z")
Also, it’s, well, dust. Anything toxic like asbestos will have been remediated (cleaned up) before the building is taken down. Trying to tent or otherwise surround a building larger than a house is going to be more difficult, labor intensive and expensive than offering cleaning service to anyone that complains about the dust getting into their home. The logistics are staggering - how many truckloads of scaffolding would be needed? How many truckloads of tarps or plastic? How do you manage the dust when you take all of this down? I don’t think that they do offer cleanup as a rule, but that could be something negotiated into the contracts and permits on a job-by-job basis. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-implosions-why-dont-they-try-to-contain-the-dust/434506/6 "2008-01-22T16:54:16Z")
IMPLOSION??!!! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![mks57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@mks57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mks57)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-implosions-why-dont-they-try-to-contain-the-dust/434506/7 "2008-01-22T17:58:13Z")
[QUOTE=Quartz] Really? They don’t seem to protect neighbouring buildings - not even boarding up windows. [/QUOTE] I’ve seen them put protective covering over nearby windows that they think are at risk of being broken. ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-implosions-why-dont-they-try-to-contain-the-dust/434506/8 "2008-01-22T18:00:34Z")
[QUOTE=msmith537] IMPLOSION??!!! :eek: [/QUOTE] Well, they do their best to make the building fall in upon itself, so in that sense one could argue that the building is imploding as a result of the explosions going on inside it. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-implosions-why-dont-they-try-to-contain-the-dust/434506/9 "2008-01-22T19:29:11Z")
I’d think they’d be better off soaking the buidling and surrounding land with water before hand and then having ladder trucks and spraying the site down with as much water as possible during and right after the explosion. Even that, I’m not sure would do much. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-implosions-why-dont-they-try-to-contain-the-dust/434506/10 "2008-01-22T19:41:26Z")
"They’’ do sometimes try to control the dust with tarps and plastic wrap: [http://www.thestateonline.com/news/pdfs/implosion.pdf](http://www.thestateonline.com/news/pdfs/implosion.pdf) ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-implosions-why-dont-they-try-to-contain-the-dust/434506/11 "2008-01-22T21:06:03Z")
[QUOTE=Canadjun] Well, they do their best to make the building fall in upon itself, so in that sense one could argue that the building is imploding as a result of the explosions going on inside it. [/QUOTE] I was quoting a line from the Simpsons. The town is watching a building demo and Bart’s yells out “Whoohooo! Now we’ll see the implosion!!” The workman then cries out “IMplosion!?? as he hits the plunger, implying that the building was accidently rigged to EXplode..which it does comicly” ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-implosions-why-dont-they-try-to-contain-the-dust/434506/12 "2008-01-22T21:08:38Z")
[QUOTE=Joey P] I’d think they’d be better off soaking the buidling and surrounding land with water before hand and then having ladder trucks and spraying the site down with as much water as possible during and right after the explosion. Even that, I’m not sure would do much. [/QUOTE] Too many people too close to the structure, too close to the moment of implosion, methinks.