The Lafarge Cement Works at Northfleet, Kent was opened in 1970 by Blue Circle Industries. During operation, it had the capacity to produce over a million tonnes of cement each year. It was taken over by Lafarge Company in 2002 and became Europe’s largest demolition project in 2010.

Image sourced from www.kenthistoryforum.co.uk Accessed 9.7.13.

The Elwha River near Port Angeles was the site of the largest dam demolition project in the U.S. The removal of the Elwha Dam was part of the second-largest ecosystem restoration project ever undertaken by the National Park Service.

Image sourced from library.ucr.edu. Accessed 9.7.13.

This impressive structure was built in 1918 with the help of over 2,000 labourers. For seven decades it served as the centrepiece of Northeast Philadelphia before finally succumbing to 5,500 kilos of explosives in 1994. At 2.7 million square feet of floor space, the Sears Merchandise Centre was the largest explosively demolished building of its time.

Image sourced from www.implosionworld.com/records.htm. Accessed 9.7.13.

In November 2003, demolition experts detonated 63 kilos of explosive charges to flatten the 820 meter long Turnpike Bridge that spanned the Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio. It became the longest explosively demolished structure in the world.

Image sourced from www.implosionworld.com/records.htm. Accessed 9.7.13.

In 1997, this demolition project was at the centre of a major plant upgrade in Hamilton, Ontario Canada. It involved the simultaneous demolition of 20 structures including warehouses, storage sheds and smokestacks. It currently holds one of the records for the most structures demolished at once.

Image sourced from www.implosionworld.com/records.htm. Accessed 9.7.13.

Just thirteen months after the Stelco Steel Plant was demolished, a different team of explosives experts performed an equally ambitious 20-building undertaking at one of Calgary’s most historic institutions.

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At 133 meters, Hudson’s Department Store in Detroit, Michigan was the tallest structural steel building ever imploded in the US. Years of neglect and decay meant that demolition was the only economically viable alternative and the building was brought down in 1998.

Image sourced from www.implosionworld.com/records.htm. Accessed 9.7.13.

On the 26^th of March, 2000 the world’s largest thin-shelled concrete dome was demolished in Seattle, Washington, USA. After more than a year and a half of structural analysis, an implosion solution was considered to be the best and safest means of demolishing the structure.

Image sourced from sports.espn.go.com. Accessed 9.7.13.

After a portion of this 275 meter concrete stack collapsed during construction, blasting specialists were contracted to remove the remainder of the structure. The demolition was a success and has held the record as the tallest free standing structure to be demolished record since 1982.

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In April 2001, a Canadian pilot crashed his single-engine plane into the 370 meter tall TV transmission tower in Quebec. Demolition experts were called in to recover the wreckage and set a new height record in the process.

Image sourced from www.implosionworld.com/records.htm. Accessed 9.7.13.