Weycor wheel loader with special equipment
Sodom and Gomorrah in the Lüneburg Heath. Over 100 000 poison gas grenades from World War II have to be recovered. An Atlas Weyhausen explosion-proof wheel loader, the Weycor AR 480, is helping.
Extensive and complicated remediation
The Atlas Weycor AR 480 wheel loader, specially protected against explosions with armored glass and plates, in the shelter still under construction above the Dethlingen pond. The pond is still backfilled here
© Weycor
From 1942 to 1952, shells and bombs filled with chemical warfare agents were disposed of in the 63 m wide and about 12 m deep Dethlinger Teich, a former diatomaceous earth pit near Munster. In 1952, the pit was backfilled with soil and construction debris. Over time, decay began associated with groundwater contamination. In 2014, the Heidekreis took up the first plans for remediation. In 2021, the pit was opened with a test shaft and the discovery of several thousand pieces of ammunition. Experts developed a remediation concept. The centerpiece is that a 97 m x 106 m hall will be built above the pond. It has a cantilever roof with a ridge height of 24 m and rests on a concrete foundation and 22 m sheet piles underneath. Air is permanently extracted from the hall and filtered with activated carbon. Groundwater is also collected and purified. The large hall can only be exited through airlocks with subsequent decontamination. Further halls, for example for cleaning the groundwater, will be added. In mid-2023, dredging of the pond and disposal of ammunition will begin successively. Here, AR 480 is working to supply and dispose of the remediation site.
The Atlas Weycor AR 480 wheel loader, in operation at the Dethlinger Pond redevelopment site.
In the background the 24 m high protection hall
© Weycor
A unique Weycor wheel loader from Atlas Weyhausen
The Weycor AR 480 is a 6-t class wheel loader. It is equipped with a 2.9-l diesel engine with 55.4 kW/75.3 hp, EU Stage V and a DOC and DPF exhaust gas cleaning system. The hydrostatic travel drive with 2-position travel motor makes it 20 km/h fast, the Z-kinematics with hydraulic quick coupler very flexible. It is made unique by its special equipment. The curved standard pane is replaced by a pane of special 40 mm thick armored glass with pane heating. Likewise, the floor is replaced by matching armored plates. Everything is manufactured according to protection level B6 (VPAM7). In addition, a breathing air supply system is mounted on the cabin roof. It supplies the airtight cabin with purified breathing air. You have to look very closely to see the difference from the proven Weycor AR 480 standard model. In an emergency, however, if chemical warfare agents escape or a grenade explodes, the operator is safe and protected in the special Weycor cabin.
High effort
„It was a very costly project to convert the wheel loader so that it fully meets the requirements posed by this very dangerous and demanding remediation task,“ says Ronald Figiel, manager of this project at dealer Atlas von der Wehl in Lauenbrück. „We know the Atlas Weycor wheel loaders as very reliable and resilient work machines. This is one of the reasons why we chose the Weycor AR 480 in the necessary special version,“ says Carsten Bubke, technical manager at Heidekreis. Not only solidity but also flexibility is required at the Dethlingen pond. The tasks for the AR 480 are varied and change quickly. To cope with this, the hydraulic quick coupler is an important piece of equipment. Transporting spoil with the bucket, lifting and moving equipment or finds with the pallet fork, etc. The load-bearing basis is the Weycor Z-kinematics. It tolerates high force inputs and enables excellent lifting heights. Good visibility of the front end and the attachment is provided by the tapered loader beam, as is all-round visibility from the cab. And that is extremely important in such a dangerous working environment.
