In the extreme Russian north a team of engineers are ready to dismantle the a Typhoon-class submarine-the world's largest nuclear submarine, the Typhoon. Int its heyday, this monster sub was a terrifying weapon of war-it prowled the oceans of the world armed with 20 deadly nuclear missiles. Now that the Cold War is over, the Typhoon is ready for demolition. But dismantling a submarine with two nuclear reactors is a risky mission. It will take the team over a year to remove the radioactive nuclear fuel, move the submarine into the dry dock and cut its hull into pieces small enough for recycling.
The Orange Bowl, home to the Miami Dolphins for 21 seasons and host of five Super Bowls is about to be demolished. It's a monster breakdown job, with a monster deadline: in just four months, a demolition team needs to clear over a quarter million feet of stadium to prepare for a new stadium. Not only is there a tight timetable, everything must be salvaged or recycled. But before the team can break down the stadium, they have to save parts of it. After a memorabilia company combs the bowl for collectibles and auctions off what they salvage, it's finally time for the demolitionists to get their hands on the bowl. 50,000 left over orange seats, nearly 100,000 square feet of turf, and eight ten-ton stadium light towers are recycled or resold, freeing the team to take down the stadium itself. Using a combination of wrecking balls and mega machines, they cut, pull and pummel this historic structure until it's nothing more than rubble. The iconic Orange Bowl, is about to be history.
A team of experts must demolish, excavate and recycle a 25,000 ton dam built of concrete and steel. With a century's worth of rocks and sand stacked up against it, they need a radical, dangerous plan.
For years, when a jumbo jet reached the end of its 30-year lifespan, it would end up in a scrap yard, or rotting at the end of a runway. But at the Evergreen Air Centre in Marana, Arizona, planes past their prime are recycled instead. Witness each step as they carefully drain toxic fluids, carve out the pricey parts – from landing gear and flight controls to engines and pumps – and then slice up the airframe.
A team of experts mobilises to demolish, excavate and recycle a 25,000 ton dam built of concrete and steel. The pressure is on: they have just half the time needed to complete the job. Worse yet, their biggest challenge stands behind the old dam - one million cubic yards of boulders, gravel and sand that the river has stacked against it for nearly a century. To remove this blockade, the team gambles on a radical, dangerous plan that's never been tried before: turning the energy of a perfect storm against the debris. If they are not successful, a generation of endangered salmon returning to spawn may be wiped out.
Los Angeles, California: home to the rich and famous… and their sports cars. Luxury is king here, and some say nothing shows off better than a Porsche. But when those cars crash and burn in accidents, their wreckage comes to “LA Dismantlers for Porsche”. Here, an expert team tears down the totaled remains and pulls out the salvageable parts including the engines, transmissions, and seats: anything that wasn’t damaged in the impact. Now, the team’s got three new Porsches to tackle: a 2002 Boxster, a first-generation 911, and a 997 Carrera. Each car has components that customers have back ordered, so these fresh wrecks need to come apart now.
After 100,000 miles of hauling cargo, Volvo's FH12 Globetrotter truck is headed for the scrap heap. Piece-by-piece, experts disassemble the truck so it can be recycled and reborn even bigger.
In the intense glare of the Texas sun, a team of demolition experts attempt to cut down and recycle the Navy's "first and finest fast attack oiler," the U.S.S. Savannah AOR-4. This tough tanker ran fuel between the ships of the fleet for over 20 years.
The Volvo FH12 Globetrotter: After over a hundred thousand miles of hauling cargo, this Euro truck is headed for a breakdown. But in Sweden, a country known for it's "green" initiatives, Volvo's goal is for 90% percent of the truck to be reused.
Yankee Stadium - home to the New York Yankees for over eight decades, and host to thirty-three World Series - is about to be demolished. It's a mega job, with mega challenges. But the first task at hand is saving parts of the stadium. Everything from the
In just one day, this family run business will destroy three million pounds of scrap to create a multi-million dollar mound of steel.
The Piacenza bridge, 40 miles south of Milan1. Since 1949 2 this steel and concrete bridge3 has connected the cities of Piacenza and Lodi4, spanning a remarkable 3,300 feet5 across the Po River6. But in 2009, a dangerous flood causes the Pos water level to rise more than 20 feet7.
Many predators use speed to survive in the inevitable game of catch-me-if-you-can played out everyday in the wild. Speed increases the odds of winning.
Break It Down is tackling one of its most formidable projects ever, a building that was made to be virtually impenetrable … the Riverfront State Prison in Camden, New Jersey.
