Hydrogen Building Deconstruction at Sable Island National Park Reserve

This objective of this project is to dismantle the hydrogen shed and five other obsolete sensor bases located south of the Main Station on Sable Island National Park Reserve. The Meteorological Service of Canada (MSC) operated an Upper Air Station on Sable Island that involved attaching meteorological sensors to hydrogen filled balloons to measure meteorological parameters. The lifting gas for these balloons was hydrogen gas which was manufactured on site with an electrolytic hydrogen generator. The MSC operations ended their Upper Air observations program in 2018 and the shed and five sensor bases are now surplus. The building has suffered some weather damage such as the loss of vinyl siding on the west side. It also contains hazardous material including asbestos and lead paint in the interior. The footprint of the building is approx. 70 square meters. The building and sensor bases are planned to be dismantled in the fall and winter of 2022. As the building is dismantled, the materials will be packaged and stored in the vicinity of the building until removed from the island by ship in the summer of 2023. The staging area is expected to measure approx. 20 x 30 meters. Removing this building will have a positive effect on the environment and the view will be more aesthetically pleasing for visitors.