Toxic Cleanup Set at Housing Project
More than 200 housing project residents will be temporarily moved out of their homes while toxic wastes in the soil are removed from the complex east of downtown.
Two hazardous substances--an oil waste byproduct called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs, and lead--were found in 1996 at potentially harmful levels in the soil surrounding six of the 24 apartment buildings at the William Mead Homes, said Ron Baker, spokesman for the state Department of Toxic Substances Control.
The section of the complex where contamination was found was built on the site of a 1903 oil field. PAHs are a common material in oil refinery waste.
Remedial cleanup efforts were done in 1996 and residents were told not grow vegetables for consumption and a playground was fenced off. The complete cleanup calls for removal of more than 11,000 tons of dirt, officials said.
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