Lynnview clean-up could take years

An environmental consulting firm says it could take up to 10 years to clean up Lynnview Ridge.

The southeast community sits on the site of a former Imperial Oil refinery. Residents learned this spring that much of the soil in the community is contaminated with higher than acceptable levels of lead and hydro-carbons.

Alberta Environment says Imperial Oil is responsible for the contamination and has given the company until Thursday to submit a clean-up plan.

James Sevigny, a senior environmental scientist with Komex International, says his firm hopes Imperial will take his company's advice about how to clean up the neighbourhood.

Sevigny was hired by residents of Lynnview Ridge to conduct an independent study. He says his findings and those of Imperial Oil are quite different.

"We interpret the entire area to be lead contaminated, whereas Imperial just looks at the number of bore holes," he says. "We see the entire area to be contaminated 70% above the federal guidelines and the remaining 30% still two times above acceptable background levels."

Sevigny also says hydrocarbons have leaked into some homes in Lynnview Ridge, something he says Imperial has not told the residents.

He says fixing the problem could take anywhere from six months to 10 years, adding no one should live in the area while the clean-up is underway.