Turner Valley Gas Plant - Mercury clean-up underway

Over three thousand metric tonnes of soil is being excavated from the Turner Valley Gas Plant in an effort to remove potentially toxic mercury.
Alberta Infrastructure and Alberta Community Development began the project two weeks ago, following a report from the Calgary Health Region, which recommended that young children and pregnant women no longer be allowed on tours of the historic site due to unhealthy levels of mercury in some patches of soil and inside four buildings.
Gary Duguay, gas plant project manager for Alberta Community Development, said once restoration work is complete the site will be safe for everyone.
Ron Johnson, Alberta Community Development site supervisor, said he expects the project to be completed by mid-November.
“The soil contaminated with mercury has pretty much been excavated and removed,” related Johnson in a phone interview last week.
Topsoil has been removed from areas contaminated with mercury and will be replaced with clean fill. Contamination in buildings will be addressed by vacuuming out cracks in the cement floors, which will then be filled in with caulking.
Johnson said the mercury originated from meter equipment located inside several buildings. The contamination likely occurred when the meters were being serviced or as a result of vandalism and was subsequently tracked outside on people’s shoes.
Currently, four buildings are registering mercury levels at the floor level, however, soil a considerable distance from the contaminated buildings has also been found to contain mercury. Johnson said contamination sites were identified by finding a source of contamination and working outwards until the surrounding soil was found to be clear of mercury.
In this phase of clean-up work underground storage tanks will also be sucked dry and cleaned. A number of the 20 tanks on the site have filled with ground water that in turn mixed with toxins such as hydrocarbons, left behind from previous use.
“Some of the tanks will be filled with concrete and preserved because they are historically significant,” explained Johnson. “Others will be removed.”
The project is expected to cost $260,000. The provincial government recently rededicated $1.5 million towards reclamation work at the site. Officials from Alberta Infrastructure, Environment and Community Development are currently working on a plan to divert the Sheep River and build a containment wall in order to stop contaminants from leaching into the water

By Darlene Casten
staff reporter

from, the OKOTOKS WESTERN WHEEL, October 22, 2003