Kirsten Murphy
Northern News Services

Pelly Bay (July 30/01) - Cleanup crews are at work on Kugaaruk/Pelly Bay's Distant Early Warning site.

Wayne Ingham, soil remediation specialist, and DEW Line cleanup project manager Pete Quinn flew to town July 24.

"They've got people on the ground now," Quinn said. "As we understand it, the contractors plan to mobilize around the site in September."

The removal of structures, soil and landfills contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyl-laden paint is scheduled to begin next summer. Demolition supplies are expected to arrive this fall.

Twenty-one DEW Line sites in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories are undergoing the environmental facelift . Two sites, Cambridge Bay and Cape Hooper, are already completed.

Typical sites include a 16.5-metre radar dome -- popularly known as the giant golfball -- radio antennae, fuel tanks, buried garbage dumps and housing.

PCB-tainted material was found in four of the five landfills at Kugaaruk's DEW Line. New landfills will be constructed for the disposal of contaminated soil and non-hazardous demolition waste.

Community consultations started 10 years ago. Actual cleaning may take two to five years to finish, Quinn said.

One elder welcomed the long-awaited project. But he asked crews to proceed cautiously near the lake, known for it's legendary "humongous" fish.

Under an agreement with Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., up to 75 per cent of the workforce must be Inuit. Sites typically require 15 to 60 workers -- depending on the job and time of year.

It's not yet known how many Inuit will be hired for the project. Work will take place during snowless summer months.