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KANGIQTUGAAPIK/CLYDE RIVER - The cleanup of a contaminated site near Clyde River is set to begin this fall, according to Natalie Plato, director of contaminated sites for Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC).

Scrap metal is one of the materials that will be removed from the Cape Christian site when workers begin cleaning up next summer. - photo courtesy of Rebeca Varela

Cape Christian is an abandoned United States Coast Guard (USCG) site about 16 km northeast of Clyde River. The USCG left the location in 1974.

PCBs and asbestos are both on the list of contaminates found at the site, as well as heavy metals such as lead and chromium, according to a background document from INAC.

While some of the materials to be removed from Cape Christian are in the form of old buildings and scrap metal, much of the contamination is from chemicals that have leaked into the soil. Approximately 460 cubic metres of soil contains PCBs and heavy metals while another 1,700 square metres is contaminated with oil.

Plato said the soil is going to be removed and shipped to licensed disposal facilities in the south.

She added contaminants at Cape Christian do not pose a health risk to people or animals at or near the site.

"Indian and Northern Affairs in the mid-'90s removed all the highly toxic chemicals that did pose an immediate hazard," she said.

None of the PCBs in the soil have leaked into Hudson Bay and the soil containing oil is located far from the shoreline and is not a concern, she said.

"There is one small area that does have some petroleum hydrocarbons which tend to be on the more mobile side," she said. "But it's quite a way from the shore so the movement has been quite limited."

She added the contractor has committed to an 85 per cent Inuit involvement rate in the project.

Qikiqtaaluk Logistics will be performing the clean-up operation. Philippe Simon, president of Qikiqtaaluk Environmental which is owned by Qikiqtaaluk Logistics, said workers will include Inuit from Clyde River.

He said specialized positions such as technicians and surveyors may not be filled by Inuit because of a lack of a qualified Inuit workforce for those particular jobs, but Inuit will be employed in other areas such as removing the contaminated soil from the site.

"All workers will be trained to properly handle these hazardous materials," Simon said. "There were already training classes provided this spring for about 12 community members in order to prepare them for that type of work."

The project will begin in the fall when a road and a bridge connecting to the site will start being built.

Clyde River's senior administrative officer Bill Buckle said the sealift carrying the materials needed should arrive the first week of September.

The actual cleanup is set to begin next summer, but may start this fall depending on weather conditions and the arrival of equipment, Plato said.

The project is expected to end in 2010.