Officials expected to have a collection of dangerous chemicals cleaned up from two construction sites by the end of Friday, all without the need for an evacuation.
Police and fire officials in that city had announced on Thursday they may have to evacuate as many as 200 homes and five schools because of a concern about several containers of chemicals that had been dumped at two sites in the east part of the city. The chemicals appeared to be from a clandestine lab making crystal meth, police said.
On Friday afternoon, Surrey RCMP representative Cpl. Roger Morrow said specialized teams had cleaned one of the two sites, located at 194th Street and 72nd Avenue, by about 2 p.m. It was hoped that the second site, at 182nd Street and 70th Avenue, would be cleaned up by about 9 p.m.
"Compared to where we were [on Thursday] we couldn't ask for better news," Morrow said in an interview.
"We're looking to have it cleaned up by the end of the day. This has gone really well."
Morrow said it became clear on Thursday night an evacuation would not be necessary.
"[The hazardous materials removal team] came and did some sampling of the chemicals. They also did some air quality sampling and, of course, into that the meteorological information, and come to the determination we could wind down the potential of an evacuation," he said, adding he does not regret having put people on alert.
When asked how much the cleanup will cost, Morrow said he could not put an exact number on the effort, though he did say it is likely to be quite expensive.
"We've had officers at both sites for three days on overtime, you have experts from across the province, you have city people, fire crews, ambulance crews, hazmat crews, logistics, the whole thing," he said. "It's not going to be cheap."
Surrey Fire Department deputy chief Jon Caviglia said the chemicals will likely be shipped to a licensed facility in Alberta where they can be safely disposed of.
