DUMPED METH LAB CHEMICALS TO BE CLEARED AWAY WITHOUT
EVACUATING NEIGHBOURHOOD

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.