Nov 20, 2001

Crews remove oil tank from Found Centre site.

APM Group trucks away 5,000-gallon underground tank and cleans up fuel oil to prepare for housing project.

Work crews from the APM Group transforming the site of the Dr. Eric Found Centre into a 19-lot housing development recently removed a hug underground bunker "C" oil tank from the premises. The 5000 gallon tank was trucked away as part of the company's extensive site preparation plans, which include a thorough environmental cleanup involving the removal of all fuel oil and fuell oil tanks from the property, as well as all asbestos and other hazardous materials within the structure.

Crews spent days draining the large oil tank so it could be removed. "It's kind of like pulling a sliver from your hand," said Pat Sheehan, site supervisor for APM at the McGill Ave site. "It's this big thing sticking out that you know is not supposed to be stuck there, and when you pull it out, it's a great relief."

Officials from the provincial Department of Environment monitored the removal of the tank and indicated that proper procedures had been followed throughout. Oil that had leached into the soil from the tank was completely cleaned up. Creed Petroleum and Bulldog Demolition are the contractors undertaking the onsite remediation of the oil tank and the underground area where the oil tank had been sitting for over 10 years.

"There are environmental regulations that we are required to follow for this kind of thing," Sheehan said. "It's really a messy job, but we have professional contractors who know how to do this. Despite the mess, removing the oil and the oil tanks is a safe and healthy thing to do for the neighbourhood."