Clean-up work at preschool sites to start tomorrow

Auckland City Council is due to begin a costly clean-up of contaminated inner-city preschools tomorrow.

Workers will first remove a half-metre of topsoil from Auckland Central Playcentre in Freemans Bay, and work will begin at the nearby Barnardos Early Learning Centre on Good Friday.

The clean-up is expected to cost the council at least $100,000 a site.

It fears that up to 185 sites - eight of them childcare centres - could be contaminated after testing revealed the presence of benzo-a-pyrene in soil at Auckland Central Playcentre.

Benzo-a-pyrene is a type of hydrocarbon that can cause respiratory upsets, skin irritation and, on rare occasions, cancer.

The full cost will not be known until all sites have been tested but childcare centres are getting special attention. It is unlikely remaining sites will need a full clean-up.

The cleaning plans for both sites will involve removing exposed soil. Contractors will then lay a barrier mat to prevent contamination in deeper soil levels from reaching the surface.

The areas will then be filled with clean topsoil, retested and landscaped.

A clay barrier will also be installed around the boundary of the properties as an extra precaution.

Testing has also been completed on two other childcare centres, Ferndale Kindergarten in Mt Albert and Freemans Bay Kindergarten.

Auckland Kindergarten Association general manager Tanya Harvey said results from both sites were expected by the end of the week.

Both kindergartens were still open, and parents were taking a wait-and-see approach to any potential risk.

"Parents seem to be using a bit of common sense, and not over-reacting to it. I think the council are being quite sensible about it, and being proactive."