ANGRY residents have told representatives of Glasgow City Council (GCC) they do not feel that their community is safe following a chemical leak in a waterway in Glasgow’s south side.

Oatlands residents last night aired their frustrations to a panel of local and city councillors about what has been done to get rid of the contamination.

The Polmadie burn, which runs through Richmond Park in the Oatlands area, was sealed off after tests revealed that the water was contaminated with high concentrations of hexavalent chromium.

Exposure to chromium is known to increase the risk of lung cancer, asthma, kidney and liver problems and irritates skin and eyes.

Residents raised the alarm after noticing the water had become “luminous green” in late January.

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Last night they said they were dissatisfied with the councillors’ response and demanded that the soil surrounding the burn, which runs close to a local play area and their back gardens, be tested.

One resident said: “I walk my dog near that burn every day. I saw the water had flooded over on to the path – are you going to test the soil for chromium?

“You said there is no danger for chromium getting air-born unless the water is evaporated – I have pictures here which show the water has evaporated and the soil underneath is white. The city council have done nothing about this.”

James Crawshaw from Environmental Protection Scotland said: “There is no need for testing, it was done during the development stage of the housing in this area.”

Another resident said she had been growing and eating organic vegetables in the area for years and had recently been diagnosed with cancer.

“Is there a test, or a survey to see how many other residents in the area have been diagnosed with cancer?” she asked.

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David Hay, from the GCC Development and Regeneration Services, said the water had turned green due to water flowing into the burn from an old pipe which was contaminated by chromium.

He also assured residents a long-term strategy had been put in place in partnership with development organisation Clyde Gateway, working with Clyde Gateway, to improve the water quality and that results had already been seen.

Jim Clark, of Clyde Gateway, said that, as of Wednesday, no “concentrated source” of chromium was leaking into the burn.