OAKLAND — A $10 million clean up of contaminated soil and groundwater at a former chemical distribution center near homes will begin Saturday following years of debate on how to make the property safe for neighbors.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency and community leaders will hold public tours of the Third Street property from 11 to a.m. to 2 p.m Saturday, and conduct a 1 p.m. ribbon cutting to celebrate the milestone.

The treatment system uses electrodes placed deep under ground to generate a current that heats up the water underground to vaporize the toxic contaminants. Then they are collected and shipped to a waste disposal site.

“You basically boil the water underground to vaporize and condense the pollutants, and then you use a vacuum system to collect the chemicals,” said Kelly Manheimer, an EPA engineer who manages the cleanup project. “It’s a very innovative technology that helps us meet our commitment to clean up the site and not have residents exposed to chemicals.”

The site cleanup has been debated for more than a decade as neighbors expressed concern about the risk of exposure to vinyl chloride gas and other toxic pollutants.

A previous plan to dig up and haul away contaminated soil was scuttled years ago in the face of strong neighborhood opposition.

Manheimer estimated the project will take about a year: About six months to heat and collect the toxic chemicals, and another six months to wind down the project and remove the equipment.

The long defunct AMCO Chemical Company used the property as a bulk chemical storage and distribution center between 1960 and 1989. The federal Superfund is paying for the cleanup.

People who want to take the property tours or attend the 1 p.m. Saturday ribbon cutting are advised to meet at the West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project Office

349 Mandela Parkway, Oakland. The office is adjacent to the old AMCO property.