STUDIO CITY : Toxin Level Still High Beneath Mini-Mall

Despite cleanup efforts in 1990, unacceptable levels of toxins remain in ground water beneath a Studio City mini-mall that was formerly the site of a gas station with leaking underground waste oil storage tanks, a state water quality official said.

Measurable levels of toxins, including cancer-causing benzene and xylene, were present in tests conducted in April, said Gay Norris, an engineer geologist for the California Regional Water Quality Control Board.

“There is still some contamination out there,” Norris said, referring to the former site of a Unocal gas station at the southeast intersection of Ventura and Laurel Canyon boulevards. “It’s not acceptable.”

Although the level of benzene far exceeds state drinking water standards, a state health official said the toxin does not represent a public health risk.

Norris said tests have indicated that the contamination has not spread. Norris said Unocal remains liable for attempting to remove all traces of the contaminants from the water.

“No system has been tried out there, so obviously we’re not going to let them close this case without trying to clean the water,” she said.

The company’s plan to install a pump to draw the contaminated water to the surface and remove the contaminants before pumping it into an underground storm drain was interrupted when the mall developer began work last year.

Unocal officials said the company has purchased the equipment and plans to install it, but no date has been set. Norris said she has been satisfied with the company’s progress.