Fieldstone cleanup agreement reached; residents surveyed
Jose Paul Corona
An agreement as to who will clean up the contaminated portion of the
Bolsa Chica mesa known as the Fieldstone Property was reached, but
details will not be released until next week, state regulators said
Tuesday.
In the meantime, residents living near the area are being asked for
their input regarding the toxic site.
The Department of Toxic Substances Control sent out a letter and
survey Friday informing area residents of additional sampling set to take
place at a 1.5-acre section of the 42-acre site that is bordered by
Graham Street, Benkton Street and Falkirk Lane. The letter also asks to
hear of any questions and concerns from residents and included a survey
to be filled out.
The mailing is part of the community participation program, said
Jeanne Garcia a spokeswoman for the state agency.
“We just want to know how the community feels,” she said.
The letter is also meant to inform residents who might not be aware
about contamination at the site, Garcia said.
Residents are asked to return the survey by June 28.
Once all of the survey’s are returned, any issues raised will be
addressed in a community meeting, Garcia added.
The section of the Bolsa Chica Mesa, owned by developer Hearthside
Homes, contains high levels of PCBs, a cancer-causing substance found in
electrical transformers and hydraulic fluid.
Soil samples taken on the property from April 1999 to November 2001
showed PCB levels underground as high as 3,200 parts per million,
although the majority of the samples registered at less than 10 parts per
million.
Anything above one part per million is a concern, Garcia said. The
agency feels these levels may pose a health risk to the community. To
determine the exact risk, further testing needs to be conducted.
City Councilman Ralph Bauer has said that he has not heard of any
questions or complaints from the community.
Although the dangers are not immanent and the PCB levels vary, the
site needs to be cleaned up as soon as possible, he said.
“It has to be cleaned up,” Bauer said, “We would like the department
to exert all speed in correcting the problem.”
Hearthside Homes and toxics regulators are currently in negotiations
to work out an agreement as to cleanup responsibility of the site, Garcia
said.
Hearthside Homes fenced off the property, as ordered by the state on
Feb. 5, because neighborhood children were using it as a playground and
others as a path to the beach.
A daytime security guard was also hired to keep people off the site.
Hearthside Homes President Lucy Dunn refused to comment.
Though it isn’t known how the site became contaminated, evidence
suggests that the chemicals were illegally dumped there, Garcia said.
* JOSE PAUL CORONA covers City Hall and education. He can be reached
at (714) 965-7173 or by e-mail at o7 jose.corona@latimes.com.f7
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