Cleanup of PCBs on Fieldstone to begin

Jenny Marder

Officials from the Department of Toxic Substances Control will

present new data tonight and discuss cleanup options for a

contaminated section of land near the Bolsa Chica wetlands. Priority

will be placed on cleanup in residential areas.

Dangerous levels of polychlorinated biphenyls, commonly known as

PCBs, were discovered four years ago in the Fieldstone Property, a

42-acre undeveloped plot of land between the Bolsa Chica wetlands and

Graham Street, Bankton Drive and Falkirk Lane. The source of the

contamination is unknown, but is believed to have been caused by

illegal dumping.

Banned in 1977, PCBs are cancer-causing chemicals formerly found

in electric transformers and hydraulic fluids.

Levels of 0.2 parts per million or above are considered to be of

concern, said Jeanne Garcia, spokeswoman for the Southern California

Department of Toxic Substances.

Soil samples collected in July and September of 2002 found 1.5

acres of the site contaminated with levels as high as 3,220 parts per

million. Of the five homes tested nearby, PCBs were detected in four,

with the highest level at 200 parts per million.

At the meeting, toxic regulators will present cleanup options and

data from the most recent soil samples, which were collected last

month. Property owner Hearthside Homes has agreed to shoulder the

cost of the cleanup on the site, said Garcia.

Lucy Dunn, vice president of Hearthside Homes declined comment.

Garcia stressed that special attention would be given to

residential areas found to be contaminated.

“We will be concentrating more on the homeowners,” said Garcia.

“We will let them know that we will remove contaminated soil. We’ll

let them know that we will not use heavy equipment and will not

disturb homes, yards or plants.”

While she could not predict an exact timeline, Garcia said that

cleanup of the homes will start immediately and should be finished

within the next few months.

Future plans will also include a feasibility study to determine

options for cleanup at the Fieldstone site.

In the past, the empty lot contained a bike path, a jogging trail,

and was often used to access the beach. In February of last year,

however, after the first soil samples were taken, the state agency

required Hearthside Homes to fence off the site.

“Kids used to ride bikes down the area and eat sandwiches there,”

said resident Dean Albright, who recalled watching a child drop a

sandwich on the ground, pick it up, wipe it off and eat it.

Albright, a former employee of the Long Beach Naval Shipyard,

aided in several PCB cleanups as the result of ruptures in the

transformers. After a cleanup, all tools used, as well as paper

suits, slip on boots, gloves and masks, had to be burned.

“We were always told by our health department that PCBs will cause

liver cancer,” he said.

Bolsa Chica Land Trust President Evan Henry was pleased with the

way the Department of Toxic Substances Control is approaching the

problem.

“They’re crossing all their t’s and dotting all their i’s,” Henry

said. “But I think that taking their time and doing it right is an

appropriate course of action.”