Ascon gets short-term fix

Threat of winter storms forced temporary repairs to toxic landfill. Plans for permanent cleanup are being considered.Cleanup crews have completed an emergency remediation of the Ascon-Nesi landfill, paving the way for a permanent cleanup and possible development of the site.

Located across the street from a large city park and Edison High School, the former oil-sludge dumping ground drew the concern of the Department of Toxic Substances Control after heavy rains pushed several berms on the site to near capacity.

Fearing that another winter storm could cause toxic materials to spill into the street, the department initiated an emergency temporary cleanup with the help of several oil companies that used the site.

A longer-term cleanup of the site is still needed, said department project director Tom Cota.

That project will likely be funded by the companies that dumped at the site in the 1950s and 1960s.

The Department of Toxic Substances Control has documents that trace the dumping to at least seven companies, and those companies will have to pay for the permanent excavation. Cota said he was working with other agencies including the City Council to create a permanent cleanup plan for the site. The planning alone could take 18 to 24 months, he said, and the cleanup another two to five years.

In March, the department will present the council with several options to clean up the site, Councilman Don Hansen said. After a remediation plan is chosen, the department will have to complete an environmental report on their plan and conduct a public hearing.

“Obviously, we’re going to be a very active commentator,” Hansen said.

A final use of the site is still a matter for debate. Its proximity to the Edison Community Center makes it a good spot for open space, Hansen said, although there is speculation that a private developer will covert the land into homes.

“I think it’s going to be very expensive to try and get it to residential, and the impacts would obviously be the highest, so whoever took that on would have to have both the will and the money,” he said. “A residential development would require the highest level of remediation for that site.”

Many residents living near the site said they were glad the work was almost completed.

“The smell was giving my wife headaches,” neighbor Jake Anderson said. “It was tough to deal with at times, but for us, it was a necessary trade-off to get that place cleaned up.”

That smell, construction crews said, is a petroleum byproduct released from decades-old drilling muds -- originally displaced from the soil years ago when drills first penetrated areas around Huntington Beach in search of oil.

The strong odors have made some residents feel dizzy or even nauseous, but Cota said the fumes were nontoxic. Petroleum has a very low odor threshold, he explained, and the human nose can detect just a few particles of the substance.

Jay Chen of the South Coast Air Quality Management District said his agency is continually monitoring the site to ensure toxic gases don’t reach the homes surrounding the site.

Seven mobile air quality stations have been posted around the perimeter, and none have detected high concentrations of hazardous substances like benzene, arsenic or styrene -- all believed to be stored at Ascon-Nesi.

Chen said excavation crews also waved hand monitors over each dig to detect gas bubbles that might be released when the dirt is disturbed.

“If they detect something, they immediately halt the dig and cover the space with foam,” he said.

Cota said work crews are taking other steps to decrease odor emissions.

They constantly monitor wind directions and occasionally apply vanilla scents to the excavation site.

QUESTION

What would be the best way to develop the Ascon site? Call our Readers Hotline at (714) 966-4691 or send e-mail to hbindependent@latimes.com. Please spell your name and include your hometown and phone number for verification purposes.