Talks of toxic cleanup

Paul Clinton

Cleaning up a contaminated section of the Bolsa Chica Wetlands won’t

start until state toxics regulators and the property’s owner reach an

agreement.

Disagreements have arisen between state and local officials regarding

the the potential health risk to nearby residents.

The two sides began talks on Friday to kick off another round of soil

tests, formulate a cleanup plan and start work on the so-called

Fieldstone property.

California Department of Toxic Substances Control officials said they

are hopeful a voluntary agreement can be reached with executives at

Hearthside Homes.

Hearthside may have to bear the cost of the cleanup, said Jeanne

Garcia, a spokeswoman with the state agency.

An agreement was not imminent, Garcia said.

Tests performed by the Orange County Health Care Agency in 2001 show

that a 1.5-acre section of the 42-acre parcel is contaminated with high

levels of PCBs.

Deposits at the site have registered readings as high as 3,200 parts

per million, but much of the data shows readings around 10 parts per

million.

Still, anything above one part per million is a concern, Garcia said.

The chemical, a hydraulics fluid used to conduct heat in electrical

transformers, has been known to cause cancer and other ailments.

“We do know it poses a health risk to humans and it does migrate,”

Garcia said. “Our concern is the safety of the neighborhood.”

On Feb. 5, the state agency ordered Hearthside to fence off the site

because it was being used as a playground by children.

Older youth and adults have used the site to reach the beach.

Since Feb. 5, Hearthside has also stationed a daytime security guard

to keep people off the land.

City officials working with state regulators say they don’t have

jurisdiction over the property since it belongs to a state preserve. But

they say they have urged regulators to speed up the cleanup.

“The city can’t do anything,” Mayor Debbie Cook said. “But we’re still

watching the situation.”

Some debate has arisen about the possibility of the chemical

“migrating” from the site to the city residential neighborhoods

surrounding it.

City officials have said they are not concerned about the chemical

leaving the site.

“It’s not a very volatile material,” said Councilman Ralph Bauer, a

retired research chemist. “People should not get unduly alarmed.”

However, Garcia and others in the state agency said PCBs are an oily,

liquefied substance that can be washed off the property during a

rainstorm.

The PCBs are located within a foot of the top of the property’s soil.

Everyone agrees about the need to get the chemical cleaned up in a

timely fashion.

The state agency can force Hearthside to shoulder costs of the

cleanup. However, it is still not known how the chemicals reached the

site.

“If they’re not moving quickly, we’re going to put the pressure on

them,” Bauer said. “Let’s get the darn thing moving, because we’ve got

peoples’ health at risk.”

* PAUL CLINTON is a reporter with Times Community News. He covers City

Hall and education. He may be reached at (714) 965-7173 or by e-mail ato7 [email protected] .