Thousands Flee Huge Toxic Cloud : Plant Fire Brings Evacuation of Area in Southeast L.A. County; 70 Injured

An estimated 10,000 to 27,000 residents from several Southeast Los Angeles County communities were rousted from their beds early Saturday when smoldering chemicals at a City of Commerce plant released a toxic cloud, triggering a massive evacuation.

Sixty-eight people were treated for minor injuries, mainly respiratory problems, while two others remained hospitalized in stable condition after complaining of chest pains. Evacuees fled to half a dozen emergency shelters or to the homes of relatives as soaring temperatures reached above 100 and stagnant air conditions caused the cloud, containing a chlorine compound, to hover over the five-square-mile area for several hours.

Later, however, several experts on toxic chemicals questioned the need for the evacuation, saying the chemical--which is used in the production of swimming pool chlorine tablets--is neither lethal nor cancer-causing. The evacuation began shortly after midnight, almost immediately after the spill was first detected by authorities at the plant owned by Grow Group Inc.

Covers Wide Area

Plumes of brown toxic gas escaping from the sprawling brick building quickly formed a cloud, smelling of chlorine, that slowly wafted northeastward and settled about eight miles east of downtown Los Angeles, fire officials said. Parts of unincorporated East Los Angeles, Montebello and Monterey Park, in addition to Commerce, were evacuated and the spill threatened to close the Santa Ana Freeway.

Community groups also were sharply critical of how the evacuation was conducted, noting that transportation was not provided residents without cars and that the predominantly Latino communities were given the alarm in English. One family said they walked four hours from East Los Angeles to a shelter in Whittier. Others who also walked to the shelters said they tried to catch buses but were unable to find any so early in the morning.

Several hundred spent the early morning sprawled on blankets in baseball fields and in grassy areas at high schools where the Red Cross set up evacuation shelters. By about 6 a.m., as wind conditions improved, dissipating the cloud, authorities began allowing some residents to return to the area, and by noon most were back home.

Adding to the confusion were conflicting reports from the Sheriff’s Department, which variously estimated the number of evacuees as from 10,000 to as many as 27,000 people and frequently revised the boundaries of the evacuated area.

County health officials ordered the plant closed immediately, pending a full investigation. Officials said it had been cited at least four times in the last four years--most recently two weeks ago--after similar but smaller incidents.

The incident--which ultimately mobilized about 60 firefighters, more than 200 Sheriff’s Department personnel and at least 50 police officers from neighboring jurisdictions--was first detected by workers across the street and by county firefighters driving near the site.

Smell of Chlorine

“When we got into the cloud, we could tell from the smell it was chlorine vapor, not smoke,” said Los Angeles County Fire Capt. Michael Wolf, who was driving through the area on the way from another fire.

“We knew where to go,” he said, noting that there are only two chlorine-compound producing plants in the mostly industrial area and that, only two weeks earlier, the Fire Department had responded to a similar incident at the same plant on Malt Avenue.

Fire officials said that the apparent cause of the toxic fire was the contamination of chemicals used at the plant. Grow Group, based in New York, employs about 2,000 workers nationwide at plants that produce chemical products, including paint and pool maintenance products.

At the City of Commerce plant, a dry chemical used in the production of the chlorine tablets--trichloro-triazine-trione--was stored in cardboard barrels in the plant’s warehouse and apparently came into contact with water or some other material causing a chemical reaction that produced the toxic cloud, fire officials said.

Company officials said that, after the incident two weeks ago, they determined that the cardboard on the barrels themselves may have reacted with the chemicals and that they had begun to transfer the material into metal drums.

“We plan to accelerate that program to remove this hazard,” said Don Green, director of research and development at the plant, adding that he knew of no other possible cause for the chemical release.

L.W. Wilde, a company officer, added, “We’re doing everything we can to assure this never happens again.”

Members of the Fire Department’s hazardous materials squads, who first entered the building equipped with rubber suits and air tanks, said they encountered “lava-like” burning chemicals and a wall of smoke. Officials estimated that 2,000 pounds of the chemical, contained in 100-gallon drums, were involved in the spill.

“You couldn’t see your hand in front of your face. We walked in about 10 feet and got absolutely lost because of the smoke,” said team member Luis Acevedo, 26, describing the warehouse as a maze of stacked boxes and narrow passageways. “I’ve been on this job for six years and this is the first time I nearly panicked.”

After they found their way out of the building, other teams were sent in with lifelines to begin the work of carefully shoveling the smoldering chemicals onto a forklift for removal. Once outside, the chemicals were gingerly mixed with soda ash, a neutralizing compound.

Firm Will Pay Cost

The cost of the damage to the building was not known, said Fire Department spokesman John Lenihan. He added, however, that the cost of the Fire Department’s operation, including the evacuation effort, will be billed to the chemical firm.

The plant will remain closed, pending an administrative hearing Thursday with representatives form various county and regional hazardous materials agencies, said Miguel Garcia, a County Health Department hazardous materials specialist.

If negligence can be proven, the company faces a maximum $25,000 fine, he said. “But our main concern is to prevent future chemical releases,” he added.

Another health department official said that after the incident two weeks ago, the company was required to provide an emergency contingency plan, which company officials said they were in the process of completing.

Fire officials said the decision to evacuate the area was made because the chlorine in the toxic cloud, which can cause irritation to eyes, skin and mucus membranes, can also damage the lungs and, in high enough concentrations, cause death. According to medical authorities, people with emphysema or asthma who were exposed to the cloud could have further irritated their respiratory tracts.

Treated for Injuries

Sixty-one people were treated for burning eyes, anxiety and mild respiratory distress at Beverly Hospital in Montebello, supervisor Georgeta Barnes said. Seven employees of the neighboring Kirk Paper Co. were hospitalized after complaining of nausea, chest pains and breathing problems. Two of the workers remained in stable condition at Santa Marta Hospital in Los Angeles late Saturday. Four other men were treated at County-USC Medical Center and sent home.

In hindsight, however, the massive evacuation was not necessary, suggested Dr. Doug Arterberry, a physician and toxicologist, who is considered an authority on toxic-waste spills. His data base on 3,000 hazardous materials is used by fire departments throughout the country, including Los Angeles County’s, during toxic cleanups.

Residents’ best protection against the cloud would have been to stay indoors, Arterberry said.

“The smartest thing is really to let the wind blow it away, get everyone in the house, turn off the air conditioner and (close the windows),” Arterberry said.

But Arterberry, who works at Northridge Hospital, cautioned that hindsight judgment is always easier.

“I don’t think it was necessary, but I don’t want to second guess those guys, they are doing their best,” he said. “Sometimes it’s a real close call as to whether you did the right thing.”

Frances Weindler, assistant administrator of the Los Angeles County Medical Assn. Regional Poison Control Center, declined to second guess the county, but said she would have remained indoors under the same circumstances.

‘Close the Windows’

“That’s strictly up to the person who has to make the decision. . . . but if I was the one in the house I would have just closed the windows.”

Lenihan of the Fire Department, however, insisted that “the danger was genuine.” He said that the stagnant air was a factor in the decision to call for an evacuation.

Tom Eichhorn, a spokesman for the South Coast Air Quality Management District, said large plastic bags were used to collect samples of the toxic air. The samples will be analyzed to determine the concentration of chemicals. He said the agency could cite the company for violating clean air standards, depending on the results of the analyses and the circumstances leading to the fire.

Later Saturday, Eastside Community leaders castigated officials for what they called a “failed evacuation plan” that caused widespread confusion, overlooked entire neighborhoods and failed to provide either mass transportation or instructions in Spanish.

“The lack of organization was frightening,” said Angie Rojas of the United Neighborhoods Organization, at a press conference. “This morning there were many people walking the street with their children looking for a safe site.”

The community action group, which represents 90,000 families, also demanded a “toxic waste summit” so that Los Angeles County and city officials can identify and inventory chemicals at nearby plants and better enforce the state hazardous materials law.

“We’re sick and tired of inaction on the part of the supervisors and lax enforcement of state laws,” said UNO spokesman Lou Negrette.

“It almost seems as if we’re waiting for someone to die. We’d hate to see something like what happened in Bhopal happen here,” added Rosalinda Lugo. (The world’s worst industrial accident occurred in Bhopal, India, in 1984, killing 2,500 people.)

Delay in Alarm

John Perez, who lives on Southside Drive two blocks from where the fire occurred, said that most of the people in his neighborhood were not told to evacuate until 7 a.m.--about five hours after the toxic cloud formed.

Authorities said they were surprised by complaints about language problems.

“I don’t think I can defend or support that because it’s the first I heard of it,” said Lt. Lee Taylor of the East Los Angeles sheriff’s station, which coordinated the evacuation. “Many of our officers know Spanish. I’m just really surprised to hear that.”

Staff writers Tracey Kaplan and Ginger Lynne Thompson contributed to this article.

WHAT WAS SPILLED The chemical that leaked from a pool-supply company Saturday is irritating in some of the same ways as tear gas or other riot-control agents, experts say.

The technical name for the white substance--which is available in crystalline powder, granule or pellet form--is trichloro-triazine-trione. The chemical causes irritation to the eyes, throat and mucus membranes and may pose more serious problems for people with chronic respiratory illnesses.

The chemical is not carcinogenic or lethal.

It is an active ingredient in swimming pool disinfectant, commercial bleaches and scouring powders, said Dr. Marc Bayer, medical director of the Los Angeles County Medical Assn. Regional Poison Control Center.

The cloud probably contained some of the powdery substance and a dozen or more other gases and aerosols--including chlorine and hydrochloric acids--formed by contact with water and fire and other materials at the scene.