New data prompts concern

Jenny Marder

Data collected from recent soil samples has prompted toxic regulators

to step up their research and take a more aggressive approach to

cleaning up the homes surrounding the contaminated Fieldstone

property, officials said last week.

Citizens aired a bevy of concerns at a meeting last week,

collectively urging officials to speed up the cleanup process.

Potential health risks were at the top of everyone’s list.

State Department of Toxic Substances Control officials unveiled

data and briefed residents on a cleanup timeline, options and risk

factors associated with the contaminant.

“Our department is committed to doing whatever is necessary to

clean up sites that present a risk,” said Thomas Cota, the

department’s branch chief.

The Fieldstone property is a 42-acre undeveloped site at the

northeast portion of the Bolsa Chica wetlands. It is bordered by

Graham Street, Bankton Drive and Falkirk Lane.

Two years ago, polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, were found in

soil samples on the site. The source of contamination is unknown.

PCBs are chemicals found in electric transformers and hydraulic

fluids.

Three houses were sampled last month, bringing the total to 11

that have been tested. Of these, PCBs have been found in seven

houses, with the highest count at 200 parts per million. Data

detected PCB levels of 0.2 to 5.6 parts per million in six of the

houses and more than 5.6 parts per million in one house.

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

concern, said Jeanne Garcia, spokeswoman for the Department of Toxic

Substances Control.

“Most of us have lived here since the 1970s,” said one worried

resident. “Our children have spent years playing out in the Bolsa

Chica and breathing dust.”

Children still play nearby, dirtying their hands in the soil to

dig underground tunnels and build forts, other residents attested.

Mary Ann Cross lives directly adjacent to the Fieldstone lot. Her

house, along with six others, tested positive for PCBs. The highest

count was right by her children’s playhouse.

Two of Cross’s three children have asthma and her husband is

suffering from cancer. Cross, who has lived in the same house for 26

years, declined to comment on if she thinks any of the health

problems are linked to the contaminants, saying she just can’t be

sure.

“I know they are doing the best they can do, but I would like it

to get started,” she said. “I really don’t know why it’s taken so

long.”

Mike Schum, a toxicologist who specializes in PCB sites, referred

to PCBs as “probable human carcinogens.” Laboratory animals exposed

to the chemical had a higher chance of liver and thyroid tumors, he

said, adding that studies have suggested that humans working with the

chemical may have a greater risk in developing cancer.

But Schum stressed that the data is not definitive.

Most people who develop effects, Schum said, have had high

exposure over a long term.

According to Cross, five of the affected houses belong to families

who have lived there for 25 to 26 years, a number, she argued, that

qualifies as long-term exposure.

Other symptoms include skin rashes, immune system disorders,

thyroid function and reproductive system disorders.

The agency is devising a plan for the area now, with priority

placed on cleaning contaminated homes. State officials said they will

try to eliminate the contaminant without affecting the yard and

without the use of heavy machinery, a “surgical strike,” Cota called

it.

Cleanup of the Fieldstone site will take longer. With data still

to collect and cleanup options hanging in the air, Cota estimates

that it will begin no sooner than two years down the road and could

take as long as 20 years.