L.A. Times Tests Soil for Heavy Metals—One Palisades Home Out of the 20 Tested Had High Levels

Since FEMA abdicated responsibility for testing remediated soil after the January wildfires, the Los Angeles Times recently conducted its own tests on both 10 destroyed properties that had been cleared by the Army Corps of Engineers and 10 standing homes in Pacific Palisades.

They conducted the same tests in Altadena and discovered that five of the 20 Altadena properties had excess levels of one or more heavy metals, in particular lead, mercury, and/or arsenic, including two destroyed homes that had been cleared by the Corps of Engineers, while in Pacific Palisades one standing home on Avenida de la Herradura had a level of arsenic that was 3.55 times the health standard, according to the article. The other 19 tested Palisades homes, including all 10 of the homes cleared by the Corps of Engineers, had soil with low levels of all 17 heavy metals (below the typical level for the region). In summary, 5 percent of the tested Palisades homes had problematic levels of one heavy metal, while 25 percent of the Altadena homes had problematic levels of one of more heavy metals.

One reason the article cites for the increased level of heavy metals in Altadena homes is the age of the buildings. Lead-based paint was banned in 1978, and about 20 percent of the destroyed homes in Pacific Palisades were built after that date. Almost none of the Altadena homes were built after 1978, according to the article. Arsenic-treated lumber was phased out of construction materials at the end of 2003.

(The Canyon News approach to coverage of environmental issues can be found here.)