Heal the Bay demands EPA move wildfire debris sorting site near LA County beaches
By Rina Nakano
Click here for updates on this story
LOS ANGELES COUNTY, California (KCAL/KCBS) — The large mounds of fire debris that remain on Los Angeles County beaches have caused concerns about long-term effects on the environment and beachgoers.
“The water was mixed with ash,” said Dr. Tania Pineda from Heal the Bay, a nonprofit focusing on protecting coastal waters.
Immediately following the Palisades Fire, LA County officials closed beaches down the Southern California coast due to concerns about toxic chemical runoffs. However, they have downgraded the closures to advisories, believing that the debris is no longer hazardous to the public or the environment. Pineda and her fellow Heal the Bay researchers disagreed with this move.
“We don’t agree with the Department of Public Health,” she said. “Let’s just be cautious for the moment.”
Unlike fires that burn brush and natural materials, the Palisades Fire burned thousands of homes, cars and other hazardous materials.
“You have paints that have different kinds of chemicals in them. You have asbestos, lead and arsenic,” Pineda said.
The debris washed onto the beaches following the fire, and as part of the county’s recovery plan, the EPA has converted the parking lots of Topanga Creek and Will Rogers State Beach to sort hazardous materials from the burn zones.
Heal the Bay is now demanding that the EPA change its hazardous sorting site location. Pineda called for the federal organization to also test the waters immediately because of the possibility of long-term illnesses and environmental impacts.
In the lead-up to and aftermath of the recent rain, the nonprofit conducted its own testing but had not released the results as of late February. In lieu of the data, Pineda advises people to be cautious and stay away from the water.
“If you have an immunocompromised system, if you’re a kid or elderly, just don’t go in the water,” she said. “If you are walking on the beach and you see fire debris, don’t touch it with your hands. Just stay away.”
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
