Support for LAist comes from
Local and national news, NPR, things to do, food recommendations and guides to Los Angeles, Orange County and the Inland Empire
Stay Connected
Listen

Share This

This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.

This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.

News

Almost All Homes Tested Near Exide Plant Are Contaminated With Lead

Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.

Nearly every single home examined by state and county officials for lead contamination from the now shuttered Exide battery recycling plant in Vernon has yielded lead levels high enough to demand environmental cleanup, reports KPCC this morning.

So far, more than 99 percent of the approximately 1,000 tested properties require lead cleanup, including 621 tested by the California Department of Toxic Substances Control, and 382 tested by the L.A. County department of public health. So far, only five tested properties do not require cleanup.

More than 10,000 properties, including schools and parks surrounding the old Exide facility, will be tested for lead toxicity and cleaned up as needed.

A couple of weeks ago, Governor Jerry Brown pledged $176 million to pay for the cleanup process, following an outcry from activists and citizens that the residents of Boyle Heights, Vernon, Huntington Park and other surrounding communities were being ignored. An editorial in the L.A. Times argued, as did many in affected communities throughout East and South East L.A. County, that the Exide toxicity was just as critical—if not more so—than the simultaneously occurring Porter Ranch Gas leak. However, because the toxins were in a poor community of color, the state was less motivated to act.

Support for LAist comes from

The cleanup entire process is expected to take more than two years, with health officials estimating that cleanup will be completed in June of 2018.

Until then, the county offers the following advice for families living on lead-contaminated land:


  • Do not let kids play on bare soil, when possible.
  • Take off shoes before coming into your home.
  • Wet mop floors instead of dry sweeping.
  • Wipe windowsills and other surfaces where dust collects with a wet cloth.
  • Wash hands and toys often.

How comforting.

The Exide battery recycling plant was forced to close down in March of 2015 because investigators discovered the plant had been coating surrounding neighborhoods with a fine, toxic lead dust for decades. Exide agreed to cover the cost of the cleanup.

As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.

Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.

We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.

No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.

Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.

Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.

Chip in now to fund your local journalism
A row of graphics payment types: Visa, MasterCard, Apple Pay and PayPal, and  below a lock with Secure Payment text to the right
(
LAist
)

Trending on LAist