At a public hearing Thursday night in Boyle Heights, the status of a major environmental public health disaster was the only item on the agenda.
The hearing came three years after an Exide battery plant in Vernon shut down down afer contaminating soil on thousands of nearby properties. It's a story we've been covering at KPCC for years, and it was a frequent topic for LAistunder previous ownership.
Priska Neely was at the hearing and reported live on Twitter:
A state Assembly committee is holding a public hearing in Boyle Heights tonight on efforts to clean up lead-tainted soil in southeast LA County. Three years after the Exide plant closed, thousands of residents are still waiting on clean up @KPCC pic.twitter.com/65Jr2QvMIl
— Priska Neely (@priskaneely) August 9, 2018
. @KPCC has followed the impact of contamination from former Exide battery recycling plant for years. Here’s a great one from @1eaguilera https://t.co/SnTW7l5O2a
— Priska Neely (@priskaneely) August 9, 2018
Full house at this hearing on Exide cleanup.
— Priska Neely (@priskaneely) August 10, 2018
Speaker @Rendon63rd is making opening statements: “It’s sad that we’ve been at this so long.” @KPCC pic.twitter.com/XrKV7EbBF6
Assemblymember @wendycarrillo says if the community looked different “I can almost guarantee” this would have been cleaned up faster.
— Priska Neely (@priskaneely) August 10, 2018
Supervisor @HildaSolis: “This is our Flint, Michigan. There is no doubt about it.”
— Priska Neely (@priskaneely) August 10, 2018
Mohsen Nazemi, with the Department of Toxic Substance Control, says 380 parcels have been cleaned. And there are 13 crews in the field
— Priska Neely (@priskaneely) August 10, 2018
Re: parkway cleanup (contaminated sidewalk strips), Nazemi says DTSC plans to form a sampling and analysis plan this fall and begin sampling work in January @KPCC
— Priska Neely (@priskaneely) August 10, 2018
Matt Rodriguez, of DTSC, says the goal is to have no more breaks in testing and cleanup work. Says he will ask about the contract everyday until it’s signed.
— Priska Neely (@priskaneely) August 10, 2018
Barbara Ferrer of @lapublichealth says to the audience of 100+:
— Priska Neely (@priskaneely) August 10, 2018
“I know you’re tired of our meetings ... I want to appreciate that you’re still here” pic.twitter.com/KvLQqECEt3
Dr. Cyrus Rangan, bureau of toxicology, offers some terrifying insight on how lead spreads and how hard it is to detect hotspots:
— Priska Neely (@priskaneely) August 10, 2018
“Everyone is exposed to all of the lead”
After nearly three hours of panel discussion, public comment has finally started at this Exide hearing. The audience has certainly gotten smaller pic.twitter.com/VMYRN1Im8I
— Priska Neely (@priskaneely) August 10, 2018
“My body is broken and damaged beyond repair.”
— Priska Neely (@priskaneely) August 10, 2018
- Terry Cano who has been fighting for years and was featured in this 2015 @kpcc story https://t.co/qk130JxgXA pic.twitter.com/gGsF3YLLZa
Chart showing the number of @SEIU members and families impacted by Exide - 41,000+ pic.twitter.com/3TWCuZmyQd
— Priska Neely (@priskaneely) August 10, 2018
After a nearly 4 hour hearing, the remaining attendees sang happy birthday to Assemblymember @wendycarrillo pic.twitter.com/KUz4Xs0BaA
— Priska Neely (@priskaneely) August 10, 2018
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