After months of questions in the aftermath of the Eton and Palisade fire, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has finally been shared from soil testing in the burned area. Publicly available data is still somewhat vague, but shows levels of lead lead levels in the leeward lee of the Eton Fire and isolated “hot spots” of contamination at Palisades.
The results will be revealed Thursday evening, giving you the first glimpse of the final fallout from the devastating January fire.
Roux Associates, a private testing company hired by the county, collected samples from 780 properties in both combustion zones over four weeks from mid-February to mid-March. Samples of 14 commonly found toxic substances were analyzed in the wake of wildfires containing heavy metals such as arsenic and lead. Polyaromatic hydrocarbons such as anthracene and naptalene. and dioxin.
The first batch of results – the county said more data was approaching – focusing on intact properties that remained standing after the fire, finding that 80% of soil samples collected in downwinds had levels above the state’s health standards of 80 milligrams of lead per kilogram of soil. Results for parcels of land with damaged and destroyed properties are still pending.
The findings around Reed are “where we saw something really stand out,” said Adam Love, Lou’s vice president and principal scientist. “We saw a much higher percentage of screening levels in the area where the main house was quickly down on burning locations at Eton Fire.”
Approximately 36% of parcels within Etonburn’s scars exceeded the state limits of Reed, the results show. Much more, 47% have surpassed that in areas that have crossed that boundary. In the southwest of the Eton Fire Zone, between 70% and 80% exceeded the lead level.
Findings revealed Thursday did not include results at specific values or parcel levels for innocent homes yet, but showed the share of properties tested in areas beyond California’s lead and other chemical health limits. Virtually all the tested plots were homes, but some of the ones tested outside the burn area were public spaces, Love said.
Love noted that urban areas typically have statewide restrictions, particularly higher levels of lead than nearby highways where cars were used to burn lead gasoline. Additionally, Altadena has numerous buildings that are likely to contain lead paint, and one report by Caltech shows that over 90% of the homes in the area were built before 1975, three years before paint was banned.
However, many properties where lead was detected at levels above health standards suggest that only paints from decades ago may not fully explain toxicity, Love said. At least part of it may have been born from the fire and its smoke.
Lead is a heavy metal associated with damage to the brain and nervous system, as well as serious health problems, including digestive, reproductive and cardiovascular problems. Children, the elderly and pregnant people are particularly sensitive to chemicals.
Crossing the screening threshold does not mean that cleanup is required automatically, but rather additional assessments should be considered, county officials said.
On the other side of the county, the Palisade burn zone was generally better as there was no evidence of widespread contamination, officials said.
However, the Palisades test revealed a love called the isolated “hot spot” of heavy metals and polyaromatic hydrocarbons.
Among these heavy metals was arsenic, a known carcinogen. The worst results were found in properties just outside the fire boundary. There, almost 26% of the parcels showed arsenic levels above 12 milligrams per kilogram. This is based on high-end estimates of what is established by Lou and occurs naturally in Southern California soils.
“In Eton, arsenic was evenly distributed, but in Palisade you can see hot spots like those in the northeastern part of the Palisade area,” Love said.
The source of contaminants in these areas was not immediately clear as they were not consistent with fire-related smoke feathers, he said.
Nichole Quick, chief medical advisor to the LA County Department of Public Health, said officials are requesting federal and state partners to further assess Palisade hotspots and coordinated with the county to explore more targeted lead testing options in areas affected by the Eton Fire.
All this follows federal officials choosing to break away from the nearly two-year tradition of testing soil with ruined property cleaned up by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Past Army Corps first rubbed six inches of topsoil and then tested the ground. If these tests still reveal toxins, it will cut down even more.
In fact, in the past, such tests have proven essential. After a catastrophic camp fire in Paradise in 2018, soil testing of 12,500 properties revealed that almost a third still contained dangerous levels of contaminants, even after the first six inches of topsoil was scraped by federal crews.
The crew had to return to some of the five facilities to remove more soil before being considered safe and clear.
However, in this case, the federal emergency management agency, the agency that oversees the work, usually cites changes in cost, efficiency and policy at various times as justifications.
LA County ordered a test from Lou instead of that federal exam. So far, the county has only published results from standing homes that are not eligible for cleaning from the Army Corps of Engineers.
Love said the results of soil testing from the shattered properties are still pending. Final report and analysis will be available in May.
Many residents and civil servants, Nancy Ward, were unhappy with FEMA’s decision to refrain from testing after the fire.
“Without proper soil testing, no contaminants caused by the fire will be detected and could pose a risk to residents, construction workers and the environment,” Ward wrote in a February letter to his agency. “The failure to identify and repair these fire-related contaminants could expose individuals to residual material during reconstruction, potentially putting groundwater and surface water quality at risk.”
Officials in Los Angeles said residents who are concerned about certain property would like to consult with environmental experts about the assessment.
“In all areas where there are ongoing fire debris, residents are reminded to use appropriate personal protective equipment to take precautions to inhal, ingest, ingest, or contact with the fire department with ashes, soot and/or fire debris,” the Ministry of Public Health wrote in a. “In addition, we recommend that community members review soil sampling results and consider taking appropriate precautions if they are in one of the areas that are above the soil sample screening threshold.”
The county also offers free lead level screenings to those affected by the fire and concerned about exposure.
