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Font Resize- Carson News
- Jan 13:
- Hit-run death of Carson church deacon leaves wife struggling
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- Carson company fined for illegal catalytic converter sales
- Jan 5:
- Carson City Clerk Kawagoe rescinds her earlier resignation
- Dec 27:
- Carson's city clerk resigns after 37 years
- Dec 20:
- Secret Service investigating Carson man for making threats against Obama on Facebook
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- Police seek slain Carson man's brother-in-law as suspect in killing
Shell Oil Co. has been slapped with a final order to clean all the surface soil at the 44-acre Carousel tract housing development in Carson.
The Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board order, released Monday, requires Shell to submit a work plan within two months for how the company will clean the top 10 feet of soil across the entire site, which sits on a former oil tank farm.
The massive cleanup could begin as soon as this summer, according to Water Quality Control Board officials who are overseeing the project. Residents will be relocated during the remediation.
"We don't want to wait until 10 years from now to find out that not doing the most stringent cleanup resulted in health risks," said Fran Diamond, chair of the water board. "The data may not all be there now but it's important to us to know we're doing this to the best of our ability."
The Carousel tract - 285 single-family homes north of Lomita Boulevard between Marabella and Panama avenues - was found to have elevated levels of cancer-causing chemicals during routine testing in 2007. Since then, a tedious process of testing and planning for cleanup has been unfolding.
The water board estimated the health risk to residents was slightly above acceptable levels and ordered Shell to make the area suitable for residential living.
The area was contaminated from 1924 to 1966, when it was used as a Shell Oil tank farm that stored crude oil in reservoirs.
Most of the area residents are now suing Shell Oil Co. for alleged declines in home values and physical injury. Some residents believe they have leukemia as a result of benzene and other hydrocarbons in the soil.
Tom Girardi of Girardi & Keese, the law firm representing residents, said he is pleased with the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board's order.
"We think that the water board was able to look at the massive expert opinions we provided, and clearly they are of the view that the people have to be protected," Girardi said. "When Shell Oil Co. tells people not to let their children dig in the backyard, maybe something should be done about it. And they've decided to do something about it."
Shell Oil Co. spokeswoman Alison Abbott Chassin said the company will continue to work with environmental regulators.
"We remain committed to the environmental investigation," she said. "Our priority is the health and safety of the community. We understand the importance of completing testing in a timely manner and sharing the data with the water board and all the agencies involved."
A 30-day public comment period has begun as the water board seeks input on the order. The current order does not preclude future additional orders to clean groundwater and deeper soil, water board officials said.
"We hope that we can look forward to a time in the not-too-distant future where people feel the soil has been cleaned and they know we've done our best, and they feel their property has been protected and - most of all - their health," Diamond said.
