CA Declares Homes "Clean," Yet New Tests Find Lingering Lead [Report]
California officials declared thousands of homes around the former Exide battery recycling plant in Vernon, L.A. County, "clean" after a massive, taxpayer-funded lead removal effort. However, recent soil samples and research findings challenge this claim, revealing elevated lead levels persist in some areas. This raises serious questions about the thoroughness of the $700 million cleanup, which aimed to address decades of toxic dust spewed by the now-shuttered facility. For communities like Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles, the lingering contamination renews environmental health concerns and underscores the enduring challenge of industrial pollution.
For decades, the Exide battery recycling plant in Vernon released hazardous lead dust across nearby communities, including Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles. This toxic legacy led to a massive cleanup operation, with California spending over $700 million to remove contaminated soil from thousands of homes. State officials recently announced significant progress, stating that nearly 6,500 homes and all schools, parks, and childcare centers in the affected area have been made safer. The Exide plant closed in 2015 to avoid criminal charges, with The Times reporting on its closure.
However, the "clean" designation is now facing scrutiny. A recent study by university researchers and environmental health groups, followed by the state’s own retesting, found that some remediated properties still contain lead levels higher than California's safety standards. While officials from the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) acknowledge these findings, they explained that some deeper, hard-to-reach areas were left due to obstacles like tree roots or utility lines, with clean soil placed over them to prevent contact.
Environmental advocates, like Jane Williams from California Communities Against Toxics, are concerned about these lingering contaminants and suggest more work may be needed to truly meet safety goals. This situation highlights the immense challenge and vital importance of addressing industrial pollution, especially when it impacts vulnerable communities. The original polluter, Exide, declared bankruptcy, and a bankruptcy court ruled in 2020 that California taxpayers would fund this costly and complex environmental remediation. This emphasizes the urgent need for stringent oversight and collective action to protect our planet and public health from such long-term dangers. State lawmakers are now pushing for the site to be designated a “Superfund” priority site to secure more federal resources for this ongoing effort.