Residents Stage Vigil at Casmalia Dump : 48-Hour Protest Held to Demand Closure of Toxic Waste Site

About 175 of this town’s 200 residents were joined by others in a 48-hour vigil Saturday to shut down a toxic waste dump here that they say is overloaded with hazardous materials that emit noxious odors and pose grave health problems.

The vigil, which began Friday, is aimed at closing the Casmalia Resources toxic waste dump, one of two major repositories for hazardous waste in Southern California.

Officials of the Casmalia plant have maintained that the landfill is one of the safest because of a natural underground clay vault that prevents leaking and contamination. A worker at the dump said there were no plans to close the plant during the demonstration, which organizers say will culminate with a noon rally today.

Residents of the rural town in Santa Barbara County say the number of trucks hauling waste in and out of the 250-acre facility has more than doubled since late last year, when the BKK dump in West Covina was closed to toxic materials.

The increase in waste, which is poured into evaporation ponds, has sparked public concern about leakage, ground water contamination, health problems and possible toxic fume emissions, said Erika Rosenthal, a spokeswoman for Greenpeace, the environmental group coordinating the protest.

“The odors are sometimes so bad residents burn fires in the middle of summer to mask the smell so they can sleep,” Rosenthal said.

She said Casmalia citizens are also troubled by chronic health problems, including bronchial infections, nausea and numbing of arms and legs.

“Those are all classic symptoms of chemical poisoning,” Rosenthal said.