Worried Supervisors Take Several Actions on Hazardous Waste

The Orange County Board of Supervisors expressed concern Tuesday over the shipment of hazardous materials through Orange County without the knowledge of local officials.

Supervisors also moved to expand the collection of hazardous household wastes to prevent their disposal with household garbage.

The five board members agreed to jointly sign and send to the county’s congressional delegation a letter proclaiming their “deep concern” that “lethal chemicals are routinely trucked through Orange County without the knowledge of local government officials.”

Public Safety Concern

“While we realize that the transportation of these chemicals is important to our economy and our national defense, it is imperative that local officials are made aware of these shipments and involved in coordinated planning to protect public safety in the event of an accident,” said the letter drafted by Supervisor Harriett M. Wieder.

The action came 10 days after The Times reported that liquid cryogenic fluorine, a potentially lethal chemical used in laser research, has been shipped over the Riverside, Costa Mesa, Santa Ana and San Diego freeways to reach a TRW laboratory in San Clemente.

Although special trucks that carry the chemical have accumulated a good safety record in the last nine years, experts said a spill could require the immediate evacuation of everyone within a 3.9-mile radius.

The supervisors also asked the county’s Hazardous Materials Program Office to investigate current regulations and enforcement of rules on transporting hazardous materials through the county and to report back with their findings within 30 days.

Collection Sites

In addition, supervisors approved the county Fire Department’s request to set up four or five stations that would be open periodically to collect hazardous household wastes, such as ammonia, chlorine, paint, solvents and drain cleaners from residents and businesses generating small amounts of the toxic materials.

Supervisor Thomas F. Riley persuaded the board not to impose a $5 fee on people using the sites but instead to pay for the program by raising the $6-per-ton fee at county-operated landfills to $6.20.