Local News in Brief : Chemicals at Echo Park Site Said to Pose No Acute Peril
A task force of Los Angeles officials told the City Council Tuesday that toxic chemicals recently discovered in the soil near an Echo Park hotel pose no acute health hazards to residents near the building.
However, a preliminary investigation could not establish the extent of the contamination or its long-term hazards, said Steve Tekosky, supervising attorney for the city attorney’s environmental section.
Meanwhile, owners of the building, at Sunset Boulevard and Echo Park Avenue, have been ordered by the Los Angeles County Health Services Department and the state Regional Water Quality Control Board to produce a plan for removing the chemicals.
The chemicals are believed to have come from a dry cleaner on the ground floor of the three-story building.
That report is due June 1.
The cancer-causing chemical perchloroethelyne was discovered at the building during a routine test conducted earlier this year as part of the sale of the property to the Los Angeles Men’s Place for a home for the mentally ill.
Los Angeles Men’s Place has since dropped out of the deal and is reportedly looking for a new site for the home.
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