Uneasy Neighbors : Toxic Dump Fears Worsen as Town’s Illnesses Increase

This tiny town of 175 people has an abbreviated main street with only a post office, a general store and a restaurant. For decades, when people stopped on the dusty, unpaved sidewalks to chat, their biggest gripe was the small selection of groceries at the general store.

But now they complain about mysterious diseases they cannot pronounce and mounting medical bills. In the last six years, 14 residents have died--most of whom were in their 40s and 50s--three have contracted rare blood diseases, and there have been three stillborn births and miscarriages, according to Kenneth McCalip, principal of Casmalia School and unofficial toxic-waste spokesman for the town. And the remainder of the residents, he said, frequently have breathing difficulty and other respiratory problems.

Most residents attribute the dramatic increase in health problems to Casmalia Resources, a toxic-waste dump less than two miles from town.

Physicians Concerned

And recently, many in the nearby communities of Orcutt and Santa Maria say their health also has been affected by the dump. Local physicians are so concerned about their own families’ health that 10 have moved out of the Santa Maria Valley in the last two years, and others are planning to move, said cardiologist Daniel DuCoffe, a past president of Physicians Against Casmalia.

Last year, 72 doctors--more than half of all physicians practicing in the Santa Maria area--signed an advertisement appearing in a local newspaper recommending immediate closure of the dump.

But the state Department of Health Services determined last year that there is no convincing evidence of medical problems that could be linked to the dump.

“I think what’s going on, and I don’t want to sound harsh, is a lot of toxic superstition,” said Dr. Kenneth Kizer, the department’s director. “It’s kind of like when a black cat walks in front of you and then you have an accident . . . well, the cat didn’t cause the accident. People have become superstitious about Casmalia Resources and alleging it has caused a lot of problems” when other factors might be involved.

Residents, however, have become skeptical of safety pronouncements from state and local agencies and assurances from the operators of the dump, one of only two landfills in Southern California that still accept the most hazardous toxic waste.

Casmalia Resources has long maintained that the landfill is one of the safest in the country because an “impermeable” natural clay vault prevents contamination of ground water. The state Department of Health Services last year issued a report saying there was no evidence of ground-water contamination.

But a few months after the report, tests required by state Regional Water Quality Control board identified “widespread contamination” in ground water underneath the site. About 20 toxic chemicals were found at levels far exceeding state standards for drinking water. For example, the chemical solvent tetrachloroethylene was found at concentrations of 6,100 parts per billion, and the state standard is 4 parts per billion.

On June 27, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors will vote on a measure that will require a cleanup of the contaminated ground water.

Several tests have shown contamination of ground water outside the borders of the dump, but the state has contended that the source of the pollution cannot be traced. Many residents are concerned that the contamination will spread into the area’s water supply, although the landfill’s operators have told the community that the contamination will be contained.

‘Remedial Action Plan’

As a result of the ground water tests, the state water board has ordered the dump to study the extent of the contamination and submit by Dec. 4, a “remedial action plan” for the site.

But residents say that the site should be closed and that the state’s order is only a token rebuke. Two years ago, the county grand jury concluded that Casmalia is an “immediate and substantial endangerment to public health” and recommended “closing the site until all health problems are resolved.”

But Santa Barbara County officials had contended that it was the state’s responsibility to close the dump, and the Board of Supervisors did not act on the grand jury’s recommendation.

Although last year’s state report concluded that there was no evidence that medical problems could be attributed to the 250-acre dump, the residents’ doctors are telling them otherwise.

“Why would all these doctors sign the advertisement?” asked Dr. I.A. Haque, a Santa Maria area family practitioner. “But it’s difficult for us to satisfy all the state’s requirements for proof. We’re not researchers; we’re doctors worried about the health of our patients.”

But Kizer said the state has been unable to substantiate claims of health problems caused by the dump, in part, because residents have been unwilling to permit inspection of medical records to support the claims.

Residents who have filed a class-action lawsuit against Casmalia Resources, the state and the county have been advised by their attorneys not to turn over medical records.

Many local doctors, however, say the state is using the absence of medical records as a ploy to stall the residents. Family practitioner Steve Williams said he and other doctors who conducted physicals and tests on many Casmalia residents--which were later turned over to the attorneys--provided much of that information to Kizer at a public hearing.

Medical Data

Williams and about 15 other doctors testified under oath about their patients’ health problems and provided the state, Williams said, with “a tremendous amount of medical data and a number of cases . . . certainly enough data for them to determine the toxic dump was a serious health hazard.”

Doctors testified about increased incidents of childhood cancer, respiratory disease and blood disorders in the Santa Maria Valley. One doctor said at the hearing that because of the recent increase in miscarriages, local hospitals have added pregnancy-loss classes and grief classes for expectant mothers.

After the state decided not to take any action, Williams moved out of the Santa Maria Valley to Shell Beach, about 25 miles northwest, where “the air was safe.” Williams moved because he began suffering the same symptoms that many of his patients complained about--chronic fatigue, nauseousness, respiratory problems, sore throat, headaches.

“I saw the same symptoms so often I gave it a name--the Casmalia Syndrome,” said Williams, who recently moved again to Northern California. Williams declined to give the exact location because, he said, when he was active with Physicians Against Casmalia, toxic chemicals were dumped on his lawn, his office was broken into and his car vandalized.

“People are having some serious health problems there,” Williams said. “And, I’m afraid, by the time any action is taken, it’s going to be too late.”

In the evening, when he returned home from work, Arthur Jackson frequently complained about the smells from the dump site, less than two miles from his house. His condition slowly worsened and, wheezing and gasping for breath, he was often too weak to leave the couch.

When he died five years ago, at the age of 53, his daughter, Norene Jackson, was convinced that pollution from the dump site was a contributing factor.

Haque, the Jackson family physician, agreed. Jackson, who had previously been in good health, suddenly died after he began bleeding profusely from the sinuses and lungs (massive pulmonary hemorrhage). Although Jackson had a mild case of emphysema, Haque does not think that could have caused such spontaneous, extensive bleeding.

“I have no doubt that his death was related to the pollution,” Haque said. “He had no previous history of coughing up blood, and I’d seen him a few months before and there was no indication of the problem. I’ve found no other satisfactory explanation.”

Mother Died

A year and a half after her father’s death, Norene Jackson’s mother died of a heart attack. That same year, her uncle, who lived a block away, died of lung cancer and her aunt died of pneumonia.

When Jackson’s 3-year-old daughter developed a chronic cough and needed antibiotics numerous times that year, Jackson decided she “had to get out.” She moved to Arroyo Grande, about 30 miles north of Casmalia.

“Before he died, my father used to lay there, complain about the air and say he could hardly breathe. And I’ll never forget my mother’s last words.” Jackson covered her eyes for a moment and shook her head. “She said: “I’ve been sick all day . . . they’ve got to do something about the smell from that dump.”

Jackson, a single mother, finally moved after she had saved enough money. Rents in Casmalia are extremely low, and Jackson was paying only $200 a month for a two-bedroom duplex. “For sale” signs are all over town, but residents say buyers are scarce because of the toxic dump site.

‘It’s Psychological’

Kenneth Hunter Jr., a major partner in Casmalia Resources, tapped his temple and rolled his eyes when asked about health problems associated with the dump.

“It’s psychological,” said Hunter from his large, well-appointed Montecito office, about 100 miles from the malodorous ponds and sludge of Casmalia Resources. “The whole thing is so overblown and out of proportion to the danger, it’s ludicrous.”

The reason so many in the community have complained, he said, is because “they’ve been stirred up by activists and lawyers wanting to collect on their lawsuit.” And, he added, his employees at the dump are “totally healthy” and, unlike the town’s residents, have “never complained” of health problems associated with the dump.

But Eric Knudsen, who worked at the dump for nine months, said he and other employees were frequently sick. But they were afraid to complain, said Knudsen, who claims he was fired for questioning inadequate safety practices at the site.

“When I worked around certain ponds, every night I had severe headaches, watery eyes and felt groggy and nauseated,” he said. “We talked about it among ourselves, but nobody said anything.”

Knudsen, who worked for a Casmalia Resources contractor, claimed in his wrongful-termination suit that he observed 24 safety violations at the site. He was fired in April after a project manager said he found a marijuana cigarette in Knudsen’s car.

But, according to court records, Knudsen said that the cigarette was not his and that he was not aware of it being in his car. After he was fired, Knudsen voluntarily underwent drug testing, according to the suit, and the results came back negative.

Controversy had dogged the dump since its inception. In 1972, the county Planning Commission refused to grant a permit for Casmalia Resources because it feared that it could contaminate the area’s water supply. But the Board of Supervisors overruled the commission.

The county eventually granted Hunter a conditional-use permit because he assured them that the dump would only accept hazardous waste--primarily from nearby oil fields and farms--generated in the county, said Larry Appel, a senior planner for Santa Barbara County.

But, according to a survey conducted in the mid-1980s, 96% of all waste handled at Casmalia was trucked in from outside the county. The dump is now a major repository of toxic material from throughout Southern California--some is also brought in from outside the state--and now handles about 10,000 tons of hazardous waste a month. Hunter denies he promised that Casmalia would only accept local waste.

The dump is now attempting to comply with the state’s Toxic Pits Cleanup Act, which requires dump sites to drain all unlined toxic-waste ponds by June 30. And Hunter’s plan for a major renovation has been stalled by a lawsuit filed by Santa Barbara County. The county is seeking to force the dump to apply for a new use permit before it begins renovation.

No United Opposition

Until the early 1980s, the town coexisted uneasily with the dump. Residents occasionally complained about water contamination and health problems, but there was no united community opposition. Then Casmalia began accepting waste from other dumps in Southern California that had been closed, such as Stringfellow Acid Pits in Riverside, McColl petroleum dump in Fullerton and BKK dump in West Covina.

The number of trucks hauling hazardous material to Casmalia in 1984 doubled over the previous year. About the same time, residents say, odors from the dump worsened dramatically and so did their health problems. Then an incident in late 1984 galvanized an already-alarmed community. The Casmalia School, located over a hill from the dump site, was forced to close for two days after teachers and students said they were overcome by noxious odors.

The state Department of Health Services, responding to the increasing number of complaints, ordered operators of the dump in 1985 to stop spraying toxic pond water into the air to hasten evaporation and to stop accepting virtually all liquid hazardous waste. The amount of toxic material Casmalia accepts is down about 25% from its peak year of 1985, Hunter said.

Residents say that fumes from Casmalia have decreased but that their health problems have persisted. A 1986 county grand jury study found 90 compounds in Casmalia’s air that were on the Environmental Protection Agency’s list of “priority pollutants.” But the state health department concluded that the toxins were at levels below the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s standards for workplace exposure.