Despite Criticism, Toxic Evacuations Judged Successful

Los Angeles County authorities have acknowledged that there were confusion and some glitches during last weekend’s massive evacuations caused by a chemical spill at a Commerce plant, but generally gave themselves high marks for their efforts.

An internal review by the Sheriff’s Department, for example, indicated that deputies who rushed to the scene “did an excellent job” considering the circumstances and resources available, said Assistant Sheriff Jerry Harper, commander of field operations and detectives. More than 200 sheriff’s deputies were rushed into the area after the first spill.

“There’s always going to be some confusion when you have a situation like that,” Harper said in an interview.

Montebello police and fire personnel also played a major role in the evacuations of up to 27,000 people from Montebello, Commerce, Monterey Park and East Los Angeles on Saturday and an evacuation of about 1,000 Montebello residents the next day.

“We moved a lot of people in a short period of time with little injuries,” said Montebello Acting Fire Chief Robert D. Fager. “Our actions, we feel, were professionally done.” A majority of the evacuees were Montebello residents.

But officials conceded that the evacuations were marred by a lack of emergency breathing equipment and Spanish-speaking personnel. They also said there were at least some problems with coordination between county and city agencies. In addition, they said, the public needs to be better educated on how to react in such emergencies.

Civilian officials and some community leaders said they want further review of the back-to-back evacuations. State Sen. Art Torres (D-Los Angeles), chairman of Senate Committee on Toxics and Public Safety Management, has scheduled a hearing in Commerce on Thursday to examine how the spill occurred and the effectiveness of the emergency response.

Torres said his son and parents were among those evacuated from Monterey Park. “They were not very happy,” he said. “They felt there was a lot of confusion.”

The evacuations were triggered when toxic gas escaped from the plant of the Grow Group Inc., which manufactures bleach, plastic containers and chlorine pellets used to purify swimming pools. The chemical cloud released in the spill caused irritation of eyes, throat and mucus membranes and may cause more serious problems for people with respiratory illness.

Sixty-eight people were treated for minor injuries, mostly respiratory problems, officials said, and one person remained hospitalized Saturday. Thomas David, 39, of Huntington Park, was in stable condition at Santa Marta Hospital in Los Angeles.

Assistant Sheriff Harper responded to criticism that deputies were slow to get to some neighborhoods with an evacuation order--as much as two hours after the first emergency was declared. Harper said deputies were under orders from the county Fire Department not to enter any area that was already enveloped by the chemical cloud emitted from the plant.

“We couldn’t evacuate those areas . . . since we didn’t have the self-contained breathing apparatus,” he said. “We couldn’t predict how the cloud was going to move. So, we were leapfrogging to where the cloud seemed to be moving to, trying to stay ahead of it.”

Cloud Moved In

One neighborhood north of the plant, on the western edge of Montebello, was not immediately evacuated, Harper said, because the cloud was already there.

“Thank God, it wasn’t a lethal cloud,” he said. After the toxic mass moved away from the area, sheriff’s deputies swarmed in to order everyone out, he said.

Community groups also complained that there were not enough Spanish-speakers among the sheriff’s and police personnel circulating through heavily Latino neighborhoods. Some sheriff’s patrol units used prerecorded messages in English and Spanish and Harper said a preliminary internal review showed that more Spanish tapes should have been used.

And some deputies--stopped by passers-by for information--did not feel confident enough to use what Spanish they had learned at the Sheriff’s Academy, he added. The bulk of the force at the East Los Angeles station, where a majority of deputies speak Spanish, worked straight through the weekend, he said.

In some instances, residents did not hear the warning blaring from bullhorns and loudspeakers and continued sleeping. Residents complained that there was inadequate public transportation to help evacuees who did not have cars. Montebello used its city buses to evacuate residents in Montebello and East Los Angeles, officials said.

Some evacuees reportedly drove in circles because they were not given clear directions to an evacuation center.

There also have been reports that some emergency personnel may not have been fully informed. One group of Montebello residents was reportedly told that toxic fumes were coming from a nearby bakery.

Coordination problems between agencies also surfaced during the evacuation, officials said. In one instance, sheriff’s deputies were on the scene quickly to help Montebello officers restrict traffic into potentially dangerous areas. Then, abruptly, the deputies were called to a briefing at a nearby park, said Montebello City Administrator Joseph M. Goeden.

Some confusion is common during emergency situations, said a spokesman for the state Office of Emergency Services. While the office has not reviewed the evacuations, preliminary indications were that it was fairly successful, the spokesman said.

“When you have a situation where 20,000 or 30,000 people were evacuated and there were (few) people at the hospital, then that’s probably a pretty successful evacuation,” spokesman John Passerello said.

One expert has said that the evacuation was not necessary. Dr. Doug Arterberry, a physician and toxicologist who is considered an authority on toxic-waste spills, said in this case residents’ best protection against the cloud would have been to stay indoors.

A Balancing Act

But county fire officials said the danger was real and they were performing a balancing act. They must protect the public while trying to avoid needlessly bothering or worrying residents and tying up emergency equipment and personnel.

“We don’t want to compromise their safety,” Battalion Chief David E. Baisley said. “If we feel they’re in a zone or area where their health can be jeopardized, we’re going to ask for an evacuation.”

Officials said they would continue to review their emergency preparedness plans for needed improvements, but few changes have been decided upon.

“Was the evacuation 100% effective?” Goeden asked. “No, and I doubt the evacuation of (thousands of people) ever could be.”