Local News in Brief : Chemical Drainage Cleanup Set
The Montrose Chemical Corp., which until 1982 manufactured DDT at its Harbor Gateway plant, is scheduled to begin covering contaminated drainage areas this week to prevent the banned pesticide from flowing into storm channels, and eventually into the Los Angeles Harbor.
However, the project is only a temporary measure. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which first investigated the Normandie Avenue plant 6 years ago and later placed the site on its Superfund list of the most dangerous chemical dumps in the nation, must still arrange for a permanent cleanup.
According to the EPA, soil tests last year showed “relatively high concentrations of DDT” in both a drainage ditch east of the 13-acre Montrose site and a right-of-way maintained by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power south of the plant.
The Montrose site ceased operations in 1982, after researchers discovered DDT dust washed from the plant into nearby storm drains. The EPA, along with Los Angeles County health officials, will supervise the covering project, which is expected to take 2 weeks.
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