Chlorine Leak’s Impact : Simi Hires Firm to Study Toxic Materials Proposal

Simi Valley officials have hired a consultant to help prepare a plan to handle storage and disposal of hazardous materials nearly two months after a chlorine gas leak forced the evacuation of 12,000 people.

The City Council’s hiring Monday of a Ventura firm for $50,000 stems from a months-old effort to improve the city’s management of toxic materials, city officials said. The Jan. 5 chlorine leak made that effort more urgent, they said.

“The chlorine incident reinforced a feeling in the community and on the council that many of these chemicals that we are dealing with . . . have got to be handled a lot better than maybe they have been,” Mayor Gregory Stratton said.

The city Department of Public Works on Monday presented to the council an 83-page report outlining 11 recommendations on how the city could keep a closer eye on toxic materials and businesses that use them. The recommendations included on-site inspections, planning and zoning laws to control where toxics are stored or disposed of, and a household hazardous waste collection program.

The council hired the firm of Kennedy/Jenks/Chilton to analyze the report and return in four to six months, possibly with additional measures. The study will mainly focus on how the city can better coordinate its efforts with county, state and federal agencies that also regulate toxic materials, Stratton said.

“There are about 15 different agencies that have their finger in it one way or another,” Stratton said. “What we’re trying to do is become sort of an umbrella organization . . . to make sure each of them gets what it needs.”

For example, the city would make sure that new and existing businesses notify other government bodies of all toxic materials storage, transportation or disposal, he said.

Simi Valley officials would like the city to assume the lead role in handling toxic materials within city boundaries, rather than have an outside regulatory agency make the key decisions, said Ronald C. Coons, city director of public works.

On Jan. 5, a poisonous chlorine gas leak from a 30-ton tank at Travelin’ West Textiles prompted the evacuations. Twenty people were injured.

Last month, a Simi Valley report said Simi Valley and Ventura County officials reacted well during the 12-hour crisis.