Dumping Raises Renewed Call for Barriers at Scenic Canyon

The weekend discovery of barrels that once contained potentially dangerous chemicals illegally dumped in a canyon in the Santa Susana Mountains has prompted an environmental group to renew its call for roadside barriers to reduce access to the area.

“We can clean it up but we’ll never solve the problem until we get a barrier here,” said Glenn Bailey, president of the Foundation for the Preservation of the Santa Susana Mountains.

Bailey called a news conference Sunday at the site, about one-third of a mile east of Rocky Peak Road on Santa Susana Pass Road, to denounce the dumping of 37 55-gallon steel drums.

The drums are believed to have been left at the site sometime Saturday. A motorist driving past the site in the mountains above Chatsworth about 9 p.m. noticed a red sticker on one of the drums indicating that it had contained combustible materials, and he contacted Los Angeles County Department of Health investigators.

Flammable Material

According to the labels, the drums once contained a polyester resin compound, mixed with toluene. Toluene is flammable and can cause dizziness and other health problems if its fumes are inhaled at high concentrations. The materials are used in the production of certain plastics.

But Los Angeles city firefighters who went to the scene Sunday determined that the barrels were virtually empty.

Frank Cervantes, a senior hazardous materials specialist with the county Department of Health, also tested the barrels and discovered that at least one contained enough fumes to pose “an immediate fire hazard.” The others were empty but, as a precaution, Cervantes contacted the state Department of Health Services, which agreed to remove the barrels Sunday afternoon.

The white and green drums were dumped in a canyon that offers dramatic views of the west San Fernando Valley. But the landscape is marred with the rusting hulks of abandoned cars, ripped-open mattresses, multihued household garbage and other debris, all discarded in the steep canyon from several convenient roadside pull-offs.

State Owns Property

Bailey said the state owns 428 acres surrounding the canyon that are the scene of weekend hikes sponsored by the preservation group. He said the foundation has lobbied state officials to get a $1-million barrier installed along Santa Susana Pass Road to make it difficult for trucks to park at the edge of the canyon to dump their loads.

“We’re also asking for the apprehension and prosecution to the full extent of the law, not only of the people who dumped this, but also for the people who owned it,” Bailey said. “We’re going to draw the public’s attention to this and not let it get any worse.”

Cervantes said the owners of the barrels could be traced using information on the labels. Because the containers were nearly empty, only public nuisance charges, and not felony hazardous materials dumping charges, could be brought against their owners, Cervantes said.

Bernice Thompson, who is the closest resident to the dump site, said she frequently sees trucks disposing of their loads into the canyon. “We sometimes catch trucks and we call the police,” she said. “We do our best but of course we can’t catch everyone.”