Federal Agency to Study Cancer Claims From SOS Toxic Dump

Federal health officials, responding to a request by Rep. Carlos Moorhead (R-Glendale), are investigating allegations that toxic chemicals illegally dumped by a defense contractor in Placerita Canyon endangered public health and contributed to four deaths in a family which lived near the plant.

If a preliminary study indicates a possible health risk from the chemicals, the agency will conduct a comprehensive study on the incidence of cancer and other diseases in the community, Mark Bashor, a toxicologist with the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, said Friday.

The agency, headquartered at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, is a branch of the U.S. Public Health Service. By law, the agency must conduct a preliminary study on any complaint that they think may have merit, whether the request comes from a congressman or private citizen, Bashor said.

Bashor said agency staff have begun interviewing Placerita Canyon residents and area health officials who have monitored the cleanup of chemicals dumped at Space Ordnance Systems. The cleanup is nearing completion.

The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services also is reviewing previous studies on the SOS plant to determine whether a comprehensive health survey is warranted. The Board of Supervisors ordered the review June 20 after the Hercules family charged that chemicals dumped by SOS caused three cases of leukemia and one case of kidney cancer in the family since 1983.

SOS, which produces explosive devices and flares, pleaded no contest in 1986 to 10 misdemeanor charges of improperly storing, transporting and disposing of toxic chemicals. The company was fined $300,000.

Members of the Hercules family, who have a lawsuit pending against SOS, claim they were exposed to hazardous chemicals through the water supply. State and county health officials have said there is no evidence tying the SOS chemicals to the deaths. Local water officials said the family was on the public water system, not a private well.

Last month, state and local health officials tried to assure more than 200 residents at a public meeting that the contamination at SOS had not spread beyond the plant. The officials promised to hold another meeting where residents could question medical experts. Jo Anne Darcy, an aide to Supervisor Mike Antonovich, said the meeting probably will be held in late August.