Study Points to the Toxics Among Us : Environment: The group behind the compilation of statistics hopes San Diegans will use the information to fight the pollution that may be hidden in their own back yards.

Millions of pounds of toxic chemicals and gases are used, stored and disposed of throughout San Diego county each year, some of them in crowded residential neighborhoods, according to a report released Thursday that urges communities to demand that their industrial neighbors help prevent pollution.

The report, compiled by the San Diego Environmental Health Coalition, states that 20 companies in the San Diego area generate 70% of the more than 214 million pounds of hazardous waste made in the county each year. In addition, the report said, companies store more than 500 million pounds of toxic chemicals and more than 9 million cubic feet of toxic gases around the region, from Chula Vista and Oceanside to La Jolla and Ramona.

In short, the report says, toxics are everywhere.

“This report shatters any illusions that any of us might have had that toxics are somebody else’s problem,” Diane Takvorian, the coalition’s executive director, said at a news conference in Barrio Logan, the San Diego neighborhood where the most hazardous waste is generated. “It is saying people have a right to know and a right to act.”

The report, titled “Communities at Risk: Your Right to Know About Toxics in San Diego,” is the first comprehensive compilation of local, state and federal statistics on hazardous materials. It is also the first-ever ranking of companies that generate and store toxics and of the communities where those companies reside.

The information is intended, Takvorian said, to inspire San Diegans to find out about the often hidden dangers in their own back yards--the toxic chlorine and arsine gases; the heavy metals, like lead, mercury and zinc; the carcinogens, like chromium and arsenic. Even if the companies deal responsibly with the materials, she said, the more toxics there are, the greater the chance that an accident could occur.

Joy Williams, the primary author of the report, agreed.

“Even a well-managed facility can have an accident,” she said. “And, when they’re located right on top of a community and there are workers involved, there’s nothing to prevent them from being hurt.”

The report documents 179 accidents involving hazardous chemicals that occurred between 1983 and 1989--a non-comprehensive sampling that Williams says is probably incomplete. Members of the public and workers were exposed to chemicals in 48 of those incidents, and in 31 others employees only were exposed, the report said.

“We need to move these toxics away from people,” Takvorian concluded, adding that, if companies are not able to reduce the volume and the toxicity of the materials they use, “they may need to move. We’re not trying to put them out of business, but we want them to be good neighbors.”

Part of being a good corporate neighbor, the report said, is creating strong pollution prevention plans, reducing the use of hazardous chemicals by changing manufacturing processes or reformulating products and using good housekeeping measures to prevent the dissemination of toxics. In addition, the report calls for local industries to commit themselves to eliminate their discharge of toxics to the air, land and water by the year 2000.

Of the top 20 waste generating companies, the report found four--National Steel & Shipbuilding Co., Rohr Industries, Southwest Marine and Pacific Steel--generated more than the other 16 combined.

Fred Hallett, a vice president at Nassco, the top-ranked waste generator, said his company supports the coalition’s goals.

“When you see a can of paint today, you can’t just throw it in the trash. We in industry have to appreciate the same things,” he said. “But to say that we handle the most (hazardous materials) doesn’t mean that we are the most reckless or inappropriate in the manner we handle it. We have what we believe are very sound procedures to protect our employees, the community and the environment.”

Doug Baliss, the district representative of the Iron Workers’ Union who was in Barrio Logan Thursday to support the report, said that indeed, Nassco has developed tighter inventory controls to reduce the amount of paints and solvents stored at the shipyards and has developed good systems to protect its workers from exposure.

Jerry Broening, a spokesman for Rohr Industries, the Chula Vista-based aerospace manufacturer, said his company has also made strides.

“I think we’ve made great progress in the last few years,” he said. “I don’t think our feelings will be hurt at all by the report, because those are our objectives as well.”

Of the 15 communities where the most hazardous waste is generated, the report found three--Barrio Logan, Chula Vista and National City--have more waste than the other 12 combined.

That came as no surprise to Al Ducheny, chairman of the Harborview Community Council, a group of Logan Heights/Barrio Logan residents.

“This place has been a dump for many, many years,” he said, adding that his group has actively opposed the expansion of Pacific Treatment Division, a hazardous waste handler in the area. “These industries are really incompatible with the community. They’re too dangerous. We can’t take chances with our families.”

Maria Riveroll, a member of the Mt. Hope-Helix Heights Residents Assn., said the most important thing about the report is that it will remind communities to get involved.

“This report indeed will do its job by encouraging community members to stand up,” she said. Not so long ago, she said, California Creative Dynamics, a metals-treatment firm near her home, was found to be dumping chemical wastes into a storm drain and allowing a caustic mist to waft off the property.

The trees died on the street, Riveroll said, and some of her neighbors broke out in skin rashes. Some had respiratory infections.

“But sometimes you just take that as a bad cold or allergy, not realizing that they could be caused by the industry right next to you,” she said.

The coalition has printed bulletins for the top 15 communities where hazardous waste is generated. Those brief reports are available for free for Barrio Logan, Chula Vista, National City, Downtown San Diego, Tierra Santa/Serra Mesa, Mira Mesa/Sorrento Valley, Linda Vista, Oceanside, Spring Valley, La Jolla/Pacific Beach, Santee, El Cajon, Escondido, Carlsbad and Southeast San Diego. A brief countywide report is also available for free and the complete report for the county is $10.

The report was based primarily on data from the County Department of Health Services Hazardous Materials Management Division and from the federal Environmental Protection Agency. The county data base contains information that was compiled in 1987, 1988 and 1989 on 8,300 facilities. The EPA data was from 1987 and 1988.

TOP 15 COMMUNITIES--HAZARDOUS WASTE GENERATION (IN POUNDS) 1. Barrio Logan: 62,958,357 2. Chula Vista: 35,081,093 3. National City: 2,800,815 4. Downtown: 12,881,593 5. Tierrasanta/Serra Mesa: 10,242,372 6. Mira Mesa/Sorrento Valley: 8,673,933 7. Linda Vista: 7,197,283 8. Oceanside: 6,203,043 9. Spring Valley: 5,638,013 10. La Jolla/Pacific Beach: 5,095,184 11. Santee: 4,165,161 12. El Cajon: 3,686,952 13. Escondido: 3,403,401 14. Carlsbad: 2,626,588 15. Southeast San Diego: 2,487,365 SAN DIEGO COUNTY’S TOP 20 HAZARDOUS WASTE GENERATORS

Pounds Company ZIP per year Nassco 92113 36,213,800 Rohr Industries Inc 92010 32,796,915 Southwest Marine Inc 92113 24,184,088 Pacific Steel Inc 92050 21,916,490 Moore Finishing Div 92078 4,803,860 Gen Dynamics-Convair Div 92101 4,416,398 Caspian Inc 92123 3,098,000 Campbell Industries 92101 2,947,920 Stratagene Cloning Systems 92037 2,400,616 Advanced Membrane Tech 92126 2,400,000 Deutsch Co 92054 2,118,320 USMC Base Disb. Officer 92055 2,026,215 J & P Enterprises 92071 2,001,000 Calbiochem Corp 92037 1,469,740 Industrial Circuits 92126 1,393,200 Sony Manufacturing Co 92127 1,382,600 Teledyne Ryan Aeronautical 92101 1,327,570 El Dorado Sandblasting Co 92113 1,301,760 Equality Plating Co 92041 1,254,596 Solar Turbines 92101 1,204,477