State Agrees to Pick Fireworks Disposal Site More Carefully

The detonation of nearly eight tons of illegal fireworks in a remote Antelope Valley quarry did not contaminate the soil or ground water, but future such events will have greater environmental safeguards, state fire officials said Tuesday.

Test results of soil sampling conducted by a private firm hired by the State Fire Marshal’s Office showed no harmful residues from the June 27 explosive display, intended to stress the dangers of illegal fireworks.

Local water officials had voiced concerns because the blast site was located in a prime ground-water recharge area for the valley.

However, state Deputy Fire Marshal Dave Walizer, who said that such environmental concerns had never been raised in prior fireworks explosions, predicted that future test sites will be selected more carefully.

The State Fire Marshal’s Office, along with Los Angeles County firefighters, piled cases of seized fireworks into the bottom of a 200-foot-deep gravel pit owned by Antelope Valley Aggregate Inc., located in the 7300 block of Avenue T, east of Palmdale.

The widely publicized explosion went off without a hitch. But fire officials later learned of the area’s role as a ground-water recharge spot from alarmed Palmdale Water District officials, who had not been notified of the detonation.

After reviewing the consultant’s test results Tuesday, water district General Manager Hal Fones said he was satisfied.

Based on analysis of the soil samples, the report by Converse Environmental West of Pasadena said: “It does not appear that the incineration of fireworks resulted in an appreciable amount of residual metals, chloride, nitrate or sulfide in soil.”

The report said that the removal of soil in the area is not required, according to a statement by state fire officials, who did not release the full report Tuesday.

According to Walizer, the soil showed detectable levels of four of 17 heavy metals being sought in the tests. The residues of copper, barium, vanadium and zinc were all far below hazardous levels and barely different from the amounts found in nearby soil not affected by the blast.