Chemicals Found in Ground at Jail : Castaic: Routine soil tests turn up unknown contamination in a canyon about two miles from the nearest dormitory at the 8,000-inmate facility.

Chemicals that authorities may have seized from drug labs and buried in the 1970s were found Tuesday at the county jail site in Castaic, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said.

The chemicals were found during a routine soil testing in a remote canyon, off limits to inmates, southwest of a landfill at the site of the Peter J. Pitchess Honor Rancho, Deputy John Ashley said. The chemicals have not been identified but are not considered an immediate health risk, he said.

“We’re still trying to find out what’s there,” Ashley said. “Any chemical that is unknown is considered hazardous--even if we just found motor oil.”

The county Department of Health Services has been asked to conduct additional tests to identify the chemicals, Sgt. Ron Spear said.

“There’s something in the soil,” Spear said. “Whether or not it’s toxic is why we have called Health Services.”

Authorities said the source of the contamination may be chemicals confiscated during raids on illicit drug labs in the 1970s, although they said it is unclear whether the Sheriff’s Department did indeed bury such chemicals in the canyon.

“They’re not sure what was buried there,” Ashley said.

No prisoners at the 2,800-acre jail facility have complained of any illnesses related to the contamination, Ashley said. The canyon is about two miles from the nearest dormitory, the maximum-security North County Correctional Facility, and 1 1/2 miles from any other dormitories. The jail holds about 8,000 inmates and includes a variety of enterprises, including a dairy farm, laundry and bakery.