LOS ANGELES : Toxic Items to Be Taken From Ruins
Hazardous materials from buildings damaged during the Los Angeles riots will be hauled away by licensed contractors starting Friday.
City officials said Wednesday that inspections by county and city firefighters discovered hazardous materials in the ruins of 71 of 1,035 sites struck by arsonists. Toxic items ranged from solvents to used oil.
Lillian Y. Kawasaki, general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Environmental Affairs, said county officials estimate that it will take at least two weeks to remove the potentially dangerous substances. In the meantime, buildings that contain them have been cordoned off.
Kawasaki, who has been coordinating efforts to reduce environmental hazards created by the riots, said air monitors at a dumping site have not picked up dangerous levels of asbestos, a material previously used widely in construction and now believed to cause cancer when its fibers are inhaled.
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