EPA Warns 9 Firms They May Be Liable for Cleanup

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency this week notified owners of nine sites, including three locations in Glendale, that they may be held liable for a $25-million cleanup of contaminated ground water in south Glendale.

General notice letters mailed Monday identify companies considered responsible for polluting the water, EPA officials said. Investigations continue and more firms are expected to be named. Those found liable will be required to pay for the cleanup, which could take at least a dozen years.

In a separate cleanup proposal, the EPA in September named 35 businesses and property owners in Glendale and Burbank that may be ordered to help pay for a $36.4-million cleanup of contaminated ground water in northwest Glendale. More firms are expected to be added to that list.

Officials of several companies notified earlier have denied that they are responsible for contamination or have already taken action to purge toxins from their land.

Cleanup measures require drilling a series of shallow wells to pump contaminated water out of the ground to a plant where air-stripping towers remove industrial solvents from it. A treatment plant has been in operation in North Hollywood since 1989, and another is being built in Burbank.

Widespread contamination was found in the early 1980s in the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys, primarily caused by the unsafe disposal or leakage of industrial solvents over the last 50 years.

The contamination in south Glendale is in an industrial area between San Fernando Road and the Golden State Freeway (5), roughly south of Broadway. No water wells are located in the area, said Donald R. Froelich, Glendale water services administrator. A cleanup plant and towers will probably be located in Los Angeles, near Glendale’s borders.

Glendale sites identified by the EPA this week as suspected contributors include a vacant facility at 540 San Fernando Road, which is owned by Robert W. Stevenson of Glendale; Drilube, 711 W. Broadway, and Griffin Printing and Lithograph, 544 W. Colorado St.

Six Los Angeles sites are Admiral Controls, 4516 Cutter St.; Benco Enterprises, 4600 Brazil St.; Datron, 4585 Electronics Place; Greeff Fabrics, 4000 Chevy Chase Drive; North American Philips, 4561 Colorado Blvd., and Sterer Engineering and Manufacturing, 4690 Colorado Blvd.