SOUTH BAY : Removal of DDT-Tainted Soil in Back Yards Begins
After weeks of delays, workers began removing DDT-contaminated soil on Thursday from two back yards near Torrance in a project ordered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
About 90 residents living close to the site have been moved to hotels at federal expense until the $350,000 project is completed in two weeks. That makes it one of the largest temporary relocations conducted by the EPA’s four-state western regional office, a spokeswoman said.
The agency announced the cleanup in March after its testing found unusually high levels of DDT in soil behind two homes on West 204th Street between Normandie and New Hampshire avenues. Federal experts remain mystified about the source of the DDT, which was detected at levels as much as 45 times above what is considered safe.
The project was to have begun more than three weeks ago, but residents protested cleanup plans and persuaded the EPA to expand the number of families to be relocated.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
