Gas Company Picketed Over Storage of Toxic Waste

Two dozen Pico Rivera residents picketed the Southern California Gas Co. headquarters in downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday to protest the storage of toxic waste in their neighborhood.

Anticipating a deregulation of the utility as early as next year, demonstrators threatened to organize a boycott of the company unless it removes all hazardous chemicals from its Pico Rivera plant.

“The message today: Southern California Gas Co., you’re losing your customers in Pico Rivera and the surrounding cities,” protest organizer Suzana Tapia said.

She and many of her neighbors have opposed the presence of dangerous chemicals in the city since last September, when they learned that the company had shipped barrels of waste in and out of the city for more than a decade. The state Department of Toxic Substances Control renewed the storage permit last week after reviewing the company’s spotless record at the site.

Soon after the protesters had left, a gas company representative emerged from the 5th Street building to remind reporters of the company’s efforts to calm residents, including an information hotline, two public hearings and tours of the facility.

“We’ve done everything we could to work with [residents],” spokeswoman Akila Gibbs said. “We really want people to feel safe.”

Nevertheless, residents have expressed fears that chemicals such as polychlorinated biphenyls, arsenic and mercury could spill in the event of a catastrophe. Of particular concern, they say, is the cancer risk to schoolchildren whose playground lies about 1,100 feet from the fenced and guarded storage site.

The protesters have been without the support of Pico Rivera officials, who reached an agreement with the company to limit the amount of waste at the plant to 200 55-gallon barrels, except in cases of emergency or by prior notice. The state permit allows 1,100 barrels.