EPA to Conduct New Soil Tests at Former Dump Site
Responding to residents’ concerns, federal toxic waste inspectors began a fresh round of soil testing this week at an abandoned dump site in Santa Fe Springs.
A project manager for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said the tests are intended to update data recorded as early as 1989, as well as expand the sample area across the 43-acre site near Los Nietos Road and Greenleaf Avenue.
While the agency will undertake most of the investigation, some testing will be conducted and funded by the 21 companies suspected of dumping carcinogenic waste at the site for possibly two decades beginning in the 1940s.
Depending on the test results, which are expected in the fall, project managers say they may decide to alter plans to build a $12-million cap on the site.
A design to cap the site was nearly complete about a year ago, when residents of nearby unincorporated South Whittier withheld their approval of the proposed remedy until they receive assurances that it removes any toxic threat.
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