Pollutants Halt Work on 2 Parts of Busway

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority suspended construction on two portions of its San Fernando Valley busway Friday after finding hazardous levels of arsenic and lead in soil samples taken along the 14-mile route.

The discovery, confirmed by recently completed lab tests, led the transit agency to order its contractor to fence off areas where soil samples were taken to keep workers and the public from danger, MTA officials said. The areas are expected to be fenced off this morning.

The $330-million busway is being built on top of dormant rail tracks that were in operation for more than 100 years.

On the route, MTA testers found hazardous levels of arsenic -- 546 parts per million, 46 parts higher than the legal threshold -- near Victory Boulevard and Drake Place. At another location, near Victory Boulevard and Topham Street, testers found 1,110 parts per million of lead, 110 parts above the legal limit.

MTA construction chief Rick Thorpe said the agency was working with the California Environmental Protection Agency to dispose of the contamination. He said hazardous materials are commonly found on old rail routes.

Thorpe said the agency was deeply concerned about the contamination, but he played down the potential impacts on the public. “We don’t want people to get too concerned -- contamination is everywhere throughout Los Angeles,” he said.

“I don’t think it’s anything major,” he added. But “I’d advise not to eat the dirt.”

Cleaning up the contaminants is not expected to delay the busway, which is expected to open in 2005, officials said.

Toxic expert Sayareh Amir, regional chief of cleanup operations for the state Department of Toxic Substances Control, said the arsenic levels were alarming.

“Five-hundred forty-six is really quite high,” said Amir. “Nine to 11 parts per million is usually what we find in the environment in Southern California.”

Amir said the arsenic poses a danger to children who might play on the exposed dirt. She added, however, that as long as children are kept from the construction site, residents living in the area should not be overly concerned.

“It’s localized,” said Amir, who expressed less concern about the lead contamination. “We will keep an eye on what the MTA is doing. They should be able to clean this up.”