Readers React: If Porter Ranch is safe, Gas Co. execs should move there to prove it

To the editor: I’m guessing that if the gas leak near Porter Ranch is too much for children attending nearby public schools to handle, it also is too much for their families. (“L.A. Unified will relocate Porter Ranch students and could sue over gas leak costs,” Dec. 17)

Years ago, some political leaders insisted that water from New Hampshire wells, known to be contaminated with the gasoline additive MTBE, was safe to drink. I challenged them to drink the water for 30 days and report their health findings in a timely fashion. No one did.

Today, I find myself making a similar challenge to the executives of the Southern California Gas Co. Despite reports of headaches and bloody noses, the company insists the health of Porter Ranch residents is not at risk.

If that’s true, then none of them should have a problem moving there to prove their point. Not next month or next spring. I mean now.

Talk is cheap, so let’s keep the pressure on Southern California Gas. I will be the first to publicly apologize if its executives move to Porter Ranch before Dec. 31.

Denny Freidenrich, Laguna Beach

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To the editor: Your photo of the Southern California Gas officials standing around and doing nothing is a prime example of why the residents of Porter Ranch should be livid with the way the company is addressing the leak.

If the gas company doesn’t become more proactive and fix the problem quickly, it is going to start making the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power look good.

Richard Whorton, Studio City

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