After the Castaic and Val Verde areas have been plagued by odors and potentially cancer-causing chemicals emanating from the Chiquita Canyon Landfill for more than a year, the Castaic Union School District is officially “standing up” for its community members.
The district’s governing board approved a resolution at Thursday’s meeting that calls on the landfill and the task force of federal, state, regional and local agencies created by the federal Environmental Protection Agency working to determine the scope and nature of the problems to “determine, coordinate and implement specific actions to address and resolve the community concerns.”
Board member Laura Pearson said this does not signify the district going against the landfill, but “standing up for our community.” The board’s discussion spanned approximately two minutes.
The board was set to approve a similar resolution last month, but Superintendent Bob Brauneisen requested that it be tabled to include new findings from the EPA. The findings revealed June 4, the latest in a series of violations following more than 2,000 complaints from the community per month, stated that the violations “have caused or can cause excess emissions of hydrogen sulfide, volatile hazardous air pollutants (‘VHAP’), and volatile organic compounds (‘VOC’) including methane; and that excess emissions of hydrogen sulfide (‘H2S’), volatile hazardous air pollutants (‘VHAP’), and volatile organic compounds (‘VOC’) have been identified near the landfill.”
Hydrogen sulfide, according to EPA data in the resolution, “can lead to irritation, headaches, nausea and respiratory stress, and that hydrogen sulfide also significantly contributes to local odor nuisances reducing surrounding quality of life,” while VOCs and methane contribute to ground-level ozone formation. Breathing ozone “contributes to a variety of health problems including chest pain, coughing, throat irritation and congestion … can worsen bronchitis, emphysema and asthma … (and) ground-level ozone can also reduce lung function and inflame lung tissue.”
Repeated exposure to ozone could potentially lead to permanent lung tissue damage, the resolution added.
Meanwhile, VHAP emissions are liable to lead to “cancer, respiratory irritation and damage to the nervous system.”
The resolution also relays the community’s “right to clean air and a safe living, learning and working environment,” among other concerns.
“The board urges the operator (Chiquita) and task force to, without further delay, implement appropriate mitigation measures to address the concerns indicated in this resolution and the ongoing impacts on the district’s community,” the resolution reads.
The landfill, owned and operated by Texas-based Waste Connections Inc., has already paid for upgraded carbon air filters for each of the district’s school sites along with portable air purifiers, in addition to those already purchased by the district.
Students are also allowed to remain indoors at all times, with adult supervision.
