Fieldstone cleanup agreement reached; residents surveyed

Jose Paul Corona

An agreement as to who will clean up the contaminated portion of the

Bolsa Chica mesa known as the Fieldstone Property was reached, but

details will not be released until next week, state regulators said

Tuesday.

In the meantime, residents living near the area are being asked for

their input regarding the toxic site.

The Department of Toxic Substances Control sent out a letter and

survey Friday informing area residents of additional sampling set to take

place at a 1.5-acre section of the 42-acre site that is bordered by

Graham Street, Benkton Street and Falkirk Lane. The letter also asks to

hear of any questions and concerns from residents and included a survey

to be filled out.

The mailing is part of the community participation program, said

Jeanne Garcia a spokeswoman for the state agency.

“We just want to know how the community feels,” she said.

The letter is also meant to inform residents who might not be aware

about contamination at the site, Garcia said.

Residents are asked to return the survey by June 28.

Once all of the survey’s are returned, any issues raised will be

addressed in a community meeting, Garcia added.

The section of the Bolsa Chica Mesa, owned by developer Hearthside

Homes, contains high levels of PCBs, a cancer-causing substance found in

electrical transformers and hydraulic fluid.

Soil samples taken on the property from April 1999 to November 2001

showed PCB levels underground as high as 3,200 parts per million,

although the majority of the samples registered at less than 10 parts per

million.

Anything above one part per million is a concern, Garcia said. The

agency feels these levels may pose a health risk to the community. To

determine the exact risk, further testing needs to be conducted.

City Councilman Ralph Bauer has said that he has not heard of any

questions or complaints from the community.

Although the dangers are not immanent and the PCB levels vary, the

site needs to be cleaned up as soon as possible, he said.

“It has to be cleaned up,” Bauer said, “We would like the department

to exert all speed in correcting the problem.”

Hearthside Homes and toxics regulators are currently in negotiations

to work out an agreement as to cleanup responsibility of the site, Garcia

said.

Hearthside Homes fenced off the property, as ordered by the state on

Feb. 5, because neighborhood children were using it as a playground and

others as a path to the beach.

A daytime security guard was also hired to keep people off the site.

Hearthside Homes President Lucy Dunn refused to comment.

Though it isn’t known how the site became contaminated, evidence

suggests that the chemicals were illegally dumped there, Garcia said.

* JOSE PAUL CORONA covers City Hall and education. He can be reached

at (714) 965-7173 or by e-mail at o7 [email protected]