Cleanup of Trailer Park Set in Motion

The cleanup of Ace Trailer Park has finally started, nearly three years after a dangerous chemical was first found in the Gardena park’s soil and two years after it was discovered in the carpets of about 20 homes there.

The removal of polychlorinated biphenyls is expected to be finished by February, said Jeanne Garcia, spokeswoman for the state Department of Toxic Substances Control.

The work, which will be performed by Honeywell International and overseen by the DTSC, will require the demolition of 24 trailers and the replacement of 2 feet of topsoil, she said.

Workers last week started erecting chain-link fences and plywood to seal off the contaminated area in the southern portion of the park in the 17000 block of South Western Avenue.

It’s not clear how the substance, known as PCBs — once used as a coolant, lubricant, and insulation in electronics — got to the park. From 1953 to 1991, a Honeywell factory that made heating and air conditioning controls operated adjacent the trailer park where the Gardena Marketplace shopping center now sits.

But Honeywell is not admitting responsibility. Honeywell stated when the plant closed that it cleaned up the property and tested the soil, which was deemed safe by the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board.

Still, the company agreed to conduct the cleanup, and pay up to about $82,000 per home for temporary or permanent relocation of the residents on the park’s southern side.

Only about two dozen of the park’s 79 units were tagged for relocation.

The delay in starting the remediation was caused by the effort to relocate residents. About 20 homeowners negotiated a buyout and a few negotiated a price to temporarily relocate with a guaranteed right of return, Honeywell spokeswoman Victoria Streitfeld said in an e-mail.

In January there were still two holdouts. They finally agreed to temporarily relocate within the past month, Streitfeld said.

Rogelio Rodriguez was one of homeowners on the north side who wasn’t offered relocation expenses. Many of those residents have joined in a class-action lawsuit against Honeywell and the park.

For the next four months, Rodriguez will be able to monitor the cleanup that will take place across a narrow asphalt driveway.

“I just want them to take care of it,” said Rodriguez, 34, a salesman. “They tell us to not let our kids play in the grass and don’t eat the vegetables we grow. And the trucks will be traveling right here down this street.”

Others are upset the process has taken so long.

“It’s been more than a year and they are just getting started,” said Luis Acevedo, 19, who works at Little Caesar’s Pizza. “I heard there was some chemical in the ground that caused people to get diseases or something.”

Honeywell and DTSC officials claim the process is safe for the remaining residents.

Certified and trained contractors under the oversight of the state will perform the work, Streitfeld said. Systems will monitor air during the process and work will stop immediately if air- monitoring results exceed the levels established by state regulations.

The results will be posted online at www.GardenaRemediation.com. They should also be posted on a bulletin board at the park, according to a DTSC work order.

For the next six weeks, all vacant trailers will be removed and utilities to these trailers will be disconnected, the DTSC stated. Then the contaminated soil will be removed — another six-week process.

PCBs bind strongly to soil, do not break down easily and travel long distances in the air. Known health effects include cancer, skin rashes, liver problems and dangers to unborn children.

To minimize blowing dirt, water will be sprayed on exposed soil, soil piles will be covered at night and soil loaded onto trucks will be covered with a tarp.

Trucks also will stay on paved roads to prevent tires from coming into contact with contaminated soil and vehicles will be inspected before they leave the work area. Vehicles that come into contact with contaminated soil will be cleaned before leaving.

Soil tests will be performed to ensure that all of the PCB contamination has been removed. Then clean soil will be brought onto the site and the park will be restored.