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Toxins found in Los Cerritos wetlands threaten to quash land swap: EPA requires more study of the area after tests find 2,000 times the recommended level of carcinogenic PCBs

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on November 17, 2009 at 7:31 am

los cerritosFrom the Los Angeles Times:

“A tipster’s recollection of a hazardous substance spill in Los Cerritos Wetlands in the 1950s has led to the discovery of elevated levels of carcinogenic PCBs that could derail a controversial proposal to restore the degraded Long Beach salt marsh, officials say.

The Environmental Protection Agency is scheduled to present the results of its study of the contamination to the Long Beach City Council today.

“The informant, who wishes to remain anonymous, was an apprentice electrician in his late teens in the early 1950s,” said EPA spokesman Robert Wise. “He remembered seeing some transformers leaking hazardous chemicals out there and said it was something we need to be concerned about.”

Soil testing revealed PCB levels as high as 21 parts per million in certain locations — 2,000 times higher than state and federally recommended ecological levels, Wise said. … “

Read more from the Los Angeles Times by clicking here.

November 17, 2009 · Filed Under Southern California

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