Many of Altadena’s standing homes still contaminated after cleanup

More than half of the homes still standing in the area where ash from the Eaton Fire settled had significant lead contamination, even after extensive interior remediation efforts, according to new discoveries grassroots advocacy group Eaton Fire Residents United announced Thursday. Additionally, a third of the rehabilitated homes tested positive for asbestos.

The results from 50 homes located in and downwind of Eaton’s burned area provide the first widespread evidence that remediation techniques advocated by insurance companies and public health officials did not adequately remove contaminants deposited by the fire.

Long-term exposure to asbestos increases the risk of developing mesothelioma and other cancers, and long-term exposure to lead can cause permanent brain damage, especially in children, leading to developmental delays and behavioral problems. No level of exposure to lead and asbestos is without risk of adverse health effects.

“This is a community-wide problem,” said Nicole Maccalla, head of data science at EFRU. “No matter what corrective measure you use, a single pass does not establish authorization based on the data we have, which means it is not yet safe to return home.”

That’s a problem given that many residents who have been staying elsewhere are returning home, especially those whose insurance money for temporary housing is running out. EFRU leaders encourage residents to test their homes after remediation work and, if results show contamination, to continue remediation and testing until lab results come back clean.

The EFRU – born in January out of frustration that no level of government was adequately addressing Altadena residents’ environmental health concerns – began by asking owners of standing homes to share the results of tests they had ordered from professional laboratories before and after remediation.

In March, the EFRU was the first to publish complete results from inside homes that had not yet been remediated: Of the 53 professional testing reports that homeowners shared with the organization, every household that tested for lead found it.

A similar process was used for this latest post-rehabilitation report. The owners hired testing professionals to come collect samples and perform tests in certified laboratories, then they shared those results with the EFRU. The organization then collated them into a database to give a broader view of contamination in unoccupied homes than a single test could show.

Of the 50 homes included in the EFRU report, 45 were tested for lead, and 43 of those had at least some level of lead contamination.

Of the 18 homes in which professionals specifically tested window sills for lead, nine exceeded the level at which the Environmental Protection Agency typically requires additional remedial action. And of the 24 homes tested specifically for lead on floors, 15 exceeded the EPA’s remediation level.

There are no official EPA remediation levels for asbestos dust on surfaces. However, asbestos dust was found in nine of the 25 homes tested in the EFRU report. The average concentration in these homes was significantly higher than the point-in-time sanitation level used by the EPA in New York after 9/11.

“The number of homes tested is still very small, but given that most homes have been remediated by professional companies, we would expect all homes to be below the EPA level,” said François Tissot, a geochemistry professor at Caltech who began testing standing homes after the Eaton Fire damaged his. “It’s the promise of professional remediation.”

The EFRU is now calling on the California Department of Insurance to implore insurers to cover testing and, if necessary, multiple rounds of corrective action. The group is also calling on Gov. Gavin Newsom to declare an “ash zone,” which would formally recognize the impact of smoke and ash from the fire beyond the immediate burn area.

An ash zone, according to the EFRU, would raise public awareness of health concerns and ease some of the burden on individual residents who must prove to insurance companies that their home has been affected.

The Insurance Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Tissot, which is not involved with the EFRU but is in communication with the group, previously found that wiped surfaces contained about 90% less lead than those left untouched since the fire. This made the EFRU’s findings particularly surprising.

“To see that we’re not even getting to 50 percent with professional remediation is pretty alarming,” he said.

While state and federal officials, working with researchers, have developed playbooks for combating contamination of drinking water systems and soils after wildfires, remediating standing houses is something of a Wild West.

Instead of a central government agency working to ensure that indoor sanitation follows a research-based recovery approach, a revolving door of adjusters and a mix of sanitation specialists with very different levels of qualifications and expertise have established different policies and standards for each home.

The EFRU reviews test results primarily carried out by industrial hygienists, who specialize in identifying and assessing environmental health risks, most often in workplaces such as manufacturing facilities and hospitals.

In its review, the EFRU found that many tests did not even look for the presence of lead or asbestos – despite the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. clearly a warning that both contaminants are known problems in the post-fire area. Those who have tested for asbestos have often used less sensitive methods that may underestimate levels.

EFRU hopes to work with researchers and officials to develop an indoor contamination control manual, like those that exist for drinking water and soil, designed to help residents recover quickly and safely.

“We need a coordinated effort from all the different agencies with elected officials — either through legislation or through pressure,” said Dawn Fanning, who leads EFRU’s advocacy work. “We can find answers for these residents and for future wildfires. »