Companies to pay nearly $78M to clean California toxic sites

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Authorities say four companies will pay nearly $78 million to clean up contaminated groundwater at two Los Angeles-area toxic waste sites.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced that settlements approved last month will provide money to clean up the Montrose Chemical Corp. and Del Amo Superfund sites south of downtown Los Angeles.

Before it was closed in the 1980s, the Montrose site was the nation’s largest site for manufacturing the pesticide DDT. Authorities say people living nearby have been affected by contamination from the sites.