SPECIAL REPORT: Residents demand toxic area be removed from their neighborhood

The 11-acre former PureGro facility, owned by Chevron, on River Drive in Brawley was closed down 19 years ago. It sits just a few feet away from a neighborhood and only a couple of blocks away from schools with hundreds of children.

Brawley resident Eric Reyes said, “This was a former chemical producing for pesticides site where they actually made the pesticides and stored them back since the 1940s.”

Brawley residents have been expressing their concerns about the area for years, prompting a report by the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) released in 2004.

The report revealed the area contains about 15,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil stockpiled within it.

The report also said the area tested positive for chemicals known as DDD, DOT, DDE, Chlordane and Endrin. According to the report, they can cause liver dysfunction, central nervous system disorders, neonatal mortality, and chromosome damage. Poisoning can happen through ingestion, inhalation, or skin contact. Some of these chemicals are now banned in the U.S.

Brawley resident Jerry Gauna said he has collected over 400 signatures from concerned people in the community.

“Kids walk through here. They’re either going to elementary school or going to the high school which is another two blocks the other way. And when they come and play out here, this empty ground out here, look where they’re playing at, contaminated dirt,” Gauna said.

“Winds can pick up – we have westerly winds mainly – and drift into the community, into the residents’ home. We’re right across the street from a residential area,” Reyes said.
The community has met with officials from the city, DTSC and Chevron, in a series of ongoing town hall meetings demanding a safe solution.

“Remove all the contaminated soil and then bring the property back to a residential level which is the safest level and therefore eliminating any lingering issues with the site,” Reyes said.

Brawley Council Member Sam Couchman said the city is closely monitoring the ongoing situation, listening to the community and sharing their concerns with the state as well as Chevron officials.

“They may be frustrated and they may be worried and I don’t necessarily blame them. They’ve lived with this quite a few years and they live across the street or they live in close proximity to this site. So, I don’t blame them for their emotions and their frustrations. However, there’s a process that we have to go through in government, and there’s a process that we have to go through to insure the site is safely mitigated, that the site is safely cleaned up and I think right now we’re going through that process, and I think we’re making headway. But it takes time and I think people need to realize that,” Couchman said.

Peter Garcia, DTSC Southern California, said they’re on top of the situation, working with chevron.

“Our role is to oversee the cleanup that is performed and that it’s to a level that is protective of public health. It’s our role to require chevron to do a proper cleanup and we intend to do our job to our best ability,” Garcia said.
Jacklyn Kruziec, Chevron Public Affairs, said there’s no danger to public health while the cleanup is being worked out.

“There was a human health risk assessment prepared for this site. That study showed that the soil present at the site is not harmful to residents living or working nearby,” Kruziec said.

Kruziec said Chevron’s study was done under DTSC control.

“Looking at the potential impacts of dust exposure to residents. That study found that the risk of exposure to pose a health risk was very low,” Kruziec said.

But some residents have no confidence in the study.

“Oh, no. Whoever they put they did it for what they want. They got the money, they’ll get the report they want,” Gauna said.

Jose Luis Olmedo, Director of Comite Civico del Valle, a local environmental group, said DTSC should do more.

“We hope that this becomes a priority, that these types of toxic sites get cleaned up and the department of toxics is held accountable. There needs to be new leadership. Clearly, nothing has happened. They are the authority. They need to learn how to exercise their authority. If they don’t know how to fully implement then that means that they’re not the right people to be sitting in these executive positions and the enforcement positions,” Olmedo said.

Even though the DTSC report appeared 15 years ago, it’s still not known when the cleanup will take place or start.

“I don’t think there’s any fixed dates right now for the next step. However, we’re working towards that, there’s some discussions that are ongoing right now and hopefully within the next several months we’ll have positive plans on the table and we’ll be able to deal with this situation,” Couchman said.

“Hopefully, in the next four to six months we’ll see some kind of progress out there,” Garcia said.

“The next step is that we’ll work with the DTSC on a revised remedial action plan that will consider cleanup options for the site,” Kruziec said.

But, the some in the community said their frustration is increasing.

“I think they’re beating around the bush when it’s very simple. We demand full cleanup, full removal of contaminated soil and cap it, and that’s it,” Ramon Castro said.

Castro said the community plans to continue putting pressure on the city, DTSC and Chevron until the matter is resolved.

The DTSC report can be downloaded at the following link:

https://www.dtsc.ca.gov/SiteCleanup/Projects/upload/PureGro_ENF_ISE_Order.pdf