Leaks and a Letter: The Toxic Waste Battle Heats Up : Assembly Democrats Cite Seeping Chemicals at 6 State Dumps in Calling for ‘Changes’

SACRAMENTO — All six of the dumps in California for disposal of high-level hazardous wastes fail to meet state and federal standards and may themselves require extensive cleanup in the future, a report released Thursday by Assembly Democrats charges.

Without directly attacking Republican Gov. George Deukmejian, the lawmakers blamed his Administration for failing to address major problems of leaking toxic chemicals, bothersome odors and inadequate insurance coverage at the privately run disposal sites.

The six facilities are the only sites in the state permitted to store and treat the most dangerous of toxic wastes, including chemicals transferred from such notorious dumps as the Stringfellow Acid Pits near Riverside.

The report, prepared by the Assembly Office of Research, cites numerous examples of toxic multicolored chemicals found oozing from landfills intended to contain them.

The legislative researchers, who based their findings on recent records of state and federal regulators, also complained of inadequate testing of water near the disposal sites. In the case of the newest facility, in Imperial County, the records showed extensive cracks and fractures that could allow liquid wastes to leak into ground water.

“By allowing all of California’s hazardous waste disposal facilities to operate in violation of state and federal standards, the state has exposed thousands of companies to potential long-term liabilities that could cost millions of dollars,” charged Assembly Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco) in a statement released with the report.

Said Assemblywoman Lucy Killea (D-San Diego), who had asked for the study: “Without drastic changes in the way we manage hazardous wastes, today’s hazardous waste disposal facilities will be tomorrow’s cleanup sites.”

But Administration officials were quick to defend their record, pointing to increased efforts to enforce existing laws and arguing that public health has not been endangered by the continued operation of the six sites.

“I think this report in an election year is not unexpected,” said state Department of Health Services spokesman William Ihle. “What it seems to be saying is we need to be spending more time and energy on finding alternative technology (for reducing or destroying hazardous waste).”

He noted that this year the state will spend $4 million to develop and promote alternative technology. And Deukmejian is the sponsor of a proposed $150-million bond issue that would include an additional $27 million to develop the means for eliminating the land disposal of untreated toxic waste. The bond measure is snagged in the Assembly.

Confirms Earlier Study

Ihle denied that the state has been lax in making sure that the major disposal sites meet current standards for dump sites. “We’ve been enforcing existing laws and moving toward laws that (will go into effect) in 1988,” he said.

The Assembly report confirms and updates an earlier study by environmental groups, including the Sierra Club and the Environmental Defense Fund, that concluded a year ago that there was no longer anywhere to go for the safe disposal of the most toxic chemical wastes.

The legislative study noted that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has barred the state from moving heavily contaminated soil and water from Superfund cleanup sites to any of the six disposal facilities operating in California because none meets all licensing standards.

As a result, the state has been forced to dispose of the hazardous waste at disposal sites in other states.

The Assembly study reviewed problems at these high-level hazardous waste sites: Casmalia Resources in Santa Barbara County; Petroleum Waste Inc. near Bakersfield; Chemical Waste Management in Kettleman Hills, north of Bakersfield; and three facilities operated by International Technology, at Martinez and Benicia near San Francisco Bay and at Westmorland in Imperial County.

Of the six, only the Petroleum Waste facility has a final operating permit. It is also the only disposal site to meet the state’s financial responsibility and insurance requirements. But even there, state health officials found evidence that chemicals are leaking from the site and that the soil is not dense enough to stop the flow of toxic chemicals, the report said.