An oil refinery in Carson, California. (flickr: Thomas Hawk)
Assembly Member Warren Furutani recently held a Town Hall meeting for Carson Carousel residents. For the past five years residents have had their lives turned upside down since, in 2007, it was discovered that their homes were built on contaminated soil. Environmental testing revealed high levels of benzene and methane under hundreds of homes. The contamination was traced to Shell oil wells buried under the homes. Shell Oil Company operated a crude oil storage facility on the site from 1924 to 1966. The oil was stored in below-ground reservoirs lined with concrete, but some of that oil appears to have seeped into the soil and the groundwater.
Community members filled up the Wilmington Middle School cafeteria to voice their frustrations with their ongoing battle with Shell oil. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge William Highberger dismissed a negligence and nuisance lawsuit filed against Shell and the developers of the Carson Carousel housing tract. Representatives from the Los Angeles Water Quality Control Board, which is in charge of the clean-up efforts, say it won't be an easy task and may take up to ten years to complete. But many residents do not like the idea of having to wait that long for a solution.
Furutani introduced Assembly Bill 1207, which would protect consumers rights when exposed to pollutants or hazardous substance. The existing law doesn't allow people to sue for damages from personal property after 10 years. This bill would make an exception for those who've suffered personal injury from pollutants, toxins and other environmental problems
Furutani says it's important for residents to stay strong and let their voices be heard.
“You are David against Goliath; it doesn’t get bigger than Shell Oil,” Furutani says. “What is happening to this community shouldn’t happen to anyone, ever.”
Carson residents stepped forward to share heart-breaking stories. They talked about their health issues and their inability to move to a different area. They argued that many of their homes may be worthless due to the contamination. One man talked about his experience with the bank not wanting to modify his home loan after they found out about the contamination. He says he was reluctant to sell his house because the bank seemed more than willing to sell the house to a family regardless of the health risks. That is something he doesn’t want to allow.
Charita Escudero, a registered nurse, is one of the unlucky ones who bought her home after the contamination was discovered. She described how hard she worked to buy her dream home. She says she was not told about the contamination and only learned about it when a friend sent her a news article about it. Neither the real-estate agent nor the previous homeowner had to deal with any legal consequences. As a nurse, she explains, she knows the health implication of living in the Carousel.
“Now I’m stuck with this property,” Escudero says.
Ray Saffell describes how his wife, after spending lots of time gardening in their backyard, found out she had reproductive damage and was unable to have children.
Ridilyn Basco-Woodridge says her daughter was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 14. She is now 20 and participating in the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life as a survivor.
“You shouldn’t have to do that at 20,” says Basco-Woodridge.
Barbara Post, a Carson resident, described emotional stress and losing not just family, but pets as well.
“I have lost three dogs to cancer since I’ve lived in the Carousel,” Post says.
When asked, many others raised their hands to show how many of their pets also have cancer. Frustrated residents accused the Mayor of Carson, Jim Dear, of not doing anything to help them. Community members say that whenever they approach a government agency, they're told the problems are not under the agency's jurisdiction and are sent to another department.
Post’s final message to Shell, the City of Carson, and the Legal System was, “Get us the hell out before somebody else dies.”
Carson Carousel may not be the only community in danger. I live right by the Carousel in Wilmington and the health implications are very scary. Like many other people in the meeting, I doubt whether the pollution stops at the Carousel limits.
At around 2pm 6/6/2011, Tesoro of Wilmington CA had a power surge which cause a fire to break out at the Delayed Coking Unit (DCU). The 20 foot flames were extinguished. How many fires can this refinery have before the community's health and life are at risk?