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<\/p>\nNearly one month after a fire destoyed a massive cold-storage facility in Boyle Heights, the neighborhood has been overcome by the stomach-churning stench of rotting food.<\/p>\n
As facility operator Lineage Logistics works to remove over 85 million tons of weeks-old food from its 500,000-square-feet warehouse, the rancid odors have attracted throngs of rats and swarms of flies, as a foul-smelling brownish liquid pours from the seams of the building. <\/p>\n
Now, with a heat wave descending over much of Southern California, residents worry the odor could get even worse and scores of residents have called air quality regulators to complain. At the same time, environmental groups are accusing Lineage representatives and emergency responders of downplaying the risks pose by chemicals released during the fire. <\/p>\n
Boyle Heights, a neighborhood that has been subjected to decades of toxic pollution from rail yards and other industries, has again become the center of attention of another environmental disaster. Already, the official response to the Lineage fire has eroded trust in government agencies, residents say.<\/p>\n
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Remediation work continues at a Linage Logistics facility in Boyle Heights, where residents and nearby businesses have complained of a rotting food odor for weekes. <\/p>\n
(Allen J. Schaben\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, Sen. Alex Padilla visited the gutted warehouse alongside L.A. Fire Chief Jaime Moore, and representatives of the South Coast Air Quality Management District and a contingent of environmental organizations. Padilla, along with U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff and Rep. Jimmy Gomez, wrote a letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, calling on the federal agency return to the cleanup zone to monitor air and water quality.<\/p>\n
\u201cGiven the materials present in the warehouse, we are concerned about the long-term health and environmental impacts from contaminated smoke and water runoff on communities surrounding the warehouse,\u201d the letter read.<\/p>\n
Joe Lyou, president of nonprofit Coalition for Clean Air, told Sen. Padilla that he has heard of people becoming sick in the weeks after the event. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think that pointed to a problem with the messaging while the event first happened,\u201d Lyou said. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t consistent [with] if you smell smoke, see ash to get out and protect yourself \u2014 make sure you\u2019re not exposed to it. There were different messages coming from different people, and we need to fix that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe whole community was completely overwhelmed … and concerned about the ammonia, concerned about burning plastic, concerned about all sorts of other [emissions] that are really hard, difficult, expensive to measure. But… we\u2019ll just never know some of those things,\u201d Lyou said.<\/p>\n
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Street vendor Lupe Gonzalez pushes her cart away from a gutted warehouse in Boyle Heights. <\/p>\n
(Allen J. Schaben\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n
Padilla\u2019s visit follows a notice of violation that the South coast Air Quality Management District issued to Lineage. The notice of violation was issued on July 12th, after the agency received more than 40 public complaints of rotten, sour, garbage-type odors in the area. Inspectors confirmed the odors with community members, and traced them back to cleanup operations at the facility, according to the air quality agency.<\/p>\n
Boyle Heights residents are calling on Gov. Gavin Newsom to declare a mandatory evacuation of their community, saying the fire and the toxic aftermath are continuing to pose health risks.<\/p>\n
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