A collective sigh of relief was expressed in the San Gabriel Valley after the Environmental Protection Agency announced it completes the removal of hazardous material from the Eaton Fire to an Irwindale landfill. Lolita Lopez reports for the NBC4 News at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025.
Phase 1 of hazardous material cleanup efforts have been completed following the destruction of the deadly Eaton Fire, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday.
The Lario staging area in Irwindale, where hazardous materials were sent to be processed, has also been deconstructed and new testing in the area will begin.
“We're going to do air monitoring until we are done here. So that's been continuous. And then the soil sampling that we're going to be doing is throughout the compound. It's paying particular attention to the areas where we were processing the material,” said Kelly. “If we do find something, we will clean that area up, re-sample it again.”
The remaining lithium batteries will be shipped for disposal in a couple of weeks, according to Brian Kelly, the EPA On-Scene Coordinator.
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Although the staging area is gone, community members remain concerned about the waterway that was located directly behind the site.
“Any accident it will go directly into the water aquifer. And I'm just concerned about that. There's already a Superfund down the San Gabriel River, El Monte, Baldwin Park,” said Lucia Atencio, who lives in Duarte.
The city of Duarte is requesting access to the Lario site testing data to independently audit soil and water samples.
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And the city of Azusa, another neighboring city, is working to ensure that there will be more long-term monitoring once the operation is gone.
“We're working with Senator Susan Rubio to work with Cal OIS to work on some type of insurance bond or some type of performance bond, some type of language that protects us financially if, down the road, there are things that happen,” said Robert Gonzales, Mayor of Azusa.
The Army Corp of Engineers is working to clean the hazardous materials in locations too dangerous for EPA crews to obtain.
