Lawmakers demand EPA action on troubled cleanup of lead-contaminated L.A.-area homes

A worker sprays water on a pile of soil as part of lead remediation project near the former Exide battery recycling plant. Amid California’s long struggle to hold an industrial polluter accountable and remove lead contamination from neighborhoods southeast of downtown Los Angeles, members of Congress are now calling on the federal Environmental Protection Agency to assist in the troubled cleanup of areas surrounding the closed Exide battery recycling plant — the largest and most costly effort in California history. California California’s biggest environmental cleanup leaves lead contamination and frustration Numerous homes that underwent remediation have been left with lead concentrations in excess of state health standards, according to USC researchers. The state will continue to pursue all avenues to advance these efforts and protect public health.” Last year, the California Environmental Protection Agency had formally requested that the federal government put the plant and its surrounding neighborhoods onto a Superfund listing, saying it would “help protect people and workers in the environmental justice communities surrounding the facility by bringing in federal resources and expertise to help address toxic levels of lead in their environment.” For nearly a century, the battery recycling plant operated near the banks of the Los Angeles River in the city of Vernon, belching poisons such as lead and arsenic into the air. In a statement, Padilla said it was “time for the EPA to step up” and “take action to finally provide justice and guarantee a healthy environment for our communities.” He added that there has been “misstep after misstep by just about everyone involved following Exide’s crimes that forced communities in Southeast Los Angeles to live with toxic pollution that continues to poison their families.” The newly elected Garcia, who represents the area, said the importance of the issue was brought home to him during his campaign, when resident after resident in Commerce, Maywood, and other communities around Exide told him that they had concerns about how the cleanup was going and felt left behind.