Los Angeles County is suing the owners and operators of the Chiquita Canyon Landfill in Castaic, claiming the site has released dangerous gases that are harming the health of local residents who have complained of headaches, breathing difficulties and heart problems.
The lawsuit filed Monday in federal court names Chiquita Canyon LLC, Chiquita Canyon Inc. and their parent company, Waste Connections US Inc., as defendants – detailing hundreds of violations issued by the South Coast Air Quality Management Agency and other government agencies and regulators. Earlier this year, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control released a summary of violations stating that benzene was among the chemicals released into the air, water and soil in the nearby area.
Benzene is classified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a human carcinogen and can cause headaches, drowsiness and irritation of the eyes, skin and respiratory tract through short-term exposure and inhalation. Chronic long-term exposure can lead to blood disorders and reproductive problems in women, among other things.
The 639-acre landfill performs waste management services for the Santa Clarita Valley and surrounding communities in LA County.
Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
More specifically, the newly filed lawsuit alleges that a “noxious concoction” is formed when rain comes into contact with gases from the landfill, leading to the release of substances such as hydrogen sulfide and dimethyl sulfide into the air. Both are described by federal officials as dangerous, with the potential to cause health problems ranging from headaches to heart problems.
“For nearly two years, a smoldering, fetid, chemical concoction has been festering underground at the Chiquita Canyon Landfill (the ‘Landfill’) in Castaic, California, releasing noxious odors into the air…,” the lawsuit states. “When residents in the area began to feel the effects of this concoction, they reported effects such as headaches and nausea; eye, nose, throat, and skin irritations; dizziness; difficulty breathing; and even heart problems.”
In the lawsuits, county officials also allege that those living in the area have been forced to stay indoors as a result.
“Children cannot play outside and residents cannot even indulge in the simple pleasures of an outdoor barbecue or playing ball with their children in their own backyard,” the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit accuses the owners and operators of Chiquita Canyon of failing to address the release of hazardous chemicals and seeks an injunction requiring them to contain and extinguish the “harmful reaction” and prevent the noxious odors and gases from “any areas”. where people live, work, study, recreate and carry out their other daily activities,” the lawsuits state.
There are also calls for a judge to order Chiquita’s owners and operators to relocate residents in the area and face civil penalties.
CBS News Los Angeles has contacted Waste Connections, owner of the landfill, for comment on the lawsuit.
On the landfill’s website, company officials say the noxious odors and fumes “could persist for years” and they have worked with regulators to address the problem, including by offering air filtration equipment to local residents. “Chiquita fully recognizes that neighboring communities are suffering odor-related impacts as a result of the response,” the website said.
Earlier this year, some local lawmakers and Santa Clarita Valley residents said the landfill did led to a cluster of cancer cases in the area and called on Governor Gavin Newsom to declare a state of emergency. Steven Howse, who lives in the Val Verde community just 1,000 feet from the landfill, spoke out after his wife was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer last year.
“What people misinterpret is that they are smells, and they are not just smells,” Howse said. “It makes you physically ill.”
Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
On Tuesday, ahead of a meeting of the LA County Board of Supervisors, concerned residents spoke at a news conference where they called for the landfill to be closed and a local emergency declaration to be issued.
Several children spoke to reporters at the press conference, including one child who said she had been coughing for six months and another who said the noxious fumes made her sick and caused her to struggle in gym class.
“I’ve been getting sick off and on since school started,” said Leila Martinez. “I would like the stench of the landfills to stop. They hurt a lot of people.”
According to the lawsuit, leachate – the liquid created when rainwater removes chemicals from landfill waste – contains hazardous chemicals such as benzene, which has led to increased fumes and foul odors.
“On numerous occasions, regulators inspecting the Noxious Reaction observed leachate bubbling, boiling or shooting out of the dump like a geyser, sometimes as high as twelve to eighteen feet in the air,” the lawsuit said. “The defendants failed to properly collect, treat, store or dispose of the leachate, nor did they properly manage it as a hazardous waste.”
Among the hundreds of state agency violations against the landfill are several violations by the South Coast Air Quality Management District. In the first six months of this year alone, the regulator received around 10,000 complaints related to the site.
In February a group of residents came Chiquita Canyon sued about health problems they have experienced. A few days later, the LA County Department of Public Health released the findings from an independent study that found that the landfill’s harmful gases may have caused short-term health effects such as headaches, nasal congestion and eye and throat irritation.
Only a few weeks later a defective hose led to a dangerous situation at the facility. At the time, fire officials said one person was injured by a burst hydrogen peroxide pipe at the landfill, according to the Los Angeles Times.
