Hundreds of residents near the Porter Ranch gas leak have reported health problems such as nausea, headaches and nose bleeds due to additives in the natural gas, but levels of the carcinogen benzene in the area are still too low to be considered a long-term health risk, county public health officials said Wednesday.
“We find that nearly all of the measured benzene concentrations in the Porter Ranch community are below the levels where adverse health effects are expected to occur,” said Angelo Bellomo, deputy director for health protection at the county Department of Public Health. “Benzene levels to date are generally in the range of those found throughout the Los Angeles region.
“Nevertheless, we are expanding the air monitoring effort to fully evaluate this risk, and we will continually reassess conditions as new data is generated,” he said.
Health and county fire officials said they are actively monitoring the situation at the Aliso Canyon storage facility, although county Fire Chief Daryl Osby said there should be “greater local control over gas storage facilities in our jurisdiction to ensure all requirements that apply to refineries and other high-risk facilities also apply to underground gas storage fields.”
Meanwhile, dozens of Porter Ranch-area residents trekked to San Dimas today for a South Coast Air Quality Management District hearing on a proposed enforcement order aimed at minimizing the three-month-old leak.
With many carrying signs reading “Shut it all down,” the residents said they want the board to order the shuttering of the entire Aliso Canyon storage facility, not just the well that’s leaking.
“Because it’s an invisible gas, it’s an invisible disaster,” resident Mark Morris told ABC7 outside the meeting.
The enforcement order originally included requirements for Southern California Gas Co. to capture and dispose of the leaking gas, likely by using a system of pipes to carry it away from the Aliso Canyon storage facility and burn it off.
But after two days of public testimony on the issue and concerns about the safety of such a move, SoCalGas announced Monday it was scrapping the plan. Some AQMD officials questioned the risk of a catastrophic explosion that might result from the incineration proposal.
“Our proposed order would have required SoCalGas to capture and dispose of a portion of leaking gas only if SoCalGas along with federal, state and local regulatory agencies deemed it safe to do so,” according to AQMD executive officer Barry Wallerstein. “While that provision is now moot, the order still contains many important requirements to minimize leaking gas, monitor emissions and help prevent a similar incident in the future.”
According to AQMD, the proposed order would, among other issues, require SoCalGas to permanently shut down the leaking well, fund an independent health study to assess effects to residents, develop an enhanced leak-detection system for all wells at the facility, report all odor complaints made to the company since Oct. 23 and stop any further injection of natural gas into the storage facility while maximizing withdrawals.
To the dismay of some at the meeting in San Dimas, the board delayed any actual decision, responding to concerns expressed by some elected officials that the issue should be discussed at a meeting closer to Porter Ranch to make it easier for residents to attend.
Although the board took public testimony and allowed members to ask questions of its staff and Southern California Gas Co. officials, the panel plans to reconvene Saturday in Woodland Hills.
Residents of roughly 2,500 homes have been relocated out of the Porter Ranch area by SoCalGas, with about 1,500 other households awaiting relocation, according to the utility.
Students at two schools in the area have also been moved to other campuses away from the leak.
Southern California Gas Co. first reported the leaking well Oct. 23, and since then an estimated 77 million kilograms of methane have been released.
The Gas Co. announced Monday that it expects to stop the leak by late February, if not sooner, as work on its relief well project is proceeding ahead of schedule.
The relief well drilling began Dec. 4 and is expected to reach the bottom of the well at a depth of about 8,500 feet below the surface next month, according to Jimmy Cho, the Gas Co.’s chief engineer.
“We are focused on stopping the leak as quickly and safely as possible, mitigating the environmental (impact), and supporting the community,” he said. “Our schedule to control and stop the leak in February is consistent with the updated plan we have submitted to state regulators.”
—City News Service