Tests Finds DDT Levels Far Higher Than Limits

DDT levels at one of 25 contaminated properties in a South Bay neighborhood were found to be much higher than anticipated, prompting Rep. Jane Harman on Friday to raise questions about the federally funded cleanup underway along Kenwood Avenue in the Harbor Gateway area. She called for an independent review of the Environmental Protection Agency’s handling of the situation.

Harman (D-Redondo Beach) cited a contractor’s breaking of a water main, which may have flushed more contaminants into the soil, and “confusing and conflicting information” regarding residents’ temporary relocations and access to their homes.

Levels of the pesticide were recorded at up to 170,000 parts per million in soil samples taken at one property, Harman’s office said. Based on its preliminary assessments last spring, the EPA had predicted that it would find levels no greater than 6,000 parts per million.

Residents have expressed dissatisfaction with the government’s response since the DDT contamination, which the EPA contends came from a former chemical factory nearby. Some homeowners, believing cleanup will not be satisfactory, want to be bought out.