A press release issued on Tuesday, July 15 from California Communities Against Toxics, on the results of a Community Assessment for Public Emergency Response (CASPER) survey of households within four miles of the Chiquita Canyon landfill indicates widespread public health impacts from emissions from the landfill.

Of households participating in the survey:

— 85% report having someone experiencing hypertension/high blood pressure. The normal rate for this area of Los Angeles County is 23.7% of the population.

— 46% report having someone experiencing heart disease. The rate for Californians is 5.9%.

— 23% report having a member who has experienced a miscarriage in the past three years. Normal miscarriage rates for Los Angeles County are 0.4% of the population.

— 29.5% of households report someone suffering from cancer in the past three years. In Los Angeles County, 1.2% of households are affected by cancer annually or 3.6% in a three-year period would be expected to be affected by a cancer diagnosis.

— The vast majority of households have members experiencing respiratory symptoms a significant portion of the time, with households reporting a member experiencing whistling or wheezing 80% of the time. Fully 83% of households have a member currently using medication for asthma or wheezing. Most household sampled are being awakened at night or early in the morning by landfill emissions and many households (70%) are experiencing mental fatigue and loss of enthusiasm for everyday activities.

A CASPER survey is designed to be a quick assessment of conditions on the ground during a public health emergency. It does not collect individual data, but rather data on households.

It has a specific protocol to collect representative household data by census blocks and tracts. 5 Since the area sampled in this study was so small, samples were taken by distance from the landfill by 1 mile zones from the landfill.

The impacts were similar for all zones sampled, except for cancer. Cancer incidence was higher in Zone1 than the zones that are further away from the landfill.

“The public health impacts from the air emissions from this landfill are having an unacceptable impact on the community living around the landfill. The results of this survey underscore these impacts and lend urgency to the need for a permanent solution to this unfolding crisis,” said Jane Williams, Executive Director of California Communities Against Toxics.

Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo, D-Chatsworth, has issued the following statement concerning the CASPAR report:

“After calling for a CASPER health study for many months, I am grateful that California Communities Against Toxics stepped up to complete this survey of residents. The results are frightening and confirm what residents have been telling us for years: people are getting sick, families are suffering, and lives are being put in danger and upended by this ongoing public health crisis caused by the toxic chemicals being released by the 90-acre underground fire at Chiquita Canyon Landfill.

Over 80% of households report asthma symptoms with 93% of households using medications for Asthma or wheezing. As a mother, seeing that 23% of households have experienced a miscarriage heartbreaking, that’s 57 times the L.A. County average. These results are frightening and in every category they are well above average for L.A. County or California. These are not just statistics; these are our kids, our grandparents, our friends and family. This data validates our neighbors’ lived experience, and it demands immediate action.

This week the court is hearing the  Los Angeles County motion for a preliminary injunction and to compel the landfill to pay for relocation and relief. While I’m hoping the lawsuit is successful, if decisive action to support our community doesn’t move forward immediately, this health survey shows we cannot in good conscience wait any longer to act.

In the event that an injunction is not granted, the local public health authority, the county, and the state must step in to act urgently to protect the health and safety of our community. That includes accelerating permanent relocation assistance, helping residents afford mitigation measures, and continuing all efforts to hold those responsible at the landfill accountable to make residents whole who invested their lives in what are now toxic homes.

The people of Castaic, Val Verde and Santa Clarita deserve safe homes and schools, air that isn’t making them sick, and a future free from toxic exposure. We will not stop fighting until that becomes a reality.”

View the following inforgraphic for more information:

chiquita canyon Casper Inforgraphic (1)