In the wake of a series of industrial accidents and fires, residents in Boyle Heights and Garden Grove are demanding accountability and stronger protections for their communities. The accidents, involving toxic chemicals and hazardous materials, have raised concerns about the safety of industrial facilities near residential areas and the effectiveness of regulatory oversight.
The Lineage warehouse fire in Boyle Heights, which stored over 12,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia, a toxic refrigerant, led to severe health risks and a shelter-in-place order. The Los Angeles Fire Department initially told residents to shelter in place due to the risk of the chemical being released into the air, highlighting the potential dangers of these facilities.
Similarly, the Orange County Fire Authority issued an evacuation order affecting 50,000 residents in Garden Grove when a tank at an aerospace manufacturing facility could have exploded or leaked toxic chemicals into the air. These incidents have exposed the limitations of state and local oversight, as records show that both facilities had accumulated violations over the years and continued operating.
Critics argue that even California's stronger standards have significant gaps that state officials have allowed to persist. Reactive chemicals, such as methyl methacrylate, often fall outside of both federal and state accidental release programs, leading to a lack of risk management plans. Anhydrous ammonia, a listed chemical, is regulated by state and federal programs, but local agencies have not fully disclosed their oversight of these facilities.
The legal bar to hold companies for environmental crimes is high, requiring evidence of deliberate deceptions and a general duty to keep people safe. The federal government's enforcement landscape has also shifted, with a decrease in civil lawsuits filed by the U.S. Department of Justice in cases referred by the EPA. This shift matters for companies like Lineage, which has faced civil enforcement actions but none that resulted in criminal charges.
Residents and city officials in both communities are frustrated by the lack of power to ban or regulate these facilities. The Constitution limits how far local authority extends to facilities that are already there, making it challenging to revoke permits or rezone property. The people with the most immediate stake, both residents and city officials, may have the least power after a facility is already operating.
In response to these incidents, state Sen. Tom Umberg introduced Senate Bill 883, which aims to address the gaps in chemical safety regulations and ensure that facilities storing reactive chemicals are properly regulated. The bill is moving through Assembly policy committees, and the federal government has also responded with a search of the GKN facility by the FBI.
As the debate over industrial safety and regulatory oversight continues, residents in Boyle Heights and Garden Grove are demanding stronger protections and accountability to prevent future accidents and ensure the health and safety of their communities.
