Heal the Bay and Surfrider LA studies highlight the need for new testing protocols to determine beach sand and sediment quality
Six months after the Palisades Fire ravaged Malibu and nearby areas, local environmental advocacy groups are expressing concerns regarding whether the dangerous debris and pollutants caused by the wildfire continue to negatively affect beach sand, even as the Fourth of July looms and droves of visitors have returned to area beaches. The organizations’ ongoing frustration is attributable to a lack of updated, relevant sand-testing protocols.
There are no human health standards for recreating on sand that potentially has been contaminated by fire-related pollutants, meaning there is no way to test for contaminants and to conclude whether the test results exceed a risk threshold, according to Tracy Quinn, president of the environmental nonprofit Heal the Bay. There is a need to develop such protocols and a group of scientists are working to do so.
More than 23,000 acres burned and more than 7,000 structures were destroyed or damaged by the fire. Melted materials from structures, vehicles, solar panels, batteries, and electronics seeped into the ocean, creeks, and rivers with the winter storms, with some pollutants harming beaches and sand in the fire’s aftermath — social media was inundated with sightings of debris on area beaches and floating along the coast.
How wildfire-caused beach contamination occurs
After wildfires, debris, and ash containing pollutants can wash off into creeks, rivers, and beaches. Pollutants in the fire zones settle into underwater sediment and then can wash ashore with the tides, sometimes causing a dark, silty material, but other times polluting the sand in non-visible ways.
In the wake of the fire, several state agencies are conducting studies to assess beach sand. Immediately after the wildfire, scientists collected the top two centimeters of ash and other deposited substances to assess dangers, reasoning that most of the chemicals associated with fire bind to the smallest particles in the surface materials. They compared sediment and beach sand results with U.S. EPA risk screening levels for residential soil and California-specific risk screening levels for residential soil in the Los Angeles Region, according to the California Environmental Protection Agency’s Los Angeles Regional Water Board.
“All results were below those values, except for arsenic at several sites,” the board reported, adding, “However, these arsenic levels were within the pre-fire range of concentrations in Los Angeles area soils, and therefore, were not likely caused by the fire.” The board emphasized that arsenic is a common and naturally occurring element found in the Los Angeles area.
Currently, the board continues to test sediment and sand for chemicals associated with wildfires, including heavy metals, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), a group of synthetic organic chemicals that were once widely used in industry, because they were chemically stable and non-flammable, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), a group of more than 100 chemicals that are formed naturally from the incomplete combustion of organic materials like coals, oil, gas and wood. Those tests are conducted at 11 beaches and four storm drain-creek outfalls along Santa Monica Bay from Zuma Beach to RAT Beach in Palos Verdes Estates.
California’s State Water Resources Control Board is also performing limited sediment testing monthly, and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health releases advisories concerning those determinations.
Environmental advocacy organizations conduct sediment testing
Both Heal the Bay and Surfrider LA have expressed concerns about the arsenic levels in sand and sediment samples conducted by area government agencies. They note that arsenic is a carcinogen that can cause cancer, can lead to heart and liver disease, and can cause digestive system complications. They expressed concerns that arsenic levels were worrisomely high, especially at Will Rogers State Beach, which receives outflow from Santa Monica Canyon Creek and Rustic Creek.
The advocacy organizations conducted independent beach assessment studies exceeding the scope of prior analyses conducted on the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control samples which were analyzed for total chromium, consisting of trivalent chromium, which is an essential trace mineral for humans that can be converted into the more toxic hexavalent, also known as chromium-6, which presents risks to human health and is a substance usually produced in hardening alloy steel or similar industrial processes.
Such testing by nonprofit environmental advocacy associations continues on as does the effort to understand the potential impacts of wildfire-related pollution so as to develop useful testing standards.
The governor’s office appeals to FEMA for post-fire testing
In February, the Federal Emergency Management Agency refused to fund analyses of contaminated soil as part of the debris removal process, although such testing has been conducted by FEMA after similar disasters.
Responding to FEMA’s refusal, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office publicly appealed for the agency to change its policy. “Without adequate soil testing, contaminants caused by the fire can remain undetected and potentially jeopardize groundwater and surface water quality,” the director of Newsom’s Office of Emergency Services emphasized in a letter to FEMA.
The federal agency’s unprecedented refusal to test soil has only added to scientists’ concerns about the need for new soil assessment benchmarks to be established to accurately measure sand and beach pollution. They note the unprecedented toxicity in debris caused by the fire, including those elements caused by burned lithium batteries from electric vehicles.
Such efforts are ongoing. However, in the meantime, what are residents and visitors to do in the interim?
Nicole Mooradian, spokesperson for the Los Angeles County’s Department of Beaches and Harbors, notes that currently those who are considering visiting beaches must make individual choices. Heal the Bay’s Quinn recently stated in a CBS News LA interview that beachgoers should still be on the lookout for dangerous debris such as screws and nails as they can continue to wash up on the beach. Readers may consult the Department of Public Health’s website and review Heal the Bay’s Beach Report Card on the organization’s app or website to obtain the latest available information.