Better Watts Initiative’s Revelations of Lead in Watts Tap Water Prompt Response from LA Water and Housing Officials

WATTS – Tomorrow, the will hold a critical community town hall to discuss alarming findings of lead contamination in the tap water in Watts. Community organizers will also discuss the upcoming court hearing in People v. Atlas Metals. This town hall comes just six weeks after an explosion at the Atlas Metals facility on the first day of school for Jordan High School, highlighting the urgent need for action in the wake of long-standing environmental threats to the community.

Who

Tim Watkins, CEO of Watts Labor Community Action Committee (WLCAC)

Danielle Hoague, PhD student at UCLA and lead researcher in the Better Watts Initiative study

Representative from the Department of Water and Power (DWP)

Representative from the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA)

Representative from LAUSD Superintendent’s Office

*other attendees to be announced*

What

Community Town Hall

*please reply to this email to RSVP*

When

Wednesday, September 25th

@ 2 pm

Where

Watts Labor Community Action Committee (WLCAC) Phoenix Hall

10950 S Central Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90059

Background

Dark Waters

As a result of water infrastructure neglect due to disinvestment and poor public policy, Watts has historically faced plumbing issues that contribute to heavy metals in their drinking water. Lead service lines (LSL) were built in homes before the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1985 and corroding lead solder, pipes, faucets, and fixtures that homeowners, landlords, and tenants can not afford to replace or test remain. Watts, a neighborhood spanning two square miles in South Los Angeles, is among the most polluted neighborhoods in California. The community has an overall pollution burden score in the 100th percentile and a cumulative lead pollution score of 91 coming from water, air pollution, soil, and paint (CalEnviroScreen 4.0). According to the CA Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, “an area with a high (CalEnviroScreen) score is one that experiences a much higher pollution burden than areas with low scores.”

Lead, even at low exposure levels, can accumulate in the body and cause health problems, including but not limited to anemia, cognitive delays, behavioral problems, organ damage, and even death. Children under the age of six and pregnant women are most at risk of developing cognitive health effects even at very low exposure levels. According to a 2022 study conducted by Columbia Medical Center, “children absorb a higher percentage of lead through their GI tract and are more likely to be iron-deficient, which also increases the absorption rate of lead.”

According to the survey conducted as part of the study, respondents also articulated symptoms consistent with health effects associated with lead exposure including headaches, ADD, ADHD, stomach issues, diarrhea, a propensity for violent and destructive behavior, allergic reactions, dry skin, lightheadedness, face blotches, rashes, itching, enlarged veins, bad hair, and skin tone changes.

Atlas Metals

The Coalition for Healthy Families has fought against the continued contamination of students at Jordan High School and residents of the nearby housing development with protests, media events, town halls, meetings with public officials , a “toxic tour” with enforcement agencies, and pointed letters to government officials. Photos, videos and background information about this environmental injustice are available at https://healthyfamiliesla.org/.

In 2022, the Guardian found that students at the school are exposed to lead levels 75 times higher than what the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines as a hazardous threshold. The Los Angeles Times published an exposé on Atlas Metals last year amid a community led fight for justice.

According to court records and video evidence, Atlas burns (video) materials that result in fugitive emissions that put dangerous toxins in the air and on school grounds.  When it rains, runoff from Atlas comes onto school grounds creating an environmental hazard.  Atlas’ daily activities also result in metallic dust being propelled into the air (video).  Teachers and others have noted, “a shiny metallic dust described as a purple shimmer [that] is commonly observed on the School’s blacktop and playing fields, which returns within a few days after [it] rain[s].”

LAUSD had to clean lead from the classrooms at a cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars, and had to clean up the toxins in soil on school grounds at a cost of over $3 million. In a report from the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), a summary of violations showed that Atlas is in violation of multiple Health and Safety Code sections related to the illegal disposal, storage, and treatment of hazardous waste.

Multiple pieces of shrapnel (photos) have been ejected from Atlas Metals onto school grounds, threatening to injure or kill a student or staff member.  One “narrowly miss[ed]” hitting a construction worker.  To protect the kids at the school the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) closed a new softball field and the adjacent batting cages after spending $3 million to remediate the environmental hazards and renovate the field.

Court records indicate that the noise from the compactor (video) along with other fascinatingly loud noises (video) cause children to “cup their ears” while at school.  Staff at the school report “the violent slamming and crushing of metals…metallic dust on the blacktop and playing fields…large and dangerous pieces of metal… [and] incredibly loud explosions that sound like bombs…” Court records further reveal that, “children are oftentimes deprived of essential outdoor physical education.”

In one case, an actual bomb was exploded at the site, projecting shrapnel onto school grounds. To block shrapnel from being ejected onto school grounds Atlas erected an unpermitted, illegal wall made from shipping containers.

Over 100 Jordan High School students have sent a letter to Los Angeles officials demanding protection from the dangerous toxins they’re exposed to every day. The letter reads in part, “Every day, we hear the sounds of cars being crushed, smell the fumes of metal being burned, and feel our classroom shake from the facility’s operations. At times, the noise is so loud we are unable to hear our teachers speak and classes must be paused. The school closed the field down after nails and broken glass were found on our softball field. We worry that we’ll be hit with shards of scrap metal that have been known to fly over the fence when we play on the blacktop.”

The letter from the student closes saying, “We need your help, and we need to know you care and that you’re listening.”