Health Director Says Homeowners Should Do Own Testing For Environmental Hazards Caused by Fire

In response to a City Council request on the best option for home environmental testing to detect environmental hazards related to the Eaton Fire, the director of the City’s health department said the best way forward is for homeowners to do their own testing.

But that request was not what some members of the City Council wanted to hear.

“The best plan … is to really support folks to either do it themselves if they can,” said Public Health Director Manuel Carmona. “We understand that not everybody’s in that situation or to engage their insurance company if they have insurance.”

Carmona also suggested homeowners engage their insurance company on the testing.

“And one of the things that I think could be an opportunity for the City Council to consider is engaging state representatives like the insurance commissioner or the governor to see if there’s anything that can be done to encourage insurance companies to support funding testing in homes, so that way people can get access to those services.”

Last week, the City Council unanimously asked the staff to explore the best options for assessing the safety of houses and apartments affected by smoke and ash.

Smoke and ash from fires can contain both lead and asbestos, which are considered hazardous substances that can be inhaled and pose serious health risks, particularly when exposed to large amounts from a wildfire. Other harmful materials include arsenic and benzene.

Other toxins such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), mercury, and volatile organic compounds could also be present.

“We declared a public health emergency in Pasadena based upon our concern about the contamination from the particular and unique potential for health risks from the ash and smoke from these fires,” said Councilmember Rick Cole.”We’re five weeks out from the fire, and we’ve basically said, ‘You’re on your own if you are worried about your home’ … and going forward, that’s not acceptable to me.”

Cole said he appreciated the work that was done on the issue but cautioned there would be more emergency situations due to climate change.

Other agencies in Los Angeles County and elsewhere in the state are also measuring air quality. An initiative to soil test on sensitive sites including schools was also reported.

Carmona said the City is advocating for testing at City parks, which is currently in the planning stages. However, there is no additional information at this point about when the testing is going to be launched.

“What I’m worried about is that in the absence of clear data, widely shared, people are going to be drawing conclusions,” said Vice Mayor Jess Rivas, “Some people may conclude, and I’ve seen people say this, that it’s unsafe to live here and they’re going to move away. Or visitors may stay away from our restaurants and businesses and not feel safe visiting Pasadena. So first and foremost, this is absolutely a health issue, but there are broader implications for our housing market, for our local economy.”

On Friday, the Air Quality Management District released the results of air quality testing near the burn zones in both Altadena/Pasadena and Pacific Palisades.

The results showed the presence of harmful particulates of lead, arsenic and benzene “were within background levels (air quality on a typical day) and below national standards and state health thresholds,” according to the Air Quality Management District.