Residents who live within a mile of a Bolsa Chica site contaminated by a cancer-causing agent will receive notices from the state Department of Toxic Substances Control this month.
Officials have known for three years about the polychlorinated biphenyl, or PCB, contamination on 11/2 acres of unincorporated county land owned by Signal Landmark near the end of Graham Street.
The carcinogen is not carried in the air and is not expected to leach into the groundwater, said Lucy Dunn, executive vice president of Hearthside Homes, which is trying to develop nearby land.
Contact with the soil could be harmful, but the site has been fenced for more than a year. The source of the contamination is unknown, though it could be from past oil operations, illegal dumping or electrical transformers, officials said.
Source: L.A. Times
