Health Impacts – Protect Playa Now

The research is clear

leaking gas and toxic blowouts are putting lives at risk.

Oil and gas facilities across the country are being exposed as toxic hotspots. In Playa del Rey, residents are exposed to a steady stream of benzene, formaldehyde, butadiene and ammonia, all emitted from the gas facility. The LA County Dept. of Public Health has warned of risks of cancer, birth adverse birth outcomes, and respiratory effects that come from living near oil and gas operations.

Residents exposed to the 2015 Aliso Canyon Gas blowout have been found to have elevated levels of uranium, lithium in their blood and hair. Equally troubling, their white blood cells levels have been suppressed, a sign of chronic benzene poisoning, leaving them at risk for diseases like anemia, leukemia, and COVID-19.

Environmental Racism

minority communities suffer the most from oil and gas infrastructure

More than 5.4 million Californians live within a mile of at least one oil and gas site. A third of these residents (1.8 million) live in areas already heavily burdened by environmental pollution, and of these, nearly 92 percent are people of color. Even if SoCalGas were to find ways to reduce the pollution coming from the Playa del Rey site, that would not address the harm being caused to low income, black and brown communities whose health continues to be sacrificed across the rest of our state’s oil and gas production chain. Shutting down the Playa del Rey storage facility needs to be part of a larger just transition, one that centers the needs and demands of communities on the frontlines.

SAFETY RISK

A DISASTER WAITING TO HAPPEN

Experts are warning the facility, sitting right in the heart of a densely packed community, is a danger we can’t ignore.

The Playa del Rey facility’s sister facility, Aliso Canyon, was the site of the US’s worst ever methane blowout in 2015. For four months, toxic chemicals, carcinogens and crude oil rained down on the Northwest San Fernando Valley – closing schools, forcing residents to flee their homes, and making thousands sick in the process.

Studies have found that the Playa del Rey Gas Facility stands out as one of the riskiest facilities in the State. The site already has a long history of leaks, violations and lawsuits. Given its location in the heart of West Los Angeles, a blowout similar to the one in Aliso Canyon would means deep losses to local businesses and decreased property values. A similar evacuation radius as the one ordered following Aliso would require over 500,000 people to evacuate their homes and would force the closure of Los Angeles International Airport.

Methane Poisoning Symptoms

Signs and symptoms of methane exposure may include:

Headaches
Heart palpitations
Dizziness
Loss of motor coordination
Flu-like symptoms (mental uneasiness, lethargy, discomfort)
Cognitive impairment (poor judgement, memory loss)

Mercaptan Exposure

Methyl Mercaptan is the “odorant” that they never say anything about. All these years…who knew what that mysterious unnamed stuff was. Read the PDF from the U.S. Center for Disease Control or Check it on the government site here.

From that document:
Methyl mercaptan is highly irritant when it contacts moist tissues such as the eyes, skin, and upper respiratory tract. It can also induce headache, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, coma, and death.

Children exposed to the same levels of methyl mercaptan as adults may receive a larger dose because they have a greater lung surface area:body weight ratios

Treatment of Exposures in a Health Care Facility:
– Ocular exposures: Remove contact lenses, and irrigate exposed eyes with copious amounts of room-temperature water or saline for at least 15 minutes

– Dermal exposures: Remove contaminated clothing, and wash exposed area thoroughly with soap and water. For frostbite, place affected area in a water bath with a temperature of 40 to 42 degrees C for 15 to 30 minutes until thawing is complete.

– Inhalation exposures: Monitor patient for respiratory distress. If cough or difficulty breathing develops, evaluate for respiratory tract irritation, bronchitis or pneumonitis. Administer oxygen, and assist ventilation as required. Treat bronchospasm with inhaled beta2 agonist and oral or parenteral corticosteroids. The onset of acute lung injury may be delayed 24 to 72 hours after exposure. Care should be taken to support respiration, prevent or treat pulmonary edema, and to control seizures and hypertension.

Clinical Health Probe & Toxicology Study

Since the gas well ruptured at the Aliso Canyon underground gas storage field near Porter Ranch, residents have been concerned about potential health effects from the chemicals released during the months-long leak. They felt frustrated by the lack of clear answers from the L.A. County Department of Public Health and Southern California Gas Company, the gas field owner.

Dr. Jeffrey Nordella, a local doctor, took it upon himself to investigate.

Despite officials claiming that chemical releases didn’t surpass health guidelines, Dr. Nordella noticed persistent symptoms among his patients even after the leak ended.

He conducted independent research using anonymized blood count data from 12,000 adults, including 4,500 from Porter Ranch and control samples from unaffected areas.

His analysis revealed significant differences in red and white blood cells and for platelets counts, indicating bone marrow suppression, potentially linked to chronic benzene exposure. Benzene, a carcinogen found in crude oil, may have been released during the leak, affecting residents’ health.