Why this matters
Community members have been living, working and shopping amid the ongoing contamination. Some have complained for years. Some are unaware of it.
For years, the Chollas Creek community has been living and shopping among cancer-causing chemicals from a former aerospace factory.
While state officials continue to oversee a mitigation program and work is ongoing, they say more tests are needed to determine the scope of the contamination of trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene (TCE and PCE, respectively).
State officials believe it could stretch beyond the currently identified 7-acre parcel which includes one of the south San Diego neighborhood’s few grocery stores, Food 4 Less, as well as some units in Euclid Terrace apartments.
Last week inewsource published its first story in an ongoing investigation into the contamination that the California Department of Toxic Substances Control ordered Magellan Aerospace and Market Creek Plaza to clean up.
Following publication, inewsource reached out to elected officials representing the area to ask how long they had known about the contamination, why there has yet to be widespread public outreach on the matter and how they will help remedy the situation.
Responses varied. Following inewsource’s email, U.S. Rep. Juan Vargas wrote a letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, calling on the agency to join local mitigation efforts. The office of one official didn’t reply.
No elected official agreed to an interview. Each received the following list of questions:
- Were you aware of this public health and environmental contamination issue? If so, when did you first learn about it? How did you find out? Who told you about it?
- Are you concerned about it?
- Do you think it’s acceptable that people have lived and shopped among cancer-causing chemicals for this long? What steps have you taken or will you take to address this?
- What are/were your initial thoughts upon learning of the scope of the situation?
- There was a three-year gap between the initial discovery and when the problem was shared with authorities. What are your thoughts on such a lag? Should a delay like that be allowed? From a legal or policy standpoint, would you support doing anything to require a quicker notification process for future public health situations like this?
- What in your opinion are the shortcomings in the response?
- As far as I understand there has yet to be any organized community outreach and spreading awareness about this issue. How do you square that, and how can you help remedy that?
In his letter to the EPA, Vargas wrote, “I request that the EPA work with the California DTSC and the San Diego County DEHQ to permanently address this longstanding environmental health issue. I look forward to hearing what actions the EPA can take to address this critically important issue for the San Diego Chollas Creek community.”
He asked for a formal response to his office by Friday, Sept. 18, “given the potential severity of the issue and the health risks the community faces.”
In a statement separate from his letter to the EPA, Vargas told inewsource, “The pollution at the former Langley Facility location, which includes the Euclid Terrace Apartments and Market Creek Plaza shopping center, is deeply concerning. I’ve been in touch with state and local officials to offer whatever federal support they need, and I’m calling on the EPA to provide assistance as well.”
San Diego County Supervisor Monica Montgomery Steppe said in a statement:
“The people who live, work and shop in the Chollas Creek community deserve to know that their health and safety come first. No one should have to wonder whether the air in their home or workplace is safe or whether they have the information they need to protect themselves and their families.
“The County is working with the California Department of Toxic Substances Control as it oversees the ongoing effort to address this contamination and rid the community of these toxic chemicals once and for all. This is a complex and challenging process, but that makes clear and consistent communication even more important. People deserve transparency about what is happening, what is being done to protect them and what comes next.
“I will continue working with our partners to make sure this community gets answers and that the agencies responsible for protecting public health are doing everything they can to keep people safe.”
District 4 San Diego City Council member Henry Foster III said in a statement:
“The scope of this issue is deeply concerning. No one should have to live under these circumstances. District 4 residents, workers and families deserve clear, timely information and the same urgency and protection afforded to every community in San Diego.
The California Department of Toxic Substances Control is overseeing mitigation at the site, and my office will continue to work with DTSC and all responsible parties to help ensure our community is informed, protected, and gets the transparency it deserves about the work underway and what comes next.”
Martha Abraham, who is running against Foster in the November election, said in a statement:
“What’s happening at Market Creek Plaza reflects a pattern low-income communities and communities of color know too well. Environmental hazards are concentrated in our neighborhoods, discovered late, and addressed slowly. Residents here are being asked to live with contamination while lacking the resources to screen their own health or protect their own homes. Compliance with a cleanup order is not the same as protecting people.
I am unable to meet at this time. Thank you for shining a light on this. The community deserves answers.”
California state Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson’s office did not respond to inewsource’s inquiry.
On Wednesday, Sept. 9, Market Creek Plaza management will hold an open house for residents on site from 4-7 p.m.
