June 23, 2009
PV Shelf pollution solutions meeting
I just attended the first of a series of public meetings discussing solutions to the big pile of DDT and PCBs along the Palos Verdes peninsula coastline. The deposit has been around since the late 40s and it may be the largest dump of DDT in the world (about 110 tons).
There were a lot of handouts on safe eating of locally caught fish, the Montrose Settlements Restoration Program (Montrose being the company that flushed all the DDT down the drain that emptied into the coastline.), contaminated sections of the seabed, and so on.
Jackie Lane of the Environmental Protection Agency (SF office) convened the meeting, and pointed out the court recorder taking notes. [First pic of the following threesome.]
(Click on any of these photos to enlarge.)
Susan Klasing (Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, a state agency) talked about the development of safe eating guidelines. [pic #2]
She was followed by Carmen White (EPA) discussing the clean-up solutions. They're thinking about covering the polluted seabed with layers of sand (sediment). That's known as "capping." (She's talking with some members of the audience, in the 3rd picture.)
During the questions period, people wanted to know things like whether crustaceans (e.g., lobsters) have been studied for contamination (not yet), how soon a pilot or test capping would occur (earliest date, 2011), and how long would it take to effect a full recovery/restoration of the site (unknown).
The meeting was held in the Cabrillo Beach Bathhouse in San Pedro, Calif. Subsequent meetings will be held at Banning's Landing, Wilmington (June 24) and the PV central library (June 25).
For more information: (562) 597-0205 or www.pvsfish.org
June 17, 2009
Bloomsday - no. Lakers - si!
Today is overcast, at least along the coast.
So now I'm in LA and I was trying to find a place that celebrated Bloomsday, yesterday. There was an Irish pub doing so in Long Beach, but that's a bit far from where I'm staying. Instead, I borrowed some books about Ulysses and Dublin from the local library, and fell asleep after drinking a bottle of special 250 anniversary Guinness. (It tastes cleaner than the regular stuff.)
I guess, back in Bawlmer, there wasn't a celebration, this year. (A shame. Blame it on the recession.)
Meanwhile, there's a celebration today in LA for the Lakers NBA championship victory. (Too bad about the vandalism and looting that occurred after Sunday's game near the Staples center.) There was a special Lakers commemorative section in the LA Times, today.