Tustin residences will soon be tested for asbestos and lead that might have been dispersed during the November hangar fire, as part of a study announced this week by the city.
A city contractor, Geosyntec Consultants, will test 50 randomly selected homes near the burnt north hangar site. Testing will see if there’s any lead or asbestos in the soil, dust and interior air of homes. The results will be compared to 30 randomly selected residences in Santa Ana and Irvine.
Health officials have said the hangar fire put the community at minimal risk of exposure to harmful contaminants, but city officials say they are moving forward with the study to address residents’ lingering concerns.
Brian Hitchens, who works for Geosyntec Consultants, said in a webinar that the primary goals of the study are to determine if the fire spread lead and asbestos into people’s homes, and if those concentrations are above screening levels.
The city, this week, began sending mailers for interested residents to sign up, according to a news release.
Neighborhoods in the study’s area include Columbus Square and Tustin Meadows, and some apartment complexes included are the Amalfi Apartments, Anton Legacy Apartments and Westchester Park Apartments. Residents have until Feb. 14 to sign up for the volunteer pool and, if selected, will receive the results of their home’s sampling at no cost.
To complete the study, technicians will take the top inch of soil from a few areas in people’s yards and combine them to make a soil sample. They will also take dust samples from three locations and two air samples through a filter inside homes.
Residents can expect the sampling to take about three hours total, with most of that time for allowing an air pump to run. Technicians will be inside homes for about 30 minutes to 45 minutes.
The Environmental Protection Agency, the Southern California Air Quality Management District and the Orange County Health Care Agency approved the study and will review its results, which are expected to be released by April.
