It's in the tank. Up in smoke. Biting the dust.
The real estate market?
No. The toxic substances in the water, air and dirt enveloping many Southern California properties. With leaky oil wells in backyards, solid-waste landfills near homes and abandoned meth labs in residential areas, it's a wonder Southland residents aren't neon.
"California . . . has thousands of waste sites that were contaminated either by industrial, agricultural or past military uses," said Angela Blanchette, a spokeswoman for the California Environmental Protection Agency's Department of Toxic Substances Control.
"Some towns don't have much to worry about," said Ralph Kephart, president of Long Beach-based GeoAssurance Inc. and an expert in mapping natural and environmental hazards statewide. "But some towns have been abandoned because of toxic spills."
So when thinking about purchasing that perfect house near a onetime military base, dry cleaner or property that's been empty for a while, experts advise paying a private company $50 to $150 for a detailed environmental hazards report or searching for free online information about the neighborhood from government agencies. Unknown environmental hazards are not included in the blizzard of paperwork buyers read at the close of escrow, so consumers bear the burden of uncovering the potential presence of noxious substances themselves. And there are plenty.
Although hundreds of so-called brownfield sites are now cleaned up and put back to productive use, according to Blanchette, hundreds still are awaiting cleanup and redevelopment. As of mid-July, her department listed more than 2,000 toxic-waste sites statewide. These figures do not include all of the federal Superfund sites or those under other state jurisdictions.
There are nearly 24,000 oil wells in Los Angeles and Orange counties, many properly abandoned but many not, according to the state Department of Conservation. And in 2007, 83 methamphetamine labs in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties were identified by the state and cleaned up -- just the tip of the iceberg, experts say, because many labs go undetected.
Sounds pretty nasty. Guillermo Mata, 31, knows first-hand just how nasty. The construction equipment sales rep considered buying a bank-owned duplex in Long Beach two months ago, until he walked upstairs and realized he had stumbled into a former meth lab.
Signs of trouble
The home had been vacant for some time and had become a "total, disgusting wreck," he said. Some foreclosed properties are targeted by meth producers as "fly-by-night meth labs," said Corey Yep, senior policy analyst for the state's toxic substances control department. They're not known to the police but are discovered by agents or buyers walking through.
When Mata and his agent, Autumn Anderson, entered the top unit, they saw a hole in the ceiling, through which a crude vent had been installed. The walls were stained and the house stank, all telltale signs of meth production.
Even though the price was right -- about $355,000 -- Mata said it would have cost $100,000 to make the duplex habitable. "The last thing I wanted was a rental unit where kids would get sick," Mata said.
Meth labs produce solvents, acids, phosphorous, iodine and metals, which can result in respiratory problems, skin and eye irritation, headaches, nausea, lung damage and body burns. They recently were among the biggest health threats to homeowners, according to Cal/EPA, but that danger has waned as production has moved to Mexico.
California passed legislation in 2006 requiring that owners of meth-contaminated homes clean them up. Local agencies oversee the work and give the owners written confirmation of the completed job, which can cost between $5,000 and $100,000, depending on the level of contamination, Yep said. Contractors hired for the cleanup should be trained in hazardous-waste remediation. The state Department of Consumer Affairs provides a list of licensed contractors.
Yep recommends that home buyers check with local law enforcement agencies to see if the property they're considering is on a list of former meth labs, and ask neighbors about any activity on the block.
"Use your senses," Yep said. "Look outside for dead patches in the grass," where chemicals may have been dumped.
Like meth labs, oil wells may harbor hidden menaces, unknown to a buyer until trouble comes calling.
Although thousands of the region's wells -- dating to the 1920s or earlier when abandonment rules were nonexistent -- are properly capped and pose no threats, many still are buried in homeowners' backyards and require attention when leaking methane gas rises to the surface or the water becomes contaminated. Depending on the depth of the well and remediation involved, it can cost tens of thousands of dollars to fix.
