Is it safe to do yard work? Should I test my house for asbestos? How can I know whether schools and parks are safe? These are questions hundreds of Tustin residents still don’t have clear answers to more than a month after a fire torched a massive World War II-era hangar.
As the 17-story tall blimp hangar burned, testing by public health officials and asbestos experts showed the fire sent asbestos, lead, and other toxins spewing into the surrounding community. Debris from the fire was reported more than three miles from the site, according to county documents obtained by LAist.
Officials say air quality tests in recent weeks have shown no cause for concern, and specialized remediation crews continue to clean up asbestos-laden debris from the former military base and in the surrounding community.
The status of ash and soot is less certain — private testing inside some residents’ homes has found asbestos and lead. Officials have not publicly released any test results from ash or soil since the early days of the fire.
Without access to more data and without a long-term strategy for testing, some residents say they don’t feel safe.
“If I could, I would move tomorrow,” Sean Storm, a Tustin resident, told LAist in a phone interview. Storm lives in the Columbus Square neighborhood, right across the street from the fire-gutted hangar, with his wife and four young kids.
He said his grandfather died from cardiac arrest after long-term exposure to asbestos. “His lungs were completely deteriorated from it,” Storm said. “The doctor told us when he was dying it’s like a small razor blade that just cuts you over and over with every breath.”
Now Storm fears that asbestos-laden dust and ash from the fire could linger undetected in the grass and mulch that covers nearby parks and common areas in his neighborhood. “You’re always going to wonder, am I putting my children at risk of a health factor later down the road?”
LAist interviewed and requested information from local, state and federal officials, and outside experts, about the post-fire recovery efforts and residents’ health and safety concerns.
Many questions remain at least partially unanswered, but here’s what we found out, including links to key documents and websites.
What’s known about potentially toxic building materials in the hangar?
Multiple assessments carried out in recent decades on the now-destroyed hangar and the other, nearly identical, blimp hangar nearby have found that asbestos and lead paint were used extensively throughout their construction.
Asbestos was present in roofing materials, wall panels, pipe insulation and floor tiles, according to a 2019 report. Some of this asbestos was “friable,” meaning it breaks or crumbles easily and therefore poses a greater risk of being inhaled, which can cause long-term health consequences.
The wood that makes up the bulk of the construction was treated for fire-resistance with a product called Minalith. Chris Dunne, a Navy spokesperson, told LAist in an email that samples of the treated wood were analyzed in the past and found to contain “detectable concentrations of aluminum, arsenic, boron, barium, calcium, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, copper, iron, potassium, magnesium, manganese, sodium, nickel, phosphorus, lead, silicon, and zinc.”
In the days after the fire first broke out on Nov. 7, air quality officials detected lead and arsenic in the smoke plume, but nowhere else, which Orange County Public Health Officer Regina Chinsio-Kwong told LAist was “reassuring.”
She said her office also tested for lead at Legacy Magnet Academy and Heritage Elementary on the heaviest days of smoke and did not detect elevated levels. The two schools are located within a mile from the hangar that burned.
Oladele Ogunseitan, a public health professor at UC Irvine, told us the information about chemicals in the wood was “concerning.”
“So far, the data which has been shared shows very low levels of these toxicants, but it is hard to tell the amount released into the air during the early hours of the fire igniting,” Ogunseitan wrote in an email to LAist. That’s because air quality testing for asbestos and other potential toxins didn’t take place until the afternoon of Nov. 7 — about 12 hours after the fire began, according to public documents.
What’s known about air and soil quality in adjacent communities?
Here’s what testing in the community has shown:
You can see the latest air quality reports and results from early testing on the city’s website. Reports of particulate matter, a standard measure of air pollution, are posted daily on the city’s website. Currently, air quality is being tested at 30 monitors around the hangar site and throughout the community by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Officials we spoke with say asbestos has been detected primarily in solid pieces of debris from the fire. They say that’s why the city’s cleanup response has focused on removing that debris from the community.
“Right now, at least, we think that the fallout, the fines [fine particulate matter], the soot from the plume probably was not as big a problem,” Ben Castellana, on-scene coordinator for the EPA, told LAist in an interview late last week.
“But certainly the debris, the large pieces of the hanger that landed in the community, those needed to be removed as quickly as possible.”
Chinsio-Kwong, the Orange County health officer, told LAist that all of the data collected by public health and environmental officials in recent weeks “has been reassuring.”
Many residents have asked health officials to do more testing of soil and dirt in communities adjacent to the fire — or, if testing has already occurred, to share it with the community. (A spokesperson for the state Department of Toxic Substances Control told LAist they had information to share. We will update this story as soon as we learn more.)
Storm, the Tustin resident, noted the extensive measures being taken to secure the soil and ash immediately around the hangar. Tustin hangar fire cleanup crews applied a plastic substance to the soil around the burnt structure early this month to prevent asbestos from getting kicked up.
“If you’re saying the dirt on the opposite side of the street is not safe, then how is the dirt on my side of the street safe?” he asked.
What’s known about air and soil quality in nearby schools?
According to county documents, in the days after the fire broke out, asbestos-laden debris was detected at Tustin schools, including at Hicks Canyon Elementary, which is about three miles from the burn site, and at Tustin High School, which is two miles from the site.
All Tustin Unified schools were closed for several days starting on Nov. 9. Most schools were reopened by Nov. 15 after clearance from the district-contracted asbestos consultant.
Chinsio-Kwong, the public health officer, said air quality authorities read up on toxic materials in the building when the fire broke out and consequently, tested the air for a broad range of heavy metals and volatile organic compounds.
At Heritage Elementary School, which was open during the first two days of the fire, Chinsio-Kwong said certified asbestos consultants took air samples and dust samples using a technique called micro-vacuuming to test for asbestos. Those tests came back negative, she said, adding that she believed they were conducted in heavily trafficked areas of the school.
Parents of students at the school, including Storm, have asked for details about the testing, including how much of the school has been tested and whether outdoor surfaces and playground equipment have been tested.
Storm said he was concerned safety issues may linger if “classroom window seals and door frames and carpet in every single classroom” haven’t been tested.
Chinsio-Kwong said she didn’t have precise details about the testing. The Tustin Unified School District has not responded to LAist’s multiple requests for interviews and/or comment since Dec. 5.
At a community meeting on Dec. 7, Tustin school board trustee Allyson Muñiz Damikolas echoed Chinsio-Kwong, saying that preliminary testing at Heritage and Legacy, which are both still closed, was “encouraging,” but she said the district did not yet have final results.
As for when the students at Heritage and Legacy might go back, Chinsio-Kwong said she won’t recommend reopening those schools until the work to take down the hangar doors and adjacent structures is complete and the resulting dust and debris is secured, “so that once kids return to school, they can freely run around outside instead of being indoors.”
That work is not expected to be completed until later this month. So far, the hangar doors have been lowered. Work to remove the “pillbox” structures that framed the doors started Tuesday, according to the city’s latest update.
Did ash and debris contaminate homes?
According to county documents, some 10,000 homes were affected by the hangar fire in the cities of Tustin, Irvine and Santa Ana.
Public agencies have not tested inside of people’s homes affected by the fire. But some residents have paid to get their own testing done. Lana Clay-Monaghan, a Tustin resident, has publicly shared an informal survey she spearheaded of residents near the fire.
Of the 19 residents who said they had indoor testing done by a certified asbestos contractor, nine reported results showing the presence of asbestos. Chinsio-Kwong, the public health official, told LAist one resident who took the survey had emailed her the results of her home test. Chinsio-Kwong said was still working with experts to understand exactly what to take away from the results.
Castellana, the EPA coordinator, said a resident had also shared home testing results with him. But Castellana said the results lacked important details. They didn’t include the lab report or specify the detection limit used and therefore don’t “really answer a lot of questions.”
“If I test for asbestos in my house, for example, you’re probably going to find a fiber or two,” Castellana said. “It’s naturally occurring, it’s in a lot of manufactured products, both in our houses and building materials, as well as cars. … So, it’s all over in our environment. And that’s not to say it also hasn’t come from the [hangar] site.”
Castellana said he hoped asbestos consultants hired by residents would give thorough information about their test results, including whether their home is safe.
Asbestos consultants are required to be certified by the state of California. You can check whether a consultant has up-to-date certification on the website of the state Department of Industrial Relations. You can also look up contractors to see whether they’re certified to perform asbestos-related work.
Clay-Monaghan said she and her family, including two toddlers, moved out of their home after it tested positive for asbestos and lead.
“We had to make the difficult and expensive decision to remove ourselves from that environment,” she said. She told LAist she hopes to move back after her home is fully remediated.
What are the health risks associated with asbestos and lead?
Exposure to asbestos can cause some forms of cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute, and usually emerges decades after the initial exposure. Health risks increase with heavier and/or longer-term exposure.
Smoking severely increases the risk of developing cancer for those exposed to asbestos. “So the major lesson that I would want to impart to all the residents and children of the area is don’t smoke,” said Richard Castriotta, a pulmonologist at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine.
Exposure to lead is especially dangerous for children under the age of 6. Even small amounts can cause long-term damage to the brain and nervous system, according to the O.C. Health Care Agency. Blood testing is the only way to determine whether a child has lead poisoning.
Should I clean my house and/or yard?
Outside
Chinsio-Kwong said that if a resident’s yard has been inspected and remediated by a certified asbestos contractor, it should be OK to mow the lawn and do yard work. If you still need help from a certified contractor, contact the city’s hotline: 714-426-2444 or report the debris through the city’s online portal.
“As long as there’s no longer any debris, then technically, if they were given the green light, they should be able to return to landscaping activities and mowing and leaf blowing,” she said.
Castriotta, the pulmonologist, said mowing the lawn shouldn’t be a problem since most electric lawn mowers collect grass directly into a bag. He said wearing an N95 mask while doing yard work would significantly decrease the risk of exposure.
“They have to live their lives,” Castriotta said of residents. “If there’s a chance of the ash being around in an inhalational form, then an N95 mask will protect you.”
If a resident is still waiting for the city’s asbestos contractors to assess their yard and collect fire debris, Chinsio-Kwong said they should wait to do yard work so as not to disturb the debris.
According to the latest update, of the 1,094 debris reports submitted to the city’s online portal, some 75% have been remediated and cleared.
But residents have wondered aloud whether this clearance really means their homes are safe since the city’s contracted asbestos experts are only picking up large pieces of debris.
At a community meeting last week, Darren Terry told LAist his rain gutters are still full of ash from the fire. He was frustrated homes have been cleared by the city’s asbestos contractors when the roofs, windows, gutters and plants have not been remediated.
Chinsio-Kwong said residents should rinse off or wipe down their window screens and doors if they still contain soot from the fire.
Inside
Chinsio-Kwong recommends that residents whose homes were affected by the Tustin fire use wet wipes to clean surfaces and a vacuum with a HEPA filter on floors.
She told LAist she has been looking for guidance in the residential cleaning studies carried out after the World Trade Center buildings collapsed following the 2001 terrorist attack, spreading toxic dust over streets and into apartments in lower Manhattan.
An EPA study dated November 2008 of different cleaning methods in contaminated homes concluded that wet wiping surfaces and vacuuming the floor — sometimes multiple times, depending on the amount of contamination — “was successful in reducing concentrations to levels below health-based benchmarks.”
A separate study found that dusting or sweeping without using water was associated with high numbers of respiratory problems among residents affected by the tower collapses.
Can I run my HVAC system?
Chinsio-Kwong said residents can use their HVAC systems as long as they have a well-maintained filter — the EPA recommends filters rated “MERV 13” or higher to remove fine particulate matter from smoke. Residents may need to replace their HVAC filter or, for help, consult an HVAC technician.
Chinsio-Kwong acknowledged that advice on whether Tustin residents should run their HVAC systems initially wavered in the early days of the fire. She said that’s because she was concerned people might not know whether their HVAC system has an updated filter, which is key to safety.
Is there funding assistance to pay for home testing?
Asbestos
Currently, public agencies are not offering assistance for asbestos testing inside of homes affected by the Tustin hangar fire. At a recent community meeting, Orange County Supervisor Don Wagner said state law prohibited the county from using general taxpayer money to set up a fund for individual homeowners affected by the fire.
“We just don’t have a legal right to do that,” he said.
Some homeowners told LAist their insurance has paid for testing inside their homes. But, according to Clay-Monaghan’s informal survey of residents, nearly three-quarters said they couldn’t afford it.
One-quarter of the 1,075 homes in the Columbus Square neighborhood, which was hardest hit by fire debris, are designated for very low- to moderate-income families.
Clay-Monaghan said residents who had paid for testing reported paying around $2,500.
If the state declares the Tustin fire an emergency, it could free up resources for the city and for individuals. Wagner said the state had been “dragging its feet” on a declaration.
Brian Ferguson, spokesperson for the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, told LAist in an email earlier this month that the city and county would first have to demonstrate that “effective response is beyond [their] capabilities” in order for the state to step in with aid.
Ferguson said Wednesday there were no additional updates. He did not respond to our request to clarify the damage assessment process.
Initial damage estimates totaled about $31.7 million as of mid-November, according to the emergency management team that coordinated the initial response to the fire. That includes money spent by the county, Tustin Unified School District and city of Tustin.
The final total is likely to be far higher. Last week, Tustin Mayor Austin Lumbard told LAist that the city had committed $30 million of its own funds to date.
Lead
If you’re worried about potential lead in your home from the Tustin fire and have small children, the O.C. Health Care Agency has a program that provides consultation and assistance for environmental investigations. Call 714-567-6220 for more information.
Chinsio-Kwong, the public health officer, said parents concerned that their children may have been exposed to lead should have them tested by a physician.
What is the status of cleanup on the former military base?
Work finished Monday, Dec. 11, to remove the hangar’s 150-ft. tall metal and wooden doors, which were lowered to the ground and will be covered in an adhesive substance designed to keep dust and potentially harmful particulate matter from getting into the surrounding air or soil.
Dunne, the Navy spokesperson, told LAist that the “tackifier” substance, trademarked Gorilla-Snot, is being used to cover debris in the footprint of the destroyed hangar. The Navy does not have plans to spread the tackifier on other parts of the 84-acre former base, he said, but city contractors are cleaning up fire debris on the land.
Asbestos-laden debris collected on the former military base will remain there until the Navy develops a disposal plan.
Some relief for property owners?
The O.C. assessor recently sent a letter to property owners in the vicinity of the fire advising that they could qualify for a temporary value adjustment to their home, meaning lowered property taxes, if they can demonstrate that the fire caused $10,000 or more in damages.
It’s unclear how many, if any, homes could meet that threshold. For more information, you can call the county assessor’s office at 714-834-2727.
https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/tustin-hangar-fire-safety-help-house-neighborhood-school