Our Executive Director, Cynthia Babich’s Comments on JCI:
I have been the director of the Del Amo Action Committee for 30 years. We were formed to address impacts on our health due to the proximity of three Superfund sites (Montrose Chemical, Del Amo Waste Pits and Jones Chemical) and several legacy landfills closed or abandoned prior to stronger title 22 closure regulations (Royal Blvd., Alpine Village, Gardena Landfills #1, #2, #4 & #5). As we worked with agencies to remediate the Montrose and Del Amo sites, the warehouses increased along with truck traffic along Torrance Blvd. going right through our community.
Jones Chemical tankers use this route to reach the only way in and out of the facility by using Torrance Blvd. to get to Denker Ave. The residents surrounding this facility are expected to live in fear and under the threat of their bodily harm from a chlorine gas cloud. As the Activity Log and Inspection Reports are reviewed by this committee, you will see that there have been many near misses and derailments and near derailments. Releases that can not be quantified by the owners have occurred, one last month. A facility falling apart at the seams. Inspection after inspection documents the facilities mismanagement and sloppy procedures. The best argument Jones can come up with is that they provide a service, critical to clean living and safety.
The residents adjacent to this facility do not enjoy clean living and safety.
Our area has been designated for chemicals and toxic waste long ago from raciest redlining practices. The time has come to rectify this incompatibility. Relocate the people or the facility. This situation was created by leaders having the lack of will to make the needed changes to protect those who elected them to serve and protect. We are not being unreasonable. We have done the research and educated ourselves based on the meetings we’ve attended with first responders who told us if a catastrophic event occurred involving chlorine gas, we (the community) would be instructed to shelter in place.
Sounds simple, except for the facts that:
• a majority of the community do not know this term
• depending on which side of Normandie they live on they may or may not get the alert
• they have not been provided the proper tools to seal themselves into a room until the shelter in place is lifted
• there remains confusion on first responder response based on the city and county bordering each other at this location and a Torrance PO even though not apart of Torrance.
On the facility side the danger begins with the facility deciding if and when they need a response; by calling 911. A full rail-car release under pressure could occur as quickly as in 6 minutes. Every wasted second matters. The facility has failed recently to file proper Cal OES paperwork needed for reporting to agencies of a problem or release. Inspections have documented Chlorine monitoring equipment has been in malfunction status or bypassed during inspections. This facility has had storm water drainage areas collapse onto itself and tankers punch through the asphalt when disconnect from the truck; it is literally falling apart because it is so old and due to lack of maintenance.
Business as usual is the mantra of Jones Chemical who boast about their safety awards from the Chlorine Institute, of which they are sitting board members. They grade their own report card with our lives in the balance. We give them a F. We need bold action from the City Council and this Safety Committee.
Please do the right thing and protect the residents, not the easy thing of ignoring the problem because the fix requires real work and policy change. This is long overdue. We are not willing to die for this facility’s good for the many mentalities; we are the few – the few hundred living in fear and trapped in racism grasp for decades.
The attached inspection report is just one of many documenting the violations: of special note is Photographs 19, 19a, 20, 21 and 22 to highlight a couple. In support of this report, our group has included the following attachments for review: Inspection Reports: Two recent facility inspection reports that document safety concerns and violations at Jones Chemicals Inc. A letter from the Congresswoman highlighting community concerns and the need for immediate action regarding the facility’s risks to public health and safety.
Community Emergency Response Plan (CERP): A comprehensive plan developed by Del Amo Action Committee to equip the surrounding communities with emergency preparedness resources; created in the absence of an official, comprehensive emergency response plan from the facility or local authorities.
Agency Activity Log: Details the history of regulatory fines and enforcement actions at Jones Chemicals Inc., providing a succinct record of the facility’s non-compliance with safety and environmental standards. Spill Reports from the near-spill event in January as well as the confirmed release in February.
If you need support filing your public comment, please contact delamoactioncommittee@gmail.com
