Company Settles Lawsuit Over Gas Leak, Agrees To Fund Health Impact Study
Southern California Gas Co.'s leak caused 8,000 residents to flee their homes, many complaining of headaches, nosebleeds and nausea.
Los Angeles Times:
Southern California Gas To Pay $8.5 Million To Settle Lawsuit Over Aliso Canyon Leak
Southern California Gas Co. will pay $8.5 million to settle a lawsuit filed by air quality regulators over the Aliso Canyon gas leak and will fund a study of community health effects. The settlement with the South Coast Air Quality Management District, announced Wednesday, resolves a dispute over the months-long leak of methane from the gas company’s Aliso Canyon storage facility above the Porter Ranch neighborhood of Los Angeles. (Barboza, 2/8)
In other public health news —
The San Diego Union-Tribune:
SD Flu Season Not Letting Up
Hopes that the flu season may have peaked a few weeks ago are looking premature, according to San Diego’s latest public health report. Released Wednesday by the San Diego County Department of Health and Human Services, the weekly snapshot of influenza activity across the region shows that emergency room activity, the total number of confirmed cases and the total number of flu-related deaths all increased last week. Now standing at 39, the number of fatal cases reported to to the public health department by San Diego County hospitals is now nearly four times as high as it was last year and two more than the prior three-year average. (Sisson, 2/8)
KPBS:
One Out Of Four American Adults Have Suffered Hearing Loss
Hearing loss affects 40 million Americans.A new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveals it is not only the elderly who are affected. In fact, the report finds 19 percent of Americans between the ages of 20 and 29 have lost some of their hearing. (Goldberg, 2/8)