Officials: Testing Wasn’t Implemented Until Months After Porter Ranch Gas Leak
"We can always look back and say, 'Why didn't we start with an expanded monitoring program?'" said Angelo Bellomo, deputy county director for health protection. Meanwhile, children are returning to class after being reassigned to other schools dues to health concerns.
The Associated Press:
Gas Leak Pollution Monitoring Took Months To Put In Place
A massive natural gas leak that has driven thousands of Los Angeles residents from their homes had been out of control for more than a month when the county's acting health director said in November that long-term impacts of the cancer-causing chemical benzene should be measured. It took many more weeks to implement the testing announced Wednesday, and one public health official said he wished it had begun when the leak was spewing peak volumes of methane and other chemicals above the Porter Ranch neighborhood. (Melley, 1/20)
Reuters:
Back To School For Children Displaced By Los Angeles-Area Gas Leak
In the latest disruption from the biggest methane gas leak in California history, nearly 2,000 Los Angeles children returning to class this week after winter break have been reassigned to schools outside the affected area over health concerns. The Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation's second-largest public school system, announced the plan after students described headaches, bloody noses, nausea and breathing irritations. (Dobuzinskis, 1/20)