Kailand Green, 8, is an active girl who loves to play outdoors, but that is often not safe because she lives less than a mile from the Chiquita Canyon Landfill in Castaic, which is emitting toxic odors into the air that are affecting her health, said her grandmother, Diana James, 65.
Last month, Kailand and her grandmother, who live in the unincorporated community of Val Verde adjacent to the landfill, were driving past a birthday party where children were bouncing on a trampoline.
Kailand begged her grandma to ask if she could join and she did. But about a half hour later, the smells got too strong and air quality plummeted, so the parents shut the party down, James said.
Recently, she dropped Kailand off at her school, Live Oak Elementary School, and the smell was extreme. “If the smell is settling there, then the toxins are settling there,” James said.
Landfill operators Chiquita Canyon, LLC; Chiquita Canyon, Inc.; and Waste Connections US, Inc.; which own and operate the landfill have been unable to stop an underground, smoldering reaction that is causing the release of noxious odors such as hydrogen sulfide, dimethyl sulfide and benzene into the air.
The 639-acre solid waste landfill at 29201 Henry Mayo Drive about three miles west of the 5 Freeway on State Route 126, has prompted thousands of complaints from nearby residents of foul odors and many have complained of headaches; eye, nose, and/or throat irritation; light-headedness; coughing, difficulty breathing; nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, chest tightness and skin irritations and/or rashes.
On Jan. 1, the facility stopped accepting waste, ceasing operations. Nearby residents said that was appropriate, but the landfill’s gas emissions continue and more needs to be done to protect their health and that of their children and grandchildren.
James and many parents are worried that simply attending Live Oak Elementary School, where odors are sometimes present in outdoor play areas within the campus grounds, can be hazardous to their children’s or grandchildren’s health.
A recent lawsuit on behalf of about 150 students attending schools in the vicinity of the landfill claimed children are routinely exposed to harmful odors during outdoor physical education classes and outdoor recess and lunch.
James said her grandchild, who lives with her, has experienced severe headaches, a chronic cough for which she was given an inhaler, and stomach aches in the last two years. Before that, she described her granddaughter as healthy and never needing to see a doctor.
Like many parents who expressed their concerns to the Castaic Union School District School board on Jan. 15, James is worried about her granddaughter’s health, both now and after she grows up.
“I don’t want her to grow up and have lung disease,” said James on Jan. 20 in an interview. “We don’t know what’s churning inside those lungs right now and what kind of damage it is doing to her.”
About a dozen or so parents and grandparents who have children attending Live Oak Elementary attended the school board meeting last week, asking the district to relocate at least one school to a temporary building, away from the winds that carry the landfill odors.
Many parents said one way of getting the schools funding is for the county to declare a state of emergency.
“We are asking the school board to stand up for our children. They are suffering,” said Jennifer Elkins, a mother whose three young children attend Live Oak Elementary.
“We’ve asked the school for a state of emergency so more resources could be available,” she said. “We want the school relocated in the short term.”
Superintendent Bob Brauneisen told the group that he would write a letter to Los Angeles County, asking for a state of emergency, Elkins said.
Brauneisen did not return emails and voice mails to discuss the issue.
James said that the district has installed air purifiers and special air filters inside the schools in the air condition system. She said the problem is when the students go outside.
In an apparent response to the parents requests made at the school board meeting, Principal Anthony Sanchez sent to parents as part of an e-newsletter an update on the situation on Jan. 20.
“We continue to monitor the air quality on a daily basis and we will continue to ensure the safety and well-being of our students,” the email read. “Recently the air quality at Live Oak Elementary has been healthy and we will continue to be vigilant in monitoring it in case there are changes. In the event of unhealthy air quality, we will make indoor spaces available for every child.”
The notice said any parent who requests their child stay indoors at all times, such as during recess or at lunch, can notify staff members by email or through the notification system, Parent Square.
James is of two minds about requiring her granddaughter to skip outdoor activities, saying children need to play and exercise but she worries when air quality is poor. “For parents to demand they stay inside — I didn’t even know that was an option,” she said, until receiving the email.
James, Elkins and others are asking the school district to move to a vacant building far from the landfill odors and toxic air, “where they (students) can be put temporarily until this thing is taken care of,” James said.
Elkins suggested moving the children to schools in Santa Clarita, where there are empty portable classrooms.
When the Aliso Canyon gas leak threatened the health of the community in Porter Ranch, children were moved to other schools in Northridge, away from the affected areas. This occurred after the LAUSD board declared an emergency at Porter Ranch Community School and Castlebay Lane Charter School in response to the leak from the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility in 2016.
“If they can do it for Porter Ranch, and during the recent emergency situation such as the wildfires, they can do it for us as well,” Elkins said.