1 Hurt In Hazmat Spill At Chiquita Canyon Landfill

CASTAIC, CA — A high-pressure pump system at the Chiquita Canyon Landfill in Castaic malfunctioned Friday evening, resulting in a hazardous spill.

Firefighters initially responded to the 29200 block of Henry Mayo Drive Friday around 7 p.m. to a report regarding an explosion, according to a Los Angeles County Fire Department spokesman.

Upon further investigation, firefighters determined that there was a mechanical malfunction of a "small" high-pressure hose.

According to the spokesman, an employee was taken to a hospital before firefighters arrived at the location.

The person's condition remains unknown.

Fire crews and health hazmat personnel will remain on the scene to ensure proper clean-up.

The malfunction occurred one day after the Environmental Protection Agency announced it had found the landfill presents imminent and substantial danger to nearby communities and called for its operators to mitigate off-site community impacts of noxious odors and hazardous waste and to contain and reduce the smoldering or reaction events at the landfill.

"The continued incidents at the Chiquita Canyon Landfill clearly signal that a major change in management and leadership is needed immediately," Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, whose Fifth District includes Castaic, said in a statement released Friday night.

``I have lost faith that the ongoing issues with the landfill will ever be resolved unless those long overdue changes are made."

City News Service