LOS ANGELES — At nearly 80-years-old, Jan Kalani has been living in her home in Torrance for the past 54 years. 

It’s where she raised her family, where she’s formed bonds with neighbors, and where 30 years ago, she realized she’d been living feet away from a hazardous site. 

She didn’t know it at the time, but what started as a funky odor she still remembers on her children’s clothes turned out to be the result of contamination from industrial operations in the lot right next to her home. 

The site was added to the EPA’s National Priorities List in 1997 after having met the threshold deeming it needed the federal government to step in for a long-term investigation and cleaning. The sites on this list are eligible for additional funds to carry out the cleaning process, which is the Superfund program.  

California is the state with the second highest number of facilities on this list, with 96 total, 17 of which are in Los Angeles County. 

“I think that’s the takeaway message, is that these hazards can exist and you can’t see them, you can’t smell them, but you can be at risk,” said Rusty Harris-Bishop, EPA Pacific Southwest Superfund and Emergency Response Division Section Manager. 

He said one of the biggest risks from these sites is the chemicals seeping so far into the ground that it potentially contaminates the drinking water source. He said they have a couple ways to treat the water and test it to make sure it is clean before disposing of it.

Beyond the water supply, it’s a health concern environmental epidemiologist like Dr. Elizabeth Kamai explains can cause long-lasting effects. 

“There is research that shows that people who live near superfund sites have higher levels of of metals in their bodies. Heavy metals like lead or arsenic. There’s also research that shows there can be lower life expectancy on average in communities near superfund sites,” Kamai said. 

She said Los Angeles presents a higher level of risk of exposure simply for being such a populated area, but said there are small changes people can make. 

“Filtering your air can reduce indoor air pollution. Simple steps like taking off your shoes or outerwear when you get home, washing your hands. It’s little things that people can do,” Kamai said. 

Although she said the biggest benefit is when the sites are finally cleaned up.  

“We also know that the most effective way to reduce exposure to a harmful pollutant or toxicant is to remove that exposure at the source,” Kamai said. 

However, Harris-Bishop said that can take decades. 

“It can take a really long time. It’s really difficult to clean up groundwater or just do pumping and treating. We’re looking at new technologies to treat large areas of contamination,” Harris-Bishop said. 

As for Kalani, she’s saved up to replace windows, and she relies on air filters around her home, but said her advice it just for people to research before they buy.  

“I am kind of sorry that we didn’t move honestly when we could. Now we’re approaching 80 and it’s just too difficult,” Kalani said. 

She hopes her experience will prompt the EPA to take faster solutions and for local authorities to take a stricter approach to environmental regulation going forward.

In many of these cases, the companies responsible for the contamination skip town, leaving state and federal agencies to clean up the mess and foot the bill. 

Just earlier this year, the Biden administration awarded the EPA a billion dollars to help clean up 100 sites across the country — saying it’s an effort to protect communities. 

Harris-Bishop said they also have to track down the responsible parties, resulting in about 75% of all sites being paid by the companies.