Officials Say Sediment on Calif. Beaches Poses No Risk to Human Health
LOS ANGELES — Dark, ashy sediment that has been appearing on Los Angeles-area beaches does not appear to contain chemicals related to wildfires at levels that are dangerous to human health, state health officials said on Friday.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health said it based this conclusion on results from beach sand and sediment testing conducted by the L.A. Regional Water Quality Control Board at the end of February.
Samples from nearly a dozen beaches along the L.A. County coastline were tested for metals, polychlorinated biphenyls and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which are chemicals that may be found in runoff after wildfires.
These results were compared to California and U.S. environmental standards for residential soil, and all results were below those values or within background concentrations.
The Regional Water Quality Control Board said it plans to conduct another round of sediment sampling before Memorial Day.
Officials have also advised local residents that there are no plans to remove the sediment.
Attempting to scrape it from rocks and sand would destroy marine habitats, erode the shoreline, and cause long-term environmental damage, they said.
Instead, the belief is natural tides and weather will gradually break down and wash away the sediment, allowing the ecosystem to recover naturally.
Based on water quality results, the county’s Department of Public Health is also lifting an ocean water quality advisory it had issued for fire-impacted beaches.
Periodic water quality testing from the end of January through mid-March found no wildfire-related substances at levels dangerous to human health, the department said.
In the meantime, the L.A. County Department of Beaches and Harbors and the City of Santa Monica are continuing to remove debris that waves wash onto the sand.
This debris comes from both discharging waterways and burned or destroyed properties along the coast. During high tides, waves sweep the debris from the shore and into the ocean, where the current carries the debris to other beaches.
Beachgoers should still avoid fire debris, whether in the water or on the shore, department officials said.
That’s because the debris includes tangled branches, twisted metals, charred building materials, and even the dark sediment.
While the sediment itself is not hazardous, its dark color can hide rusty nails, shards of glass and other sharp objects that may cause injury, they said.
Dangerous pieces of large debris on the sand should be reported to the nearest lifeguard or beach maintenance crews, officials said.
Dan can be reached at [email protected] and @DanMcCue
