Despite repeatedly warning that wildfire debris likely contains hazardous substances, public officials are preparing to dump millions of tons of contaminated ash and rubble from the Eaton and Palisades fires into Southern California landfills that were not designed to handle high concentrations of toxic chemicals.
For weeks, Los Angeles County leaders have urged residents to avoid wildfire ash. Public health officials have said they suspect the debris is teeming with brain-damaging heavy metals and cancer-causing chemicals from thousands of incinerated homes and cars.
Ordinarily, when these toxic chemicals are found at high levels in solid waste, they would be disposed of at hazardous waste landfills — typically located far from densely populated areas and specifically engineered with environmental protections to prevent leakage that might affect nearby residents.
However, every year when disasters strike California, a series of emergency waivers and disaster exemptions allow for potentially contaminated debris — including wildfire ash — to be treated as nonhazardous waste and taken to landfills that typically only handle trash and construction debris…