[Brownfields-CPEO] Four Star Chemical and American Labs, Central-Alameda neighborhood of Los Angeles

[Lenny Siegel <LSiegel@cpeo.org>]

Toxic site near South L.A. homes finally faces state cleanup order

By Kori McNair
Los Angeles Times
August 11, 2026

    • California regulators have finally ordered a cleanup at a long-contaminated hazardous waste site in South L.A.’s Central-Alameda neighborhood, steps from family homes and Augustus F. Hawkins Nature Park.
    • Testing from 2001 found extreme levels of carcinogenic solvents, including the dry-cleaning chemical perchloroethylene in soil 150 feet deep, fueling fears that toxic vapors could be intruding into neighboring homes.
    • After decades of disputes that stalled enforcement, the current owner has agreed to extensive testing and a cleanup plan. The process could be costly and take years.

The California toxic substances agency has ordered the cleanup of a site in the Central-Alameda neighborhood of Los Angeles, citing what “appears to be a major source of contamination” that “may present a substantial hazard to human health.”

Four Star Chemical and American Labs operated in the late 1970s and 1980s at 5701 Compton Ave. handling hazardous waste. When the site was last tested, solvents were found in the soil below the pavement and down 150 feet. The company has been closed for 38 years.

…

For the entire article, see
https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2026-08-11/state-mandates-cleanup-of-highly-contaminated-south-la-site

—

Lenny Siegel
Executive Director
Center for Public Environmental Oversight
A project of the Pacific Studies Center
LSiegel@cpeo.org
P.O. Box 998, Mountain View, CA 94042
Voice/Fax: 650-961-8918
http://www.cpeo.org
Author: DISTURBING THE WAR: The Inside Story of the Movement to Get Stanford University out of Southeast Asia - 1965–1975 (See http://a3mreunion.org)

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