CHEMICAL DUMP AT JAIL STUDIED\Wastes do not pose immediate risk.

Byline: Laurence Darmiento Daily News Staff Writer

It's been more than four years since sheriff's officials discovered that ground water at the Pitchess Detention Center has been contaminated by toxic chemicals seized from drug labs.

Illegally dumped in a remote canyon at the east end of the 2,700-acre jail complex, the contamination was discovered by department personnel checking for ground water pollution from a licensed, legal dump one canyon over.

Since then, the department has spent nearly $1 million studying the extent of the problem, and officials say only this much is clear: There are no immediate health risks to anyone, but more studies are in order.

"The situation is a lot better than we thought it might be, but we do know there are a lot of chemicals underground," said Roger Anderson, the jail's facilities director. "And it's not a simple thing to rectify."

Tests conducted over the past several years show that some 900 pounds of sodium cyanide, 700 pounds of ethyl ether and nearly a dozen other toxic compounds were dumped in 12-foot pits, Anderson said.

The chemicals literally compose an "ingredients list" for making PCP, a highly popular hallucinogenic drug, often called "angel dust," that has largely been replaced in popularity by methamphetamines, he said.

Several of the chemicals are known to cause cancer, including benzene and toluene, while ethyl ether is explosive, presenting one of the greatest hazards in any cleanup process, he said.

According to the latest report conducted by a consulting firm, some of the chemicals have seeped into the ground water under the canyon but are not believed to have reached a deep regional aquifer.

In addition, the chemicals, which were believed to have been dumped in the late 1970s by department personnel, have migrated less than a 16th of a mile downstream in the upper aquifer, Anderson said.

A study, which may be started in a few months, is needed for a more exact understanding of the underground contamination and the danger it poses to the ecology and people, he said.

Although more than one ton of the chemicals was dumped, the report states the contamination does not pose any immediate hazard to drinking-water supplies and may be minimal enough to simply leave in the ground and monitor.

However, a worst-case scenario presented to sheriff's officials several years ago estimated that the cleanup costs could reach $55 million under a plan that would involve removing a 10-foot thick layer of soil from the entire canyon, Anderson said.

Officials are hoping that only the canyon soil directly affected by the contamination will have to removed. Only four of 116 pits contain the chemicals, while the rest have an assortment of debris, including medical waste and animal carcasses from the complex's dairy operation, Anderson said.

Other options include capping the canyon with a layer of clay and building an underground damn that would prevent the chemicals from migrating any farther downstream.

Environmentalist Lynne Plambeck is a member of the board of the Newhall County Water District, which serves Castaic residents, mostly through wells north of the jail complex.

She said she has been aware of the contamination at Pitchess, and though it does not pose a direct hazard to Castaic's water supply, she has been keeping her eye on it.

"It is downstream from our wells, but it does pose a potential problem," she said. "If they put in a concrete dam, it stops the flow underground, but it backs it up. It's unlikely, but that could direct it toward the wells."

Richard Massey, a member of the Castaic Town Council, said there is talk in Castaic over the issue.

"Of course there is concern. Anytime there is toxic waste, there is concern," he said. "But I feel the (jail) has a concern for their inmates and employees."

Massey said the Town Council has requested the Sheriff's Department brief them at their next meeting April 17.

Prosecutors with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department investigated potentially bringing charges in the matter, but later decided against it.