Massive Contamination Cover-Up In Irvine, California
The former El Toro Marine Base in the city of Irvine, California will always be referred to as "Orange County's contamination ground zero" because of the massive amount of cancerous contamination that remains at the former base today. This is why the Great Park balloon has been labeled with what many say is an accurate description because the Great Park balloon sits right atop one of the most contaminated parts of El Toro a.k.a. the "Great Park". But if you were to ask a "Great Park" official about the contamination, they are telling people not to worry because officials claim the contamination is about 1,000 feet deep despite environmental reports that clearly show the contamination under El Toro/the "Great Park" is just beneath ground level.
Ever since El Toro was closed in 2000, a cover-up effort has been under way to keep the Irvine and Orange County public from knowing anything about the contamination. To this day, the city of Irvine, Lennar, realtors, developers, property managers, and others have been leading a deceptive campaign to keep people from knowing the truth about the contamination to avoid liability. But thanks to documents from the Irvine Ranch Water District, the Metropolitan Water District of Orange County, environmental contractors, and others, there is plenty of documentation that proves the parties above are lying to residents especially about Irvine's water, which is contaminated with TCE from El Toro—a proven fact the Irvine Ranch Water District, the city of Irvine, realtors, developers, property managers, and others continue to deny to this day.
As the contamination continues to spread from El Toro/the "Great Park", realtors and developers in Irvine continue to try to sell properties (new and pre-owned) to people in hopes prospective buyers won't realize Irvine's water (and land underneath these properties) is contaminated per the IRWD and the OCMWD. The news is even worse for those who live atop the contamination plume because the law requires owners of these properties to disclose such matters. But since nobody would likely buy a home that sits atop what is essentially an extension of an EPA 'Superfund' site, these homes are basically worthless. So the question is this: Who is going to compensate thousands of Irvine residents who live in these homes, but can't sell them?
The reason why the city of Irvine, Lennar, realtors, property managers, developers, and others are so worried about the contamination is because they know they could soon be held liable by angry Irvine homeowners who can't sell their homes. This is why Irvine city officials, Lennar, and others are going way out of their way to deny the contamination's existence hence the cover-up that was written about so accurately just recently by Jim Stewart of the Financial Times News.
When it comes to developing El Toro into a "Great Park", the base remains one of the most contaminated 'Superfund' sites in the United States and not just because of the TCE; a massive plume of Perchlorate also exists on the northern end of El Toro that also threatens Irvine's water supply, and the contamination on El Toro isn't the only concern. The contamination also impacts a great deal of land around El Toro that is currently being developed by one of Orange County's biggest developers despite the fact that these properties being developed are likely of no value either because of the proximity to El Toro.
In most cases, residents of Irvine haven't a clue about the contamination, which just goes to show how well the city of Irvine, realtors, developers, etc. have done in keeping the matter quiet. The worst news of all: The water isn't the only problem. In fact, according to officials, TCE also produces toxic vapors which easily migrate up from under ground into people's homes, apartments, schools, etc., and this has become the latest threat to Irvine residents many don't even know exists.
Perhaps the most-interesting development in this story is a report produced by a law firm called 'Latham & Watkins' that is TCE "warning" document they published for the benefit of their developer clients. Why is this significant? The Latham document (click here to read) validates the concerns about TCE (including TCE vapors), and it warns its clients about what could soon be a wave of lawsuits brought forth by those who buy homes, etc. on land that's contaminated with TCE. The most interesting link? Latham is the law firm that's been retained by one of the biggest Orange County developers that just so happens to be developing homes outside of El Toro's fence line despite knowing about El Toro's contamination problems.
