RIVERSIDE – (INT) - The state Department of Health and Human Services has agreed to conduct an assessment of potential health impacts of the Ag Park project on the surrounding neighborhood.

The California Department of Public Health will work with the state Department of Toxic Substances Control to determine if, and to what extent, harmful polychlorinated byphenyls (PCBs) may have migrated from the 62-acre Ag Park site into the surrounding neighborhood and what impact that may have had on the health of people living there.

Residents have complained that PCBs released on the site from a sewage spill in 2003 have caused cancer and other illnesses among people living near the site. A developer who plans to build 113 houses on the site after earlier receiving an environmental clearance from the state is removing contaminated soil identified in a subsequent re-examination of the property.

“This decision is a step forward in the effort to determine exactly what happened at the Ag Park and whether surrounding neighbors may have been affected by the historic activities there,” said City Manager John A. Russo, who requested the assessment. “I’m pleased the state has agreed to undertake this important health assessment.

Story Date: October 24, 2016