A burst hydrogen peroxide pipe at the Chiquita Canyon landfill injured one person Friday night, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
It was not immediately clear if there was any resulting damage at the Castaic facility, but Fire Department hazmat crews were continuing to clean up shortly before 10 p.m., according to agency spokesman Craig Little.
Firefighters initially responded to reports of an explosion at the landfill at 7 p.m. Friday, but Little said it was soon determined there was no explosion or fire. The problem was a mechanical failure of a small high-pressure hose during normal operations.
A landfill employee was taken to a hospital after the hose burst, Little said, but the extent of that person's injuries was unknown.
He said no one else was injured in the incident.
Little said the broken hose did not appear to be related to any cleanup of a fire inside the landfill.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday ordered Chiquita Canyon to take immediate action to protect the environment and human health, saying the burning facility poses an imminent danger to nearby communities due to hazardous liquid waste and odors. harmful.
Scorching temperatures inside the landfill have risen and expanded since May 2022, when a heat-generating chemical reaction is estimated to have begun deep in the landfill. The reaction has caused pressure to build up inside the 639-acre facility at times, forcing very hot, contaminated water to the surface.
Federal environmental regulators have said this contaminated water contained cancer-causing benzene above federal standards. Officials and residents have also expressed concern that toxic fumes are drifting from the landfill into nearby communities and that contaminated water has been dumped into nearby waterways.
Waste Connections Inc., the landfill operator, is trying to slow and eventually stop the chemical reaction by removing excess gases and liquids, according to landfill officials.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who represents the communities surrounding Chiquita Canyon, said continued incidents at the landfill like the one on Friday “clearly signal that a major change in management and leadership is needed.” immediately”.
“I have lost faith that the current problems with the landfill will one day be resolved unless long overdue changes are made,” he said in a statement.
The situation at Chiquita Canyon is just one of the county's landfills facing increased scrutiny.
Sunshine Canyon in Sylmar, the only landfill larger than Chiquita Canyon in Los Angeles County, is grappling with a different environmental crisis: Water intrusion has fueled bacterial growth. The situation has brought months of putrid odors to surrounding communities.
This is a developing story. Times staff writer Tony Briscoe contributed to this report.
