Irvine's Great Park Corporation Overlooks El Toro's Deadly Toxicity

Man, the stuff people are still trying to get away with in this country; it is more than amazing, but not the kind of daring I admire.

Image of El Toro from overhead is marked with skull and crossbones to indicate the most contaminated spots on the base. To see the image full size and read the associated legend, visit: mwsg37.com/

(IRVINE, Calif.) - Poor environmental stewardship over more than half a century of use, left the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station in Irvine a toxic waste zone, seething with chemicals that have already killed and sickened more Marines that we will probably ever accurately know.

Irvine and the "Great Park Corporation" are pushing forward with plans to build a park on El Toro, even though it is clearly established that the place is the equivalent of an environmental disaster zone.

The list of contaminants polluting the base is long, and range from the biggest issue, TCE (trichloroethylene), a degreaser manufactured by Dow Chemical used to clean fighter jets, to enriched U-235 Uranium and many things in between.

There is a massive TCE "plume" in the groundwater flowing from the base at El Toro, all the way to the city of Irvine. This is known to cause a multitude of health problems including bladder cancer, brain cancer, esophageal cancer and other serious diseases.

In an article published Friday on Salem-News.com, another former El Toro Marine, Salem-News.com reporter Robert O'Dowd, described the large number of bladder cancer cases connected to contaminated military bases. Retired Army Colonel and urologist Dr. Robert Schlesinger, points to another El Toro contaminant, benzene:

“Organic compounds in general, and benzene containing compounds specifically are recognized as carcinogenic for the lining of the entire urinary tract, kidneys, ureters and bladder. There is no dispute regarding this.” (see: A Few Good Men and Bladder Cancer - Robert O'Dowd Salem-News.com)

But money is still the order of the day and somehow, the Great Park Corporation, Lennar Homes, Irvine and other companies, are still conspiring to market this polluted place to the public.

The AP reported Friday that "a $65 million plan for the first stage of construction" was approved by the Great Parks board of directors.

They voted Thursday to approve the park, agricultural space, more than one sports field and so-called community gardens. It's a snow job and the place shouldn't have people anywhere near it, says Dr. Phillip Leveque in Oregon. As a physician, pharmacologist and forensic toxicologist, he has had his dealings with toxic contaminants and their effects on people.

"The only thing that should be done with the place, is to put a ten foot fence around it and never let anybody step foot on it again," he said in an interview. (see: TCE Expert Talks With Former El Toro Marine About Toxic Waste (VIDEO) - Tim King Salem-News.com)

Fortunately, projects like this don't just slip by without having to go through a screening and evaluation and government approval process. Surely the city representatives of Irvine, known as being one of the nicest cities in America, have the better interests of their citizens in mind. One would hope.

But that apparently is not the case, The AP reports that, "All five council members sit on the park board that approved the plan."

Irvine lists its elected city council members as Mayor Sukhee Kang, Councilmemner Dr. Steven Choi, Councilmember Beth Krom and Councileoman Chirstina Shea, and the noted Mayor Pro Tem, Larry Agran. (see: 'Larry Agran, Great Park Gangbanger: Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire?' - Roger Butow for Salem-News.com)

Their problems are much bigger than they apparently believe, and one can only imagine what kind of deals have already been cut. There will be those who rallied for the project without fully understanding how dangerous and deadly the place is, who refuse to recant out of pride, stubbornness, etc.

The answers never come easy, but there is no question that El Toro, like many other military base sites, is very polluted. (see: Contaminated Marine Base in Irvine Slated for Public Park and Community Development (VIDEO REPORT) - Tim King Salem-News.com)

It isn't any secret, El Toro is actually listed as an EPA Superfund site, but somehow the right palms have been greased. So, any homes that sell, any investment that goes in, is at best temporary. Lennar and Irvine and the Great Park Corporation simply won't get away with this in the end. The people involved in these dealings can still pull out, save face, and show their voters that they really have a brain and a thought when it comes to this.

I will promote and help bring forward any Irvine city councilor who is willing to step forward and say they know this is wrong. I think at least one of you has the humanity to do so. I was an El Toro Marine, and between my wife and I, we have two children who had serious health issues as infants that likely were caused by TCE contamination, that was passed down to them. I have email from hundreds of fellow El Toro Marines and our numbers and our outreach grows by the day.

As if that wasn't enough, there is another problem facing the Great Park project, that is nearby Forest Lawn Memorial Park. They have filed a lawsuit to block the project.

Stay tuned, because the reports on El Toro will continue on Salem-News.com.

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Tim King is a former U.S. Marine with twenty years of experience on the west coast as a television news producer, photojournalist, reporter and assignment editor. In addition to his role as a war correspondent, this Los Angeles native serves as Salem-News.com's Executive News Editor.
Tim spent the winter of 2006/07 covering the war in Afghanistan, and he was in Iraq over the summer of 2008, reporting from the war while embedded with both the U.S. Army and the Marines. Tim holds numerous awards for reporting, photography, writing and editing, including the Oregon AP Award for Spot News Photographer of the Year (2004), the first place Electronic Media Award in Spot News, Las Vegas, (1998), Oregon AP Cooperation Award (1991); and several other awards including the 2005 Red Cross Good Neighborhood Award for reporting. Serving the community in very real terms, Salem-News.com is the nation's only truly independent high traffic news Website, affiliated with Google News and several other major search engines and news aggregators.
You can send Tim an email at this address: newsroom@salem-news.com